Reply To: Egypt: Cairo, Luxor, Nile cruise, Aswan and Dahab

[PeteM]

Taxis
Careem (in most cities) and Uber (in Cairo) are insanely cheap. A trip from the airport in Cairo to the historic centre is less than £5 in a “premium” car, most of our rides were around £1.5.

BA Club Europe (sic) on the way there
We discussed prices and redemptions in this thread (https://www.headforpoints.com/forums/topic/cairo/) and all I can say is that row 1 in CE was perfectly reasonable for the 4:30hrs. The crew were attentive and the flight was over in no time (and on time!). It was a shame the first BA check-in agent messed up the document check for one of us, so two trips to the counter were needed at T5 and 30mins of lounge time were wasted 😊

Cairo airport T2 international arrivals
We sorted e-visas for $25pp before setting off and breezed through immigration. Our “priority” bags were naturally among the last to come out, which was just as well as our driver was running late. The drive to the St Regis around 11pm was about 40mins. Guides can organise drivers to pick you up before immigration, sort your visa on arrival, and then wait for bags with you, if you need/want that.

St Regis Cairo
If you want to see some pictures the TA review is here: https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g294201-d12527818-r932829323-The_St_Regis_Cairo-Cairo_Cairo_Governorate.html

But I thought I’d share it here too, sorry for the change in tone:

We booked a 3 bedroom apartment with city views for five nights over Christmas for just over $1,200pn.

The hotel got in touch before our arrival to confirm key details and ask for any special requests, which was a positive start. On arrival we were upgraded to an apartment with side Nile views and a huge terrace overlooking the Nile on the top floor of the hotel, which was lovely. My Bonvoy status was recognised and we were welcomed with fruit and sweets, which were replenished during our stay.

The apartment hard product was broadly good – it was very, very large! Aside from the three bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms it had a study, guest WC, kitchen, huge lounge and huge balcony. The master bedroom was truly oversized, with separate walk-in closets and a bathtub with Nile views.

The HVAC system was quite loud and we mostly kept it off, as it wasn’t needed during winter. There were limited power outlets and no USB sockets, apart from, bizarrely, the vanity mirror in the master bedroom. The blackout curtains didn’t quite cover the whole huge bedroom windows.

The quality of the towels was abysmal, with towels and floor mats frayed and with holes in them – how the housekeeping staff thought it was acceptable to put those out I have no idea. On two days we left the room around 10am, returned at 5pm, and it was still being cleaned – not really what you want after a busy day touring. Whoever painted the bathrooms most recently also wasn’t a master of their craft, as virtually every surface was covered in small paint marks and splashes.

My bathroom was left without toilet tissue one day and there was none spare in the whole flat, so I had to call for more to be brought up – ten rolls then turned up. We similarly asked for more water and a box was dumped in the hallway, alongside bathrobes, because who’d have thought four people may need four bathrobes… The hallway ended up resembling a Costco haul for most of our stay, as apