Bella Luna Hotel

For $16, this is the best hotel in town. My room had a city view and balcony, and I liked it. The water was good, and it’s next to plenty of nightlife, with Kahn El Kalili a 30 minute walk away. The entrance is the tricky part. You have to walk through an unmarked passage from the street, and the hotel isn’t directly on the street. There’s a medium-sized sign across from it, but you could miss it if you aren’t looking. I’m an experienced traveller, so the elevator didn’t horrify me. I also walked the approximately 1 1/4 mile from Ramses train station, though the traffic is crazy.

It’s a friendly place close to the city center, and breakfast is included. Simple, but enough. My room was tidy, though the toilet had no roof. The lift on the fifth floor felt a bit scary because some floors were missing a few safety doors. The hotel arranged a taxi driver who took us to the pyramids, and I got conned into the most expensive horse carriage deal. At night it can also get noisy, with loud music and late parties from the busy market behind.

I’ve stayed here three times on separate days during winter, and the room makes a big difference. The first night, room 304 was old, not very clean, and the shower wasn’t hot at all. The next day I moved to a different room, which was cleaner and had a working hot shower. I wouldn’t recommend room 304.

It’s run down, and don’t count on getting hot water in the shower. It’s cheap and simple enough for backpackers, but I wouldn’t book tours through them. My tour left out the Bent and Red Pyramids, even though they were part of the sales pitch. I wouldn’t recommend the place.