Hi I took my passport along and opened up 2 bank accounts very easily. 1 in LE and 1 in Sterling. I have a residents visa in my passport so dont know if that made it easier. There are so many banks so you should shop around. HSBC tend to ask for a certain amount to be kept in the account. Sharm now has a Barclays.
I agree ref Lawyers and get one that has been recommended. My lawyer is Zeiad who has contributed to this forum and I cannot recommend him highly enough but there are probably many that can recommend someone in Hurghada.
Rental is a personal thing. I will not be using the hotel management company as the returns are so low and they tend to have various stipulations such as purchasing their expensive furnitute packs and you only getting to use your apartment for X amount of weeks per year. I will be looking at privately renting if I go down this route via advertising on a website and employing a local firm to organise the change overs.
You are not the only one that is ' scared to death ' and it will be a learning process for many of us. We will learn by our mistakes no doubt!!
Good luck with your investment

Alison