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Port Ghalib does something no other stretch of the Red Sea can quite match: a yacht marina, a coral house reef and a five star resort all within ten minutes of the airport. Pickalbatros The Palace Port Ghalib sits at the heart of it, its Arabian arches and lagoon pools opening straight onto the waterfront.
Built as the flagship of the Port Ghalib development and known for years as the InterContinental The Palace, this is one of the grandest properties on Egypt’s southern Red Sea coast. Domes, arches and palm shaded courtyards give it a sense of occasion that newer resorts rarely manage, and it now sits within the Pickalbatros collection, one of Egypt’s most experienced resort operators.
The location is the story here. Step out of the lobby one way and you are on the marina promenade, with its cafes, shops and moored yachts; head the other way and a sandy beach leads to a jetty over the house reef, where turtles graze and the visibility regularly reaches 25 metres. Marsa Alam International Airport is around ten minutes by road, so you can realistically be on a sun lounger within an hour of landing.
We sell the resort on an All Inclusive basis, covering buffet dining in the Olive restaurant, daytime snacks, local beers, wines and spirits across the bars, and one a la carte dinner per stay.
Our honest take: this is a graceful, unhurried resort rather than a party hotel. Evenings are about a good dinner, a cocktail on the terrace and a walk along the marina, and Port Ghalib itself stays mellow after dark. If that sounds like your speed, in our view the combination of short transfer, house reef and waterfront setting is the best in Marsa Alam.
Call our Egypt specialists free on 0800 041 8400 or request your tailored quote online. Every holiday is ABTA and ATOL protected.
Accommodation at The Palace starts bigger than most five star rivals, with entry level rooms of around 35 square metres and categories running all the way up to a 500 square metre beachfront villa. Most rooms have a furnished balcony or terrace, and every category comes with air conditioning, a kettle for tea and coffee, a minibar, a safe, a hairdryer and free Wi-Fi, with 24 hour room service on hand.
The core of the resort and generous by any standard, with a seating corner and a furnished balcony or terrace. The view ladder runs from garden and pool up through lagoon and marina to full sea view, and the outlooks genuinely differ.
Two full Deluxe rooms with a connecting door, giving two bathrooms and proper space to spread out. A sensible choice for families or two couples travelling together.
Double the space of a Deluxe, with a separate seating area and a sea facing aspect. The one we recommend most often for special occasions.
A vast suite overlooking the lagoon pool, with separate living and sleeping space and room to entertain.
The Emir’s sea facing sibling, looking straight over the beach and reef towards open water. The resort’s most coveted suite.
A residence more than a room, set just back from the shore. Availability is limited, so ask early if you are tempted.
All Inclusive at Pickalbatros The Palace Port Ghalib is genuinely comprehensive. It covers buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner in the Olive restaurant, a late risers’ breakfast if the morning drifts, snacks through the day at the pool and beach, and local beers, wines, spirits, cocktails and soft drinks served across the bars from morning until around 11pm. A welcome drink greets you on arrival, and Wi-Fi and the in room safe are included throughout. Fresh juices, speciality coffees and imported premium brands sit outside the package, as at almost every Egyptian resort.
On top of the buffet, one a la carte dinner per stay is included, and you book it in resort a day or two ahead. Further a la carte evenings can be added for a supplement, and on a longer stay we think they are worth it.
The main restaurant, an Arabian styled hall with terrace seating, live cooking stations and themed evenings that change the spread through the week, from Egyptian nights to international menus.
Proper Italian cooking, from fresh pasta to pizzas and indulgent desserts. The most popular pick for the included a la carte evening, so reserve it early.
An intimate venue by the water with an Italian leaning menu and a quieter, more romantic feel than the buffet hall.
Pickalbatros also runs the neighbouring Sands and Oasis resorts in Port Ghalib, and further a la carte venues, including Mediterranean and oriental tables, operate across the wider complex. Ask us for the current dine around arrangements when you book.
Five bars spread the evening out across the resort, and local brand drinks are included on All Inclusive at all of them.
Swimming centres on an expansive lagoon style pool that winds through the heart of the resort, framed by palm studded lawns, sun terraces and a generous spread of loungers and parasols. The layout stretches the sunbathing space out rather than packing it around one rectangle, so even in high season it rarely feels crowded in our experience.
Pool heating runs in the cooler months, typically November to April, so a winter escape never means a cold plunge, and the Pool Bar keeps drinks and snacks within reach so you barely need to move all day. Quieter corners of the gardens sit away from the daytime activity for those who prefer a book to a game of boccia, and the beach loungers a few steps further on give you a second front row for doing nothing at all.
Marsa Alam is one of Egypt’s sunniest corners, with winter daytimes typically in the low to mid twenties and a long, dry summer, so the pool season here genuinely runs all year. If you are travelling between November and April, pack for warm days and cooler evenings, and let the heated water do the rest.
A private sandy beach runs along the front of the resort, with loungers and parasols set out under the palms and two very different ways into the water. To one side there is a gentle sandy entry where the seabed shelves slowly, ideal for a relaxed swim; to the other the coral begins, and a jetty with wide, easy steps drops you straight over the house reef.
The reef is the real thing, not a token strip of rock. Visibility of around 25 metres is common, the reef slopes away to roughly 30 metres for divers, and turtles are regular visitors among dense clouds of reef fish. You can snorkel straight from the beach or the jetty steps whenever conditions allow, which on this sheltered stretch of coast is most days.
