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Egypt Hotel Report: Sol Y Mar Ivory Suites in Hurghada

We get asked sometimes where we stay when we travel – out of curiosity, surely, and also to give recommendations. That's why we decided for a comprehensive hotel report on all our accommodations this time. What do you think? Should we do more of this?

Pro: We got a good price (31 Euro on booking.com) for a large, tastefully furnished and very clean two-room apartment. Apart from the bedroom there was a living room with sofa and a dining table and large French windows – sufficient sockets in all rooms. Good shower, and a small room advertised as "fully equipped kitchenette" which consisted of a fridge, a water kettle and two sets of plates, cups and cutlery. Good buffet breakfast. The hotel is within walking distance from the airport.

Contra: What the kitchenette wasn't equipped with was such basics as a sponge or a dishcloth. The small, unheated pool that didn't get much sun in winter was of no use to us (but at this time of the year it didn't matter either that it doesn't have beach access). The TV-Satellite combination was complicated and needed someone to set it up (who didn't show up).

Booking: Sol Y Mar Ivory Suites, El Kawsar District Hurghada, res@ivory-suites.com, Tel.: 065 3462 610

Conclusion: A very comfortable apartment close to the airport and just a bit away from the beach area.

See also: Navigating Hurghada

Egypt Hotel Report: Travelers' House Hostel in Cairo

Good: The hostel is centrally located near Talat Harb, yet far enough away from Midan Tahrir, where demonstrations might take place, especially on Fridays. The room, as well as the communal showers, were very clean. Staff was very friendly. Oh, and El Abd, our favourite bakery in Cairo, has a shop right opposite!

Not so good: Our room was very small. There were no hooks, no table and no chair. Breakfast was included, but also quite poor and at least on Friday started not until 8:30 (inconvenient if you want to go sightseeing).

Conclusion: The Travelers' House Hostel is not a bad option in central Cairo, but we would go back to the Luna Hostel next time.

Booking: Travelers House Hostel, 43 Sherif Street (near 26^th July St), 4F, Tel. 02-23964362, travelershousehotel@yahoo.com (Double around 140 LE)

Egypt Hotel Report: Marriott Hotel in Cairo

What we liked: The two towers of the Marriott Hotel rise to both sides of the historical Gezira Palace. This was built in 1869 to accommodate the illustrious foreign guests invited for the opening of the Suez Canal, like empress Eugenie of France and Emperor Franz Josef I of Austria. Today the renovated old palace houses the lobby, several restaurants and the Omar Khayyam Casino. Very historical!

The rooms in the new towers are quite big, and ours in the 10^th floor had a fantastic view on the Nile. Of course they provide all the services and standards you would expect from a 5 Star hotel. Location is also quite good, you are in leafy and chic Zamalek, but still close enough to all the sights in Downtown.

What we didn't like: The hotel has more than 1000 rooms and suites and a lot of the guests are business travellers. Compared to other Luxury hotels we felt that the service, e.g. at Check-in, was quite rushed and standardized. The TV channel list provided did not match the actual channels available on the TV.

Conclusion: Decent hotel with very good standards and great location, but not as atmospheric as staying in an old palace could be.

Booking: www.marriott.com, Doubles from 170 Euro. Our stay was sponsored by Marriott.

Egypt Hotel Report: Ramsis Hotel in Alexandria

Plus: Very pleasant room with bathroom and balcony in a Coptic hotel: Clean, tiled, regular hotel furnitures such as TV, fridge, mirror, hooks and tables – some of this apparently from the original early 20^th century set. There were several sockets albeit in inconvenient locations.

Minus: The beds were somewhat uncomfortable, and one morning, the hot water didn't last long. At 180 LE not the cheapest of a number of similar hotels along the Corniche.

Conclusion: The Ramsis Hotel is very close to the library, and otherwise quite typical for the budget hotels in central Alexandria.

Booking: 12 Morsy Gamil Aziz Street - Azarita, 5F, Alexandria, Tel. 03 486 96 20 admin@ramsishotel.net

 

Egypt Hotel Report: Palace Hotel in Medinet Fayoum

What we liked: There was no carpet on the floor, in a rather large room with a balcony onto the main street. Unexpectedly, all of the fitted lights in the room were working (the one above the bathroom mirror was not fitted in the first place, the cables instead being used to hang the mirror). The bathroom was tiled in a way that the water actually drained off. And, there were a total of 5 electric sockets, albeit in awkward locations (two of them right opposite the shower, for instance). The manager spoke some German.

Not so pleasant: There was an acute shortage of hooks and hangers. The breakfast service was rather slow and in a cold and unkempt room, but we got a really good Turkish coffee instead of Nescafe when we asked for it.

Conclusion: Given the lack of hotels in Fayoum, the Palace Hotel is not a bad choice, and very central.

