Monastery Guesthouse, St Katharine, Sinai and other Egypt Hotel/Accommodation Reviews

I stayed two nights at the Monastery Guesthouse by St Katherine’s Monastery. It is a nice and peaceful place. During the night loads of people come to climb Mt Sinai, but after visiting the monastery in the morning they all leave and it becomes very quiet.
The first evening I ate dinner and then went to bed to sleep for a few hours before climbing Mt Sinai. Coming down in the morning it was very convenient to have the breakfast in the restaurant while waiting for the monastery to open. After visiting the monastery I was glad I didn’t have to travel by bus some hours, but could go to my room to rest.
The price for a single room (two beds) with bathroom is 32 dollars (July 2005) and that includes breakfast and dinner.


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Theme: Pension/Guesthouse
Prices: US$20-40  » Currency Converter
Phone: 069 - 3470 353

At Mohammed Ali Camp I fond a room with bathroom that I liked. It was on the upper floor and as I opened my window I could see the sea. The room was clean and had a fan and with walls and brown wooden furniture and doors. It was a room on the corner.
Mohammed Ali has got a lot of rooms round a big courtyard, some have air-condition and some have a fan, from some you can see the sea and from others you can’t.
For my room I paid 30 LE a night.

In the courtyard of Mohammed Ali Camp there is a big “tent” with low tables and cushions where breakfast is served. I had the same breakfast every morning: toast with butter, yoghurt, fresh fruit salad (a bowl with pieces of 4 – 5 different fruits) and Nescafe.
The breakfast was not included in the price of the room but cost 13 LE. There are of course also other choices for breakfast.


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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: least expensive
Prices: less than US$20  » Currency Converter
Phone: 069 - 640 268
Directions: Masbat
Website: www.club-red.com

This is not the first hotel I went to, but Union was full. I’m glad I came here, as Crillon is a lovely place with a nice old atmosphere. The restaurant is on the second floor and here breakfast is served (you can also have lunch and dinner). There is a nice view and breeze from the sea. The reception is on the third floor and has friendly staff. Rooms are on the 3rd, 4th and 6th floor and vary in size and price. Most expensive are the rooms (high in roof) with balcony facing the sea. They were fully booked with people from Cairo on vacation. A double room with bathroom is 84 pounds and a single room (actually a double) with bath is 62 pounds.


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Theme: Hotel
Prices: less than US$20  » Currency Converter
Phone: 03 - 480 0330
Address: 5 Sharia Adib Ishaq
Directions: Just off the Cornish, Eastern Harbour

The second time I went to Egypt I went on a package tour for two weeks to Magawish Tourist Village in Hurghada. The reason I chose Magawish was that the diving centre I had been diving with the previous summer was within the resort area and I was going to dive again.

When I was in Hurghada in July 2000 Magawish was empty as the package tour companies had not jet started with summer holidays to Hurghada and it was out of season. When I arrived in December 2000 it was packed with Scandinavian people, mostly Swedes. My room was in a bungalow in the far end of the area. My room was nice and I did not mind the walk to the restaurant for breakfast. Included in the price was a big breakfast buffet (I especially enjoyed the yoghurt and fruit salad), and coupons for dinner buffet could be bought. I dined at Magawish a couple of times. One time I remember they played Swedish sweet dance band music and I don?t like that at all. I was very disappointed as I would have preferred Arabic music, being on holiday in Egypt. I never used the pool (as I was busy diving every day) and I d id not attend any of the entertainments they had, so I can?t say anything about that. The beach is nice and long.


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Theme: Hotel
Prices: US$40-80  » Currency Converter
Directions: Magawish Tourist Village is situated in the far south end of Hurghada. To go to Sigala and Ad-Dahar you can take a minibus.

It was not easy to find a single room with bathroom when I arrived in Cairo in the beginning of August. After trying a few places I went to Dahab Hotel, which had singles without bath (the ones with private bath were occupied).
Dahab Hotel is on the 7th floor and have rooms arranged around a courtyard area with tables and chairs. This is a good place to meet other travellers and exchange information. The room was small with a bed, a small table and a fan. The shared bathrooms consist of three small toilets, with the showers inside. The price for the room was 20 pounds.
There is a kitchen, which can be used if it is open. And in the morning you can (hopefully) buy breakfast. At 7.45 I asked for breakfast and they said in the reception I should wait 15 minutes for the kitchen man. After half an hour I asked again and they said I should wait another 10 minutes. If the kitchen man had not arrived by then he would not come at all – apparently he doesn’t come every day. At 8.40 he came. Breakfast with tea is 3.00 pounds and breakfast with coffee is 3.50 pounds. I had an extra coffee and was then going to pay 6 pounds. I paid with a 10-pound note. The kitchen man went to get change and came back with 3 pounds and a 5-pound note. He wanted to give me only 3 pounds back and I said it was not okay. He muttered, went away and came back with 4 pounds.
I only stayed at Dahab Hotel one night, and then I moved to Garden City House Hotel, which I liked much more. Guess Dahab had been fine if it hadn’t been my last week on my trip and that I was going to stay in Cairo for that whole week.


