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Set on the sheltered horseshoe of Coraya Bay, JAZ Solaya pairs one of the shortest airport transfers in Egypt with some of the best snorkelling on the southern Red Sea, then wraps the lot in an easy, unhurried five star all inclusive.
Madinat Coraya is a purpose built holiday village on Egypt’s quiet southern Red Sea coast, a cluster of sister resorts arranged around one sheltered, sandy bay roughly 65 km north of Marsa Alam town. JAZ Solaya holds one of the nicest positions in it, with mature gardens running down to its own furnished stretch of sand and a jetty that carries snorkellers straight out over the house reef. Marsa Alam International Airport sits barely 5 km up the road, so you can plausibly be on a sun lounger within the hour of landing, a genuine rarity in Egypt.
The resort is built low and spread wide, with 307 rooms threaded between lawns, palms and four swimming pools. Days revolve around the calm water: the bay is protected from open sea swell, the middle is kept clear and sandy for easy swimming, and the reef along its arms holds a remarkable amount of life, with turtles a regular sight. All inclusive here is properly generous too, taking in two full buffet restaurants, beach snacks through the afternoon, local drinks from 9am to midnight and an included à la carte dinner at the souk restaurants.
In our view this is a resort for people who want the Red Sea itself rather than a resort strip. Couples and families come for reliable winter sun, snorkellers for a house reef you reach in fins rather than by boat, and divers for the Coraya Divers base on site, with Elphinstone and Abu Dabbab within day trip range. Evenings are pleasant but gentle, live music on the lobby terrace, a show in the amphitheatre, a nightcap at the Olivo roof bar, so night owls chasing clubs and neon should look further north.
Call our Egypt specialists free on 0800 041 8400 or request your tailored quote online. Every holiday is ABTA and ATOL protected.
Accommodation at JAZ Solaya Marsa Alam is arranged across low rise garden buildings, which keeps everything close to the pools and beach and the mood pleasantly unhurried. Rooms are larger than the Red Sea norm, starting around 31 m² and rising to 50 m² in the biggest family categories, decorated in warm, neutral tones, and every one has a balcony or terrace facing the gardens, pools or sea. All rooms include:
The entry category and a comfortable one, with a double or twin layout and a choice, subject to availability, of garden, pool or sea view. Light, simple and well kept, these suit couples who plan to spend their days outside.
Noticeably more floor space than the Superior, overlooking the gardens or pools. A modest step up that pays off on longer stays, or for anyone who likes room to spread out.
Designed for four, with garden, pool or sea view options and a layout that gives everyone somewhere to be. A sensible pick for a week built around beach and reef.
The largest standard footprint in the resort, looking over the gardens. These give a family genuine breathing space and are limited in number, so book early for school holiday dates.
Almost everyone we send here travels all inclusive, and this is a strong version of it. Meals run from buffet breakfast through to evening crepes, drinks pour from 9am to midnight, and unusually for Egypt there are two full buffet restaurants to alternate between, which keeps a second week interesting. Included in your board:
The à la carte allowance is the detail most brochures leave vague, so to be clear: your board includes one à la carte dinner per stay, taken at your choice of Nino’s, Sofra or momo in the Souk of Jaz Dar El Madina and reserved a day or so ahead through guest relations. On top of that, the Dine Around scheme lets you book one dinner at a sister Jaz hotel within Madinat Coraya. Further à la carte evenings can usually be arranged locally for a supplement.
The main restaurant and the resort’s daily hub, serving themed international buffets with live cooking stations at breakfast and dinner. The weekly gala dinner is held here.
The second buffet restaurant, covering breakfast, lunch and dinner. Two buffet rooms in one resort is a quiet luxury; if one is busy, simply stroll to the other.
Sit down Italian at the souk, open for dinner by reservation from 6.30pm. A natural choice for your included à la carte evening.