 

Address: Palace Hotel, Gumhuriya St, Fayoum

Egypt Hotel Report: Beach Hotel in Minya

What we liked: Given our obsession with sockets and light, it was a plus that 4 out of 6 light bulbs were working and there was a sufficient number of sockets for our electronic equipment. As we stayed three nights we also appreciated the small table with chair and the several hooks and hangers in the closet. The shower was hot and had a good water pressure. Staff was very friendly and caring. For a hotel in this price range, the furniture was quite tasteful.

Not so good: We had a room out on the street, which was quite noisy at times, but calmed down around 11 pm. Once there was a longer power cut in the morning (not the hotel's fault). They do not offer breakfast, but there are a lot of options in town.

Booking: Beach Hotel/ Funduk Sharta, Gumhurriya St / Damran St, Tel.  086-2362307 ). The hotel is on the main road near the Corniche in the same block as the Akhenaton Hotel (which most people will know). We paid 90 LE for the Double en suite.

See also: http://westwards.typepad.com/westwards/2013/01/middle-egypt.html

Egypt Hotel Report: Villa Nile House in Luxor

Plus: The Villa Nile House on the West Bank is our favourite hotel in Luxor. Situated near the ferry pier, it is quiet, has very tasteful rooms with TV and hot water and several terraces and seating arrangements in the garden. There is also a small pool to cool down in summer (too small for swimming). They serve a very good sumptous breakfast and on request do great dinners as well. Mustafa, the manager, is incredibly friendly and helpful.

 

Minus: Nothing negative to say.

 

Booking: Villa Nile House, Ramla, Westbank, http://www.villa-nilehouse-louxor.com. Rooms from 23 Euro (Low Season).

Egypt Hotel Report: Nouba Nile Hotel in Aswan

Good things: The Nouba Nile Hotel is close to the railway station. Although the room was quite small, four out of five lamps were working. And there were another 3 cables sticking out of the wall – a great potential for light! The room had even more electric sockets than we needed and was reasonably clean (fresh sheets and towels). The elevator plays Islamic music whenever it moves, which is entertaining in a certain way (elevator did not work half of our stay anyway).

What made our stay unpleasant: Unfortunately the staff at the reception were very slow and unfriendly. The room had a terrible smell and there was no chair or table. Breakfast was ok, but there were only 3 small sachets of Nescafe for the whole hotel.

Conclusion: For 180 LE, the Nouba Nile Hotel is on the lower end of only a few midrange options in Aswan  – all of which are overpriced, but it is still cleaner and more comfortable than the cheapies for around 130 LE. Ask to see a few rooms before you decide on one.

Egypt Hotel Report: Old Cataract Hotel in Aswan

What we liked (almost everything): History! History! History! The Old Cataract Hotel in Aswan is one of the most famous hotels in Egypt. Agatha Christie wrote her novel Death on the Nile right next door! The writing desk Winston Churchill used during his stay today stands in the Winston Churchill Suite, from where Francois Mitterrand loved to watch the sunset.

Today the Old Cataract Hotel belongs to the Sofitel Group and has reopened in 2012 after several years of renovation. Old and new have been ingeniously merged – you find yourself envying the turn-of-the-century guests although you do know that they didn't really enjoy the same comfort as you do today (flatscreen TV, espresso machine, towel warmer and such).

As a guest (and only as a guest) you can relax on that famous terrace overlooking the Nile, and go for a swim in the morning in the large pool that not only has bathtub temperature but also a fantastic view.

         

Minor flaws: Several times we are greeted as “Bonjour Monsieur”. There was a Bose Sound System in the room, but to fit an i-pod one has to bring a connection cable.

Conclusion: A luxury hotel really worth its name and the price. If you are planning to splash out for one night, do it at the Old Cataract. Also watch out for special deals!

Booking: Sofitel Legend Old Cataract – Abtal El Tahrir Street, Aswan. Tel: 097-2316000. www.sofitel-legend.com. Our one-night stay was sponsored by Sofitel.

Egypt Hotel Report: New Abu Simbel Hotel in Aswan

Good things: The room had almost an abundance of electric sockets and lamps – even with two bulbs missing there was enough light. The whole hotel is very colourful, and the sprinkles of pink on the bathroom fixtures make a cheerful atmosphere. Just outside there's a pleasant and popular shisha garden restaurant. We also liked that the New Abu Simbel is situated in a non-touristy green neighbourhood just south of the station. For 130 LE including breakfast it was a good value for money, especially in Aswan, where most of the cheapies tend to be really run-down.

Negative aspects: There were no towels, no toilet paper and only limited bed linens. The carpet was appallingly dirty and the whole room smelled of paint or solvent. The breakfast consisted of two cardboard-like rolls with some cheese and jam. We were not allowed into the dining room for breakfast, because there was a group of pilgrims having breakfast - and they got Egyptian foul (as far as we could see through the window)!

 

 

 

Conclusion: The best of the cheap hotels in Aswan, but without a Nile view and some drawbacks.

Contact & Booking: Aswan, Abtal el Tahrir St., Tel: 097-2306096