The Chedi El Gouna

Style

Sleep like an Egyptian

Setting

Sahara-on-Sea

At the Chedi El Gouna, lifting your sunglasses to squint lazily over the shimmering Red Sea is about the extent of the exertion involved. From golf buggies whisking you around desert-inspired gardens to an app for booking spa treatments, making the most of your stay here is effortless indeed. Earthy desert hues, Egyptian cotton and impeccable styling make it all easy on the eye, too. And when you’re ready to move, activities such as kite-surfing and quad-biking over the dunes can be arranged (with minimal effort, of course).

Facilities

Rooms

82, including 16 suites.

Checkout

Noon, but flexible, subject to availability. Earliest check-in, 3pm.

More Details

Rates include an à la carte breakfast (or buffet during peak times).

Also

The Chedi El Gouna offers one room adapted for mobility-impaired guests located close to reception, plus all restaurants have accessible bathrooms.

Fitness Center

Free Internet Access

Laundry

Pool

On-Site Restaurant

Room Service

Spa

At the Hotel

Private beach, free WiFi throughout, 24-hour front desk, concierge, spa, 24-hour gym with sauna and steam room, bicycle hire. In rooms: smart TV with premium content, free bottled water, Nespresso coffee machine, tea-making kit, minibar, bathrobes and slippers, Elemental Herbology bath products, and digitally controlled lighting and air-conditioning.

Our Favourite Rooms

We love the Beach Front Rooms, which either look right over the yellow sands from a first-floor balcony or offer direct access to the beach from the terrace.

Poolside

You have a pick of two full-size pools, plus a lifeguard-attended toddler pool with a sun shade. All are amply encircled with loungers, parasols and canopied day-beds from where you can order drinks and bites. The main pool and the toddler pool are heated during the winter months.

Spa

The hotel’s spa comprises eight treatment rooms, each with its own spa feature, such as a whirlpool tub, steam shower or hammam. Treatments range from the detoxifying to the invigorating, all carried out with all-natural spa products.

Packing Tips

El Gouna’s residents – known locally as ‘Gounies’ – like to glam it up, so if you’re planning dinner out pack something with pizzazz.

Also

From room service to spa treatments, you can order everything through the hotel’s downloadable app.

Children

There might not be any kid-specific organised activities, but with a dedicated splash pool and private beach, there’s plenty of fun to be had for little Smiths. Connecting Garden Rooms are great for families, and extra beds and cots are free of charge..

Gallery

Food & Drink

Top Table

From sunny waterside terraces to rooftop patios, finding a great table isn’t hard here – but it doesn’t get much better than lazily ordering food from the comfort of your poolside lounger.

Dress Code

Soggy swimsuits are de rigueur for the Beach House, but opt for crisp (Egyptian) cotton for staying cool and smart for balmy dinner dates.

Hotel Restaurant

Simply called the Restaurant, the hotel’s main eatery is a big bright space that opens for breakfast, lunch and dinner. All offer à la carte or set menus (apart from breakfast buffet service when it gets too busy), with a well-rounded selection of international and local favourites. Stand-out dishes include the three-mushroom risotto, US-style tenderloin beef and, for the slightly more adventurous, Egyptian stuffed pigeon. An open kitchen and live-cooking stations mean you can watch the sizzling action, or if you’d rather have a quieter meal, head out to the poolside terrace. When you don’t want to interrupt that poolside mood, pad over in your flip-flops to the Beach House for a chilled-out, sand-in-the-toes atmosphere. Tacos, burgers and healthier Mediterranean-style fare are on offer here during the day, along with colourful cocktails and Caribbean music. For a dinner accompanied by sweeping sea views, rooftop-terrace dining at Nihon is a real treat. The menu is Japanese and pan-Asian fine dining, with freshly prepped sushi and grilled meats served under the stars.

Hotel Bar

All three restaurants have their own bar area, serving the usual choice of international wines, beers and premium spirits, together with a decent cocktail menu. The Lounge is the hotel’s only dedicated bar space, with a hushed atmosphere and a walk-in humidor offering a curated selection of cigars from around the world.

Last Orders

The Restaurant serves breakfast from 7am–10.30am; lunch is 1pm–4pm; dinner is 6.30pm–9.30pm. Dinner at Nihon is 4pm–12am; light bites at the Beach House are from 11am–6pm, and drinks are served 9am–11pm. The Lounge pours drinks from 8am–11pm.

Room Service

From breakfast-in-bed to midnight munchies, in-room dining can be ordered up 24/7. The main menu covers everything from the Restaurant, with a separate pared-down late-night version.

Planes

Hurghada International is the closest airport to the hotel at 30-40 minutes away by road. Car or minibus transfers can be arranged through the hotel, though book at least a couple of days before arrival.

Automobiles

If you’re hoping to explore beyond El Gouna, you can easily hire your own wheels at the airport. Brace yourself for the possibility of some hairy driving conditions or alternatively just consider hiring a driver for the day – it’s the done thing around these parts.

Worth Getting Out of Bed For

Once little more than a humble fishing village, El Gouna’s transformation into a Red Sea holiday hotspot came courtesy of billionaire construction tycoon Samih Sawiris setting his sights on the place. The sprawling resort is not best explored on foot, but two fun ways of getting around are by zippy tuk-tuk or a taxi-boat via its network of artificial canals and lagoons. Practically surrounded by sea and with a private beach, there are unsurprisingly watersports aplenty on offer here and the often-blustery conditions make it ideal for wind-propelled pursuits such as kitesurfing. Being on the Red Sea also means no shortage of dive centres and some super scuba opportunities – the Sha’ab Abu Nuhas ship graveyard is a wreck-diving must-do. If you’d rather stick to (very) dry land, you can bump and race across the desert dunes in an off-road drive or quad-bike, or take the more sedate option on horseback. El Gouna is also within day-tripping distance of Luxor and its bucket-list-worthy ancient Egyptian structures.

Earn or Redeem Points with World of Hyatt

This Mr & Mrs Smith hotel participates in the World of Hyatt loyalty program. As a member, you can earn and redeem points and enjoy exclusive benefits for qualifying nights. .