Al Alamein Hotel

The hotel of the sixties

Al Alamein Hotel opened in 1960 on Sidi Abdel Rahman Bay. It has hosted leaders including President Gamal Abdel Nasser. It is one of the oldest holiday addresses on the north coast.

Emaar, the Dubai developer behind the Marassi estate, renovated it from top to bottom and reopened it in July 2018, after works costing 1.5 billion Egyptian pounds, about 84 million dollars. The renovation kept the building and leaned into memory: retro-modern interiors that evoke the 1960s, black-and-white photographs of Egyptian actors and singers on the lobby columns, and a mosaic mural of Umm Kulthum, the great Egyptian singer of the 20th century.

In the garden stands Umbrellas, a 13 m steel sculpture of open umbrellas by the Greek artist George Zongolopoulos, first shown at the Venice Biennale in 1995. It is a reinterpretation of a song by Abdel Halim Hafez, Dokko el-Shamasy, "Put up the parasols".

This past is what sets the hotel apart from its neighbour, Address Marassi Golf Resort, built by the same group beside the golf course: here you are on the beach, in a house with a history.

The bay, from June to September

The hotel has 189 rooms, suites and luxury chalets facing the bay. It has a private beach, a pool and a children's pool, a tennis court, a padel court (10 am to 10 pm) and a water sports centre on the beach (10 am to 6 pm): motor boating, parasailing, rowing or canoeing, fishing. Bicycles can be hired at reception to ride around the estate, from 10 am to 6 pm. Times are local.

The Qix Club welcomes children aged 4 to 11, free for hotel guests, with crafts, storytelling and games. It opens from 10 am to 10 pm in summer and from 12 noon to 8 pm in winter; children under 4 must be accompanied.

The spa, by the pool, offers massages, facials and body treatments by Balinese therapists; the sauna and steam room are free for hotel guests, while treatments are charged and booked in advance.

The season matters. The north coast is where Egyptians spend their summer, and Marassi comes alive mainly in July and August. In winter, several of the estate's facilities close: the beach club house, some restaurants and the marina. The hotel itself has closed for several winter months for maintenance in the past. Sabaro recommends going between June and September and checking opening dates for an off-season stay.

Where to eat

Breakfast, included in the rate, is served at Origins, the hotel's international restaurant. B'haar serves Mediterranean seaside cooking. Blé is a café and pastry shop in the French tradition, and Bay.Root Express offers Lebanese bites on the beach. Marassi's restaurants, open in summer, add to the choice.

El Alamein, twenty-five minutes away

The main Second World War memorial sites are about 25 minutes away by road:

• the Commonwealth War Cemetery, with 7,240 graves, mostly of soldiers who fell in the battle of October 1942;
• the El Alamein War Museum, opened in 1956 under President Nasser and renovated in 1992, a good introduction to the North African campaign;
• the German memorial, built in the shape of a fortress, holding 4,213 graves from the Second World War and 30 from the First;
• the Italian memorial, a white marble tower on the hill of Tel el-Eisa, "Hill 33" in accounts of the battle.

Half a day is enough. The concierge arranges the trips.

Sabaro's view

For whom: families and couples who want a summer beach holiday on the north coast; travellers interested in the history of El Alamein.

Strengths: a private beach on Sidi Abdel Rahman Bay; a hotel with a well-known past, carefully renovated; a free kids' club; a 4.9/5 rating on Tripadvisor from nearly 2,200 reviews.

Good to know: the hotel is non-smoking and does not accept pets; the minimum age to book a room is 18, and the hotel asks couples sharing a room for a marriage certificate; airport transfers are by paid limousine, booked 24 hours ahead.