A HOLIDAY in Egypt has lost some of its allure of late. Shark attacks on elderly Germans and a political revolt can do that to a place.

And I must admit I wasn’t quite sure what to expect as we touched down at Sharm El Sheikh.

A planned family holiday to the resort in January was cancelled just weeks after the shark incident and days into the revolution which has filled the news agenda ever since.

But the anti-government cries still echoing in Cairo cannot be heard in this heart of tourist Egypt, where, it seems, it is very much business as usual.

And that business, when in one of the sprawling, lavish hotel complexes, is smiling hospitality, relaxation and indulgence.

This ethos was on full display at both The Ghazala Garden Hotel, the first hotel we stayed in, and five-star Makadi Palace in Hurghada, the second.

Nothing was a problem. Bags were carried, doors were opened, drinks were refilled. Happily. Wordlessly.

Each return to my room was rewarded with a small, sweet treat and rose petals scattered over a cleverly crafted towel sculpture. One fellow traveller was delighted to find an absorbent crocodile on her bed. Completely pointless, but an amusing and pleasing embellishment nonetheless.

A walk around the Ghazala Gardens complex felt a bit like an adventure. With every turn a new swimming pool, or bar, or, aptly enough, garden appeared. We even discovered a little ‘beach’ nestled amidst some trees.

Such is the design of the hotel, you never actually have to leave it. If you are so inclined, and being waited on hand and foot is your idea of a true holiday, this is the place for you.

The Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh itself was little more than a fishing town before 1970.

But in the past 40 years it has developed into a bustling holiday destination, mainly popular, I was told, with Russian holidaymakers.

The real history of this beautiful, not-rained-in-12 years Egyptian Milton Keynes nestled next to turquoise waters, was only glimpsed when we left the resort and headed into the Sinai Desert.

If you get the chance, take the day Jeep Safari into the Sinai to witness how the Bedouin people live from day to day.

I wasn’t sure that gawking at people trying to live their lives in an arid desert under a 40C sun sat too comfortably with me. But according to our tour guide the main business for the Bedouins was once drugs and guns.

Now, it is tourism. They make their money from showing people like us how they live, and selling small souvenirs. So who am I to judge?

The second stop for the group was the resort of Hurghada where we stayed in the grandly named Makadi Palace.

The hotel was much bigger than the Ghazala Gardens and fully booked when we stayed. But in true testament to the efforts of the architects, designers and staff at the hotel, it maintained a sense of calm and quiet .

Again, the wordless, smiling hospitality. Again the towel sculptures. But all managed without being cloying or annoying.

A snorkelling trip proved a surprising delight for me, a relatively weak swimmer.

Until that is a, frankly hilarious, tour guide who, minutes after coaxing a very nervous me into the water, decided to point out a ‘shark’. It was a plastic replica. Like I said. Hilarious.

After I had mastered keeping afloat, and not inhaling sea water and drowning, mainly thanks to my snorkelling expert companions, I was fascinated by a world of parrot fish, jellyfish, thankfully stingless, and even a shipwreck resting underwater.

Lunch at a bizarre but beautiful desert island proclaiming itself ‘Paradise’ followed, with more happy eating, swimming and lounging around.

Even a proffered game of volleyball proved too much for the group. “We’ll just watch thanks”. We were obviously all getting a bit too used to being waited on and the sedate lifestyle which we had made own over the past few days.

I have never been on a holiday which is so focused on making sure everything is either there already for you, brought to you, or found instantly for you.

I didn’t in all honesty think that I would enjoy it, preferring instead a trip where I find things myself, and can return with a small notion I now have my own knowledge of a place.

But as we took the boat back from ‘Paradise’ and watched as the sun set in our trail I realised I have probably never been so relaxed and content.

Full of good food and with great company, it hit me that I didn't want to leave. The sign, I always think, of an excellent holiday.

Other essential items – MOSQUITO REPELLANT, MOSQUITO REPELLANT, MOSQUITO REPELLANT.