Divers are particularly well served. The Dive Club centre is based right by the house reef, with boats mooring directly on the jetty, so there is no minibus ride before a day underwater. Courses, guided reef dives and trips to the celebrated southern sites are all arranged locally and payable in resort, as are watersports through the marina operators.
A few pointers from us: wear reef shoes on the coral side, enter the water over the reef only at the jetty steps, and never stand on the coral, which is protected along the whole Marsa Alam coast. Early morning tends to be the calmest window, and the light on the reef before ten is worth setting an alarm for.
The spa is a calm retreat of treatment rooms arranged around a Turkish hammam, sauna and steam room, with a menu running from deep tissue and aromatherapy massages to facials, scrubs and wraps that draw on Asian and Arabic traditions. A couples suite makes it easy to book a shared ritual, and a beauty salon handles the finishing touches before a special dinner. Treatments are payable locally, and hammam rituals are the signature here in our view, a proper warm up after a day in the sea breeze.
Keeping active is just as easy. A well equipped gym is free to use, and the sports list runs to tennis and padel courts, table tennis, billiards and light hearted daytime games from volleyball to darts. Evenings bring a gentle programme of live music and shows rather than anything raucous, and the marina promenade is always there when you fancy a change of scene after dinner.
If you have never tried a Turkish hammam, this is a good place to start: a warm marble room, clouds of steam and a thorough scrub that leaves your skin feeling brand new. We would book it midway through the holiday, once you have a little sun in your shoulders and a few reef swims behind you.
Port Ghalib is a purpose built marina town rather than a strip of isolated hotels, and that changes the whole feel of a holiday here. From the resort you can wander the waterfront promenade past moored yachts, browse the souk style shops, and settle into a cafe with a view of the boats, all without arranging a taxi. It is flat, compact and easy to get around after dark.
Marsa Alam International Airport is about ten minutes by road, one of the shortest hotel transfers anywhere on the Red Sea. Transfers with meet and greet are included in our quotes, so you are welcomed in arrivals and delivered to reception with a minimum of fuss.
| Marsa Alam International Airport | About 10 minutes by road |
|---|---|
| Port Ghalib marina promenade | A short, flat stroll along the waterfront |
| Abu Dabbab Bay | Around 40 minutes by road |
| El Quseir old town | About an hour north by road |
| Marsa Alam town | Around an hour south by road |
| Elphinstone Reef | Boat trips run from the marina |
A week here pairs beautifully with the Nile. Many of our customers combine Port Ghalib with a cruise between Luxor and Aswan aboard our own ships, the MS Royal Princess and the Classic Blue Shadow IV, seeing the temples first and finishing on the reef. Ask us to build the two into one seamless itinerary.
The questions our Egypt specialists are asked most often about Pickalbatros The Palace Port Ghalib, answered straight.
Yes, we sell The Palace on an All Inclusive basis. This covers buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner in the Olive restaurant, daytime snacks, and local beers, wines, spirits and soft drinks in the bars, plus one a la carte dinner per stay, which you pre book in resort. Fresh juices, speciality coffees and imported premium brands are payable locally, and we confirm the exact dining package with your quote.
The resort is around 4 to 5 kilometres from Marsa Alam International Airport, which works out at about ten minutes by road. Transfers with meet and greet are included in every Classic Holidays quote, so the journey from plane to pool is genuinely short.
It is among the best you will find directly at a Red Sea resort. The house reef sits right off the beach, reached by a jetty with easy steps into the water, and visibility of around 25 metres is common. Turtles are frequent visitors, and the reef slopes to roughly 30 metres for divers.
For most couples we recommend stepping the Deluxe Room up to a marina or sea view, as every Deluxe shares the same generous 35 square metre layout and only the outlook changes. For a special occasion, the 70 square metre Superior Suite with Sea View adds a separate seating area and a lovely aspect over the water.
No, the resort welcomes all ages, though its style is calm and traditional rather than lively. Interconnecting rooms of around 70 square metres suit families wanting extra space, while the marina setting, house reef and unhurried pace keep it a firm favourite with couples.
Yes. The resort sits directly on the waterfront, and the marina promenade with its cafes, shops and restaurants is a short, flat stroll away. It is one of the few places on this coast where you can head out for an evening wander without booking a taxi.
Pool heating operates in the cooler months, typically November to April, so swimming stays comfortable through the winter. The Red Sea itself rarely dips below the low twenties, and many guests swim off the beach all year round.
Yes. The resort was built as the InterContinental The Palace Port Ghalib, the flagship of the Port Ghalib development, and later traded as The Palace Port Ghalib before joining the Pickalbatros collection. The grand Arabian architecture, house reef and marina front position remain unchanged.
Boat trips from the marina reach Abu Dabbab, famous for green turtles and the occasional dugong, Elphinstone Reef and the Dolphin House at Samadai Reef. On land you can visit the old coral stone town of El Quseir about an hour north, and many customers pair the resort with a Nile cruise between Luxor and Aswan on our own ships.
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).
Your Financial Protection: Book with Confidence. Classic Holidays is a Member of ABTA. ABTA and ABTA Members help holidaymakers to get the most from their travel and assist when things don’t go according to plan. We are obliged to maintain a high standard of service to you by ABTA’s Code of Conduct.
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