Do you need an all-inclusive wristband at Egyptian resorts, and what to do if hotel security won't recognize you as a guest?

If the hotel refuses to acknowledge you as a guest, go to reception and show your documents. If they still refuse, call the tourist police — they'll pull camera footage, identify the staff at fault, and resolve the dispute in your favor.

Security at Egyptian hotels usually recognizes guests by their card/room number, not just the wristband — unlike hotels in some other countries where you won't be let in without one at all.

Don't expect to freely wander outside the resort's tourist zone — police and army checkpoints control the area to keep tourists from entering restricted zones. Getting past them is the exception, not the rule.