Basma Hotel Aswan

It’s an older hotel, but the views over both the city and river are beautiful, and the location is ideal. We could walk to the Nubian Museum and the ferries to Elephantine island. Miriam at the front desk and the rest of the friendly staff welcomed us with smiles and great recommendations. We had à la carte dinner, and the chicken in the shish tawouk and fatteh was the juiciest and most tender. The daily breakfast buffet was epic, with fresh food, an omelette station, and a wide selection of pastries, yogurts, and accompaniments. WiFi could be stronger in the rooms, though it worked fine in the lobby.

We stayed on 12/27 and 12/28, with two rooms booked at the same price and level, but they put us in separate buildings and rooms. One was in the Executive Club, while the other was in the main building, on a floor under renovation in a half-renovated room. When we asked the front desk why, the staff said, “it’s okay, you will have room as nice as your friend’s.” The room we got, as shown in the pictures, had a dirty corner bathtub and toilets, a patio door that didn’t work and had no safety lock, and no TV stand or proper bedside tables. It looked like a motel room, not a four-star standard. I believe the hotel does have fully renovated rooms, but management was negligent in our case. My travel agency tried to resolve it, but the hotel gave us no promising answers. No traveler deserves this kind of service. The hotel has a good location and so much potential, and with luxurious hotels nearby, I believe this isn’t the spirit you want for Aswan tourism. This was a very poor experience with the hotel’s service and quality, and I’m leaving this candid feedback to point out where it could improve.

The staff are super friendly and helpful, and the rooms are large. We paid extra for a big terrace, and it was worth having. It’s a modern, western-style hotel, set in peaceful surroundings about a five-minute walk from the city.

The hotel has good facilities, and I liked the reasonably priced shops. Still, getting around with luggage was a hassle because of all the stairs. We had to carry our bags up about 15 steps to reception before a bellboy appeared. Later he took them down four steps to our first-floor room, left them outside, then seemed to expect a tip for only doing half the job. One of our two rooms also wouldn’t lock from the outside. Staff fixed it a couple of times, but the problem kept coming back. The food was good, though restaurant service was slow, and I saw some staff being rude to other guests at breakfast. Check-in took 20 minutes despite four people being at the desk, since only two were checking guests in and the others were helping them. Service overall could have been much better. The hotel has potential, but staffing, training, or processes seem to be getting in the way. I might stay again, though I should probably look at other places first.