Cairo Lodge Hostel

I booked a room with a large bed, but at check-in they told me that room wasn’t available. Aside from that, the room was cleaner and quieter than I expected, and I hadn’t thought air conditioning would be included at this price. The staff were really friendly, breakfast was good, and I’d highly recommend it.

The breakfast was really poor, and getting to the room meant climbing stairs because the hostel was on the seventh or eighth floor with no elevator at all. Horrible place. I would never recommend booking it.

We spent hours on the terrace just to avoid being in the room. There were bugs, the windows wouldn’t open, and it felt like a grave. The toilet and shower were right beside each other, with a huge glass window that let you see straight through when showering. There were no curtains; we asked to have them closed, but staff couldn’t do it. We also requested hand towels and got only shower towels. Our room was near the entrance, and the noise kept us from sleeping. Apart from the location, I can’t see any advantage. I wouldn’t have stayed if I hadn’t arrived in the evening. For that level of service, they charged an extra $20. If I could rate the room and service below zero, I would. Definitely stay somewhere else.

This is no hotel at all. It’s a small apartment in a building on the fifth floor with no elevator, turned into a hotel. Around the building, a cafe called Zahret El Bustan takes over the street, and a restaurant grills meat outside, filling the area with thick smoke. It’s an extremely noisy, polluted place, like a crowded popular neighborhood, not downtown. It makes you realize how completely absent oversight is in Egypt’s finest areas. I wouldn’t recommend going to that street, let alone to what they claim is a hotel.