Cairo Hotel Tips by CairoCol

ROOMS:
The hotel has two “wings” or towers each accommodating 600 rooms. I feel that even though these rooms are newly refurbished and are now classified as Superior rooms, they fall short of the spacious layout of similar hotels in the 5* category. The bathroom has a shower/bath and is very small. Single vanity basins are a disappointment.
The soft furnishings are pleasant with “typical” furnishings; desk with high speed internet access (high speed is relative in Cairo), television with various channels, air-conditioning and plush duvets with crisp white linen.

Unique Qualities: LOCATION
To be honest my first impression was that this hotel would be very old style Egyptian and very noisy. The first proved to be correct, but the latter proved to be very surprising.

The hotel is located on the edge of the Nile river on the East bank of Zamalek Island. There is a very busy thoroughfare directly in front of the hotel, but due to a combination of building layout together with the huge amount of trees, this is kept to a minimum. (sitting in the garden you can barely hear the street noise!)
The noise in the rooms is also kept to a minimum due to the triple glazing on the windows. (I saw a room facing onto the busy bridge road and couldn’t hear anything!)

In terms of ease of access, this hotel does rate very highly. It is very easy to access all the main routes to the tourist sights. The only disadvantage is that the access is via very congested roads and can be rather frustrating during busy periods (most of the day in Cairo city centre)

PUBLIC AREAS
* Restaurants
Hotel public areas are very impressive in their offerings. The hotel boasts centre-court or main building which still houses authentic and original artifacts dating back to the early 1850’s. There are an impressive 16 restaurants ranging from an Irish Pub to a Steakhouse to an Italian Trattoria to a bakery and obviously a local Egyptian “tent”. Each are beautifully appointed and the menus are comprehensive and authentic. The fact that they are frequented by the local Caireans can only bode well…

* Conference facilities
Their substantial conference venues are also located here and offer a full range of capacities. It does not have state of the art AV and this would have to be hired-in. The interiors are all authentic but can be very garish (think Palace Royal Chamber gold and Pilanesberg carpets!) Certainly not a blank canvas….

* Gardens & Pool
The garden areas are immaculately manicured. They are peaceful and
green and form a welcome colourful refuge from the dull Cairo landscape.

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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$180 and up  » Currency Converter
Phone: 20-2-7358888
Address: Saraya El Gezira Street Zamalek Cairo