Egyptian and Middle Eastern cooking served properly, also at the souk. In our view the most memorable of the three for first time visitors to Egypt.
Asian dining at the souk, with a separate teppanyaki experience. The standard menu can be taken as your included à la carte dinner; the teppanyaki tables carry a charge.
A cluster of kiosks by the sand serving snacks, desserts and soft drinks from noon to 5pm, so lunch never has to interrupt a beach day.
Four freshwater pools are threaded through the gardens at JAZ Solaya, and the hotel heats three of them through the winter, which matters more than any brochure photograph when you travel between November and March. Heating schedules are set seasonally, so ask us to confirm the arrangements for your dates.
The character varies nicely. The pool beside the Tropicana bar, between the gardens and the beach, is the sociable one, with daytime sessions such as stretch classes and water polo for those who want them; the others stay quieter, and it is never hard to find a corner with no soundtrack beyond the sea. Loungers and parasols are plentiful, towels wait in your room rather than in a queue, and reserving sunbeds is against the rules here, which keeps mornings civilised.
Coraya Bay is the reason to choose this stretch of coast. It is a sheltered, sandy horseshoe around a kilometre across, shared by the handful of Madinat Coraya resorts, and JAZ Solaya’s furnished section sits directly on it with loungers, parasols and towels provided. The centre of the bay is kept clear for swimming, with a soft, gradual entry that suits nervous swimmers, while coral gardens line the bay’s two arms.
Access to the reef is via a jetty, used by snorkellers and divers alike, which drops you over coral heads busy with reef fish; turtles are seen regularly and visibility on this coast is superb for most of the year. Because the reef is protected, standing on the coral is forbidden, and the jetty entry makes that easy to respect. If you have never snorkelled before, this is about the friendliest introduction the Red Sea offers.
The Coraya Divers base at the front of the hotel runs courses for beginners and guided dives for the experienced, with equipment hire on site. Boat and day trips reach the southern Red Sea’s most celebrated names: Elphinstone Reef with its plunging walls, Abu Dabbab with its resident green turtles and the occasional dugong, and Samadai Reef, the protected lagoon known as Dolphin House for its spinner dolphins. Diving, courses and trips are payable locally.
Wellness is handled by mividaspa, the health club and beauty salon brand found across the Jaz group, and at JAZ Solaya the core of it comes free: the sauna, steam room and jacuzzi are included for hotel guests, a genuinely useful perk on winter evenings.
Massages and beauty treatments are payable and worth booking early in your stay rather than on the last day, and there is a hairdresser on site. Beyond the spa, the gym is free to use, tennis is included by day with floodlights payable after dark, and the sports on offer run from beach volleyball and football to table tennis, boccia and a jogging track through the grounds, with daily stretch and fitness sessions for anyone who wants them.
Madinat Coraya is self contained by design: a traffic calmed holiday village of sister resorts wrapped around one bay, with the Souk of Jaz Dar El Madina at its centre providing shops, a pharmacy, the à la carte restaurants, a crepe and ice cream kiosk and a shisha corner. A promenade links the resorts around the bay, which gives evenings a pleasant stroll and a change of scenery without ever needing a taxi.
Getting anywhere else is refreshingly simple, because the airport is minutes away and the coast road runs straight past the gate:
| Marsa Alam International Airport | About 10 minutes by road |
|---|---|
| Port Ghalib marina | About 15 minutes by road |
| Abu Dabbab Bay | Around 40 minutes by road |
| El Quseir town | Around an hour by road |
| Marsa Alam town | Around an hour by road |
| Luxor and the Valley of the Kings | Around 4 to 5 hours by road |
Transfers with meet and greet at Marsa Alam airport are included in our quotes, and at roughly ten minutes this is one of the shortest hotel transfers we offer anywhere in Egypt.
