Casa Mare Resort: Family Kitesurf Hotel on the Lagoon, Marsa Alam

Where you sleep

Rooms and resort

Casa Mare is a large resort: 421 rooms in three-floor buildings with lifts, all-inclusive, on a private sandy beach (the hotel's own page). Tour operators list Superior and Deluxe rooms with a balcony or terrace, and two-bedroom family rooms. The rooms are spread over the grounds, so ask for one near the beach if you want the shortest walk to the kite station.

The spot

The kite spot in front of the resort

The Kiteboarding Pro Center has run the kite beach at Casa Mare since 2013. It is a private, kite-only beach directly at the resort, about 300 m from the main building and next door to Casa Blue Resort. In front lies a sandy lagoon about a kilometre long, at adult standing depth (0.8 to 1.2 m, hotel figure): the school calls it super safe for beginners, and all its water lessons are one to one.

OLA Sportreisen, which sells kite trips here, says the wind blows side-onshore from the left from the morning, settles at 15 to 20 knots by late morning and often pauses briefly around 13:00. It describes a riding zone framed by two long jetties, better for learning and freeriding than for long reaches; experienced riders can use the lagoon upwind by arrangement. The school rents about 70 kites and 40 boards and has big locker boxes and two compressors; to rent you need a VDWS level 4 to 5 licence or a €50 check lesson.

Families

For families and non-kiters

The resort is set up for families: an aqua park with slides, children's pools, a playground, a mini club and a maxi club (tour operators give ages from 3 or 4 up to 12), kids' buffets, cots and high chairs. Several pools, some heated in winter, sit near the beach, and the lagoon is shallow enough to wade into, with a long jetty leading out to the house reef for snorkelling.

The kite beach is in front of the resort, so a parent who rides is only a short walk from the family on the hotel beach or by the pool. Beyond the resort there is little within walking distance: Port Ghalib's marina, with restaurants and shops, is about 15 km north, and Abu Dabbab Bay, known for its turtles, is a short drive south.

Travel

Location and getting there

Casa Mare is on the coast road 17 km south of Marsa Alam International Airport, about 15 minutes by car, with Casa Blue Resort next door. Port Ghalib is about 15 km north and Marsa Alam town about 46 km south (MarsaAlam.com); the El Naaba kite area and the Three Corners Equinox are about 14 km south. More in our Marsa Alam kitesurf guide.

Our take

Our verdict