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Theme: Hostel
Comparison: least expensive
Prices: less than US$20  » Currency Converter
Phone: 02 - 579 9104
Address: 26 sharia Mahmoud Bassiouni
Directions: Down Town, Midan Talaat Harb
Other Contact: dahabhotel@hotmail.com

After one night at Dahab Hotel I moved to Garden City House Hotel where I had been told the evening before I could get a room with bathroom. Arriving to the hotel they said they didn’t have any single rooms with bathroom at the moment because they had Internet bookings, but I could get one after two days. But I loved my room (number 40) and did not want to change. The room was on the 4th floor, on the corner, with a big balcony with Nile view. The balcony was actually shared by three rooms but no one was staying in the other rooms during the week I stayed at the hotel. Between the Nile and me was a big road and the traffic can be very noisy, but I just ignored it and enjoyed the view when I sat on the balcony. In the room there were two beds (very hard ones), tables, a cupboard, a fan and a sink. Not having a bathroom it was convenient with a sink for washing the hands, put the lenses in the eyes and brushing the teeth. The bathroom was near and only shared with one other room.
Breakfast is served on the 3rd floor and consists of bread, jam, butter, an egg and tea or coffee.

The single room with shared bathroom is 54 pounds something (I saw on a paper it was closer to 54 then 55). When I arrived the man in the reception said 54, but the man working when I checked out charged me 55 pounds.


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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: less than US$20  » Currency Converter
Phone: 02 - 794 4969
Address: 23 Sharia Kamal ad-Din
Directions: Garden City, next to Inter Continental Semir Amis
Website: www.gardencityhouse.com

Queens Hotel is a nice hotel near the train station. I got a room on the 4th floor with a small balcony and Nile View. There was a bathroom, two beds, a fan in the roof. There was also an air-condition, but I’m not sure it worked as it looked old and I never use air-condition. And this was the only room in Egypt I stayed in with a TV. I like it as I can listen to music and watch the news (for the pictures).
Breakfast is included in the price.
I paid 40 pounds a night.


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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: least expensive
Prices: less than US$20  » Currency Converter
Phone: 097-326069
Address: Sharia Atlas
Directions: Near the trainstation

Nefertiti Hotel is located near Luxor Temple and the bus station. The hotel is nice with English speaking, and helpful, staff. Breakfast is served on the roof and from there you can see the Nile.
In the room the big bed was comfortable, there was a bathroom and a small balcony, and a fan. Even though the hotel is located in the centre it is in a quiet place on a side street. I can’t remember, but I paid 30 or 35 pounds for the single room.

There are two computers on the top floor and it cost 5 pounds to use them an hour. I did so once, but other times they were not working properly and I went to the Internet Café next doors.


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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: least expensive
Prices: less than US$20  » Currency Converter
Phone: 095-372 386
Directions: Just off Sharia al-Karnak
Website: www.nefertitihotel.com

I had been recommended Palm Tree Hotel in Siwa so I went there. There is a nice garden with palm trees where you can sit and read and enjoy the calmness. And I liked the room, which had a bathroom, two beds, a fan and a small balcony (from where I could see Shali). But I did not like the meal I had when I arrived. Tired after a long bus journey from Alexandria I decided to eat at Palm Tree even though I thought it was expensive. I ordered half a grilled chicken with rice. When the plate came there was only a small dry piece of chicken, but they went to get me more. Unfortunately the chicken was not good at all, but very dry and had obviously been reheated. The meal was 25 pounds and cats were all the time trying to get up on the table.
I can’t remember what I paid for the room (maybe 35 pounds) but there are rooms both with and without bathroom. There’s no single room with bathroom, so you have to pay for a double.
There are several things to choose from for breakfast. Nescafe, yoghurt and a big banana pancake are 10 pounds.
You can rent bicycles at Palm Tree. I paid 10 pounds for some hours.

Palm Tree organises tours in the surroundings, but if you want to go on a desert tour and sleep in the desert I recommend you to take another one. For the one Palm Tree organises no permit is needed and it is not going too far from Siwa and not to so many places.


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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: least expensive
Prices: less than US$20  » Currency Converter
Phone: 046 - 460 2204
Address: Sharia Torrar
Directions: Just southeast of the Central Market Square