For a change of pace, Port Ghalib’s marina makes an easy evening out, with waterfront restaurants and boutiques a short taxi ride away. We can also arrange guided excursions with your quote, from El Quseir’s old town to a long day out to Luxor. Many of our guests pair a week at JAZ Solaya Marsa Alam with a few nights cruising the Nile; ask us about combining the two.
Straight answers to the questions we are asked most about JAZ Solaya. If yours is not covered here, call us; our Egypt specialists know Coraya Bay well.
All inclusive covers buffet breakfast and dinner at both Safari and Olivo, buffet lunch at Olivo, late breakfast at the pool bar, afternoon snacks at the beach food court and evening crepes and ice cream at the souk. Local beer, wine, spirits, cocktails and soft drinks are served from 9am to midnight. You also get one à la carte dinner per stay at Nino's, Sofra or momo, plus a Dine Around dinner at a neighbouring Jaz resort, both booked in advance. Premium imported drinks and the momo teppanyaki tables are payable extras.
The resort is about 5 km from Marsa Alam International Airport, a road transfer of roughly 10 minutes. That makes it one of the shortest airport transfers anywhere on the Red Sea. Transfers with meet and greet are included in every Classic Holidays quote.
Yes, it is one of the best snorkelling bases we sell. The Coraya Bay house reef is reached by a jetty directly from the beach, with healthy coral, abundant reef fish and regular turtle sightings, and the sheltered bay keeps conditions calm. The on site Coraya Divers centre hires equipment and runs trips to sites such as Abu Dabbab and Samadai, the lagoon known as Dolphin House.
No. JAZ Solaya welcomes couples and families alike, and its low rise garden layout keeps the atmosphere relaxed rather than rowdy. Guests after complete quiet will find calmer pools away from the main bar, and the adults only Steigenberger next door shares the same bay if that suits your party better.
Yes. The hotel lists four pools, with three heated during the cooler months, so swimming stays comfortable from November through to spring. Heating arrangements are set seasonally by the hotel, and we confirm the details with your quote.
For couples we recommend a Superior Room with sea view, which looks over Coraya Bay for a modest upgrade. Families of four are best in a Deluxe Family Room at around 46 to 50 m², the largest standard category in the resort. Every room has a balcony or terrace, and we will happily match the category to your party when you enquire.
Yes, within Madinat Coraya. The Souk of Jaz Dar El Madina, with shops, a pharmacy and the à la carte restaurants, is a short walk away, and a promenade links the resorts around the bay. Beyond the village, Port Ghalib marina is about 15 minutes by taxi for waterfront restaurants and boutiques.
Yes. Coraya Bay is a sheltered, sandy horseshoe with a gradual entry in the middle kept clear of coral for easy swimming. Loungers, parasols and towels are provided on the resort's own furnished section, and the house reef along the arms of the bay is reached by jetty rather than by walking over coral.
Marsa Alam is a genuine year round destination. From November to April you get warm days in the mid twenties with heated pools taking the edge off cooler evenings, while summer is hot and suits sun seekers and divers, with the sea at its warmest. We think spring and autumn hit the sweet spot for combining beach days with excursions.
Call our Egypt specialists free on 0800 041 8400 or request your tailored quote online. Every holiday is ABTA and ATOL protected.
Classic Holidays when selling travel arrangements is a trading name of Co-op Travel Services Ltd. Classic Holidays is an Accredited Body Member of Co-operative Travel Consortium. (ABTA P7508, ATOL 12904).
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All of the flights and flight-inclusive holidays on this website are financially protected by the ATOL scheme but ATOL protection does not apply to non-flight holiday and travel services offered on this website. Classic Holidays will provide you with information on the protection that applies in the case of each holiday and travel service offered before you make your booking. If you do not receive an ATOL Certificate then the booking will not be ATOL protected. If you do receive an ATOL Certificate but all parts of your trip are not listed on it, those parts will not be ATOL protected. Please see our booking conditions for information, or for more information about financial protection and the ATOL Certificate go to: www.caa.co.uk