El Quesir, Egypt - May 2002 Hotel:                     Flamenco Beach Resort Diving Centre:         Marina Divers Duration:                 7 days Diving experience: Advanced Open Water, Dive 18-26 Assessment: Hotel Satisfaction in % Comments     Overall impression 80       Room 70 towel folded as a swan Meals 75       Atmosphere of restaurant 80 Outside dining possible Service at restaurant 75       Ratio of price/ performance 70       Resort 70       Pool 80       Cleanliness/ hygiene 80       Beach 60                 Diving Satisfaction in % Comments     Variety of diving spots 70       Quality of diving spots 70       Quality of boat 10 boat rented Service on board 70 Good service at the car Meals on board 70       Service at diving cenre 60 not very outgoing in the beginning Quality of diving cenre 60       Ratio of price/ performance 70       Equipment 70       Briefings/ Safety 60                 Location Satisfaction in % Comments     Accessibility/ transport connection 50 Flight via Hurghada Nightlife 20 Drive to Quesir possible Shopping facilities 15 In front of the hotel Other activities 10 camel ride In El Quesir we had the so far best Egyptian hotel that we stayed in ( better than the Grand Hotel in Hurghada, Holiday Inn and Menaville Hotel in Safaga). It did not show-off gaudiness but convinced with good management and nicely furnished rooms. Besides, we enjoyed sitting outside in the evenings, especially since the seating was nice wooden arm chairs and not some cheap plastic chairs. The food was outstanding and the service very friendly and attentive. Unfortunately, the beach was not suited for swimming because there were coral blocks all over. On the other side the shallow water ended at a drop-off of 30 metres. We were able to get there via a JT but when the sea was rough, it was prohibited to swim. Also diving and snorkeling was only allowed to experienced divers (at least 30 dives). The reef itself was not in good shape anymore. Diving: We dived along the coast, driving with Toyota busses to the beach of the dive site. When we did full-day-trips (some awful long rides too), the staff set up a camp including an awning. The advantage was that we were often alone at the dive sites, the disadvantage was that we had to walk on top of the reef. We did not really like that for one, the obvious reason of damaging the reef but also for the danger of tripping over a hole and cracking an ankle - something that had happened before. Carrying the diving gear it sometimes gets difficult to walk  on the uneven ground through waves until arriving at the entry point. Some of the entry points were holes in the reef top that opened through a channel into the open water. Especially for beginners this was a challenging task. The dive crew was - in the end - very nice... I guess you just need to get to know eachother. A solid understanding of service would probably speed up this process since diving is afterall a provision of service that is not really cheap. Anyway.