town pyramids

The area around the Pyramids is packed with tourists, sellers, and plenty of dust and noise. Horse carts and camels are around, and that means there can be smells in the backstreets. Friendly stray dogs wander about too. We didn’t find it a problem, and couldn’t smell anything from our room, terrace, or the restaurant. Still, it’s a busy, hot, chaotic tourist area with high prices. Our private terrace gave us a calm place to retreat while enjoying the view. That view is the main reason I’d recommend this hotel. We could see all three pyramids and the Sphinx directly from the terrace, especially beautiful at sunset. It felt intimate and romantic, almost like we had them to ourselves despite the crowds. The restaurant has a similar view, though without the privacy. The ticket office is directly across from the hotel, which made it easy to get tickets early and saved us one walk on an already tiring day. We chose a room with a private terrace. It was spacious and clean, with a large comfortable bed, a good hot shower, and tasteful decor. The terrace gets hot during the day, but there’s a big umbrella. Staff were friendly and attentive from check-in to check-out. Rooftop renovations were underway, and they clearly explained what to expect and came to help right away when the work affected our terrace. The food and drinks were average, and there are better places to eat in Egypt. I wouldn’t choose this hotel for dining. They don’t serve alcohol, which is also hard to find around here. The terrace room was peaceful and a special place to come back to.

The street by the Gizah pyramids is crowded, loud, dirty, and full of pushy sellers. Go elsewhere and things are much better. The hotel itself is noisy too. You hear the street, and the cheap, poorly fitted plywood doors let in drafts and bang around. First-floor rooms have no proper windows, just a tiny barred opening that doesn’t open. Avoid room 102, smoke was coming in from somewhere around the clock. The rooms are small and basic. Beds are very hard but large, and there’s nowhere to hang anything. The building seems to be falling apart because of how it was originally constructed. Showering floods the bathroom, there are holes in the wall joints, uneven tiles, sagging shelves, and sketchy power outlets. If you want your room cleaned, you have to ask reception. Food was another disappointment. Breakfast is mediocre at best. Half the evening menu isn’t available, and the food comes from somewhere else, so it arrives lukewarm and takes ages. Service is slow, even for canned drinks. The price is reasonable, the sheets were clean, the shower had plenty of hot water, and the AC and kettle worked. Free WiFi is available in the rooms but not on the terrace. Staff were trying, and the women speak English. It’s a little quieter than other places since it isn’t right on the main road. The location is the big draw: the hotel is directly opposite the ticket office for the Gizeh pyramids. Both roof terraces have a fantastic view of the pyramids and Sphinx. Bring good earplugs and eat somewhere else, except maybe the Falafel stand on that street. Vendors outside sell a box of water for 150 EGP, compared with 30 EGP for one bottle at the hotel. Reception quotes very high prices, so check prices in Facebook groups or elsewhere and negotiate. A one-way shuttle to Alexandria cost us 100USD, though reception first asked for 800USD. The same goes for their guided tours.

We found the parking convenient and safe, and the rooms were clean. The restaurant has fair prices, and the staff are polite. Best of all, the hotel is very close to the pyramids and gives us a direct view of both them and the Sphinx. The ticket counters and entrance are right across from the hotel. That made getting in really easy. We highly recommend it.

The only consistently good parts of our stay were the serving staff and housekeeping. They were polite, and the rooms were kept clean. Everything else caused stress, bad sleep, and disruption to our family holiday. I wouldn’t return or recommend this hotel to families. At check-in, we were told our teenage boys would be two floors below us. We’d paid for a deluxe room, but were told our room was an “upgrade.” We were also told we’d have to move again after three days. It was late and we were exhausted from travelling, so we reluctantly accepted. In the room, my younger teen had to sleep on a small sofa bed, while the boys had a room with two double beds. The supposed upgrade was next to the kitchen, where banging, scraping, and clattering went on every night from 5pm to midnight. Things fell off shelves, and the ceiling light swung from the vibration. The TV, kettle, and every socket for charging devices were broken. We complained each day for three days, with no fix. I finally lost patience after so little sleep, made worse by wild dogs barking all night. Only then did they move us to another “upgraded” room. My teen was again on a sofa bed, which was somehow more comfortable than the rock-hard main bed. Near the end of our stay, I went to the market for photography work, which is part of my job. My teen stayed in the locked room because Egypt’s markets can be overwhelming. Half an hour away, I got a panicked call: a staff member was trying to make her check out because of a “computer error.” She was scared and confused, and had to call her older brother to handle reception. The issue was sorted by the time I rushed back, but nobody apologized or seemed concerned about how badly it had upset my child. I also got no compensation for the disruption to my work. The food was mediocre, and breakfast was awful. Most things were stored in a hot room, so the juice and fruit were warm. The buffet was more like lunch, with mince, mashed potatoes, side salads, and very dry desserts. We mostly survived on strawberries because so little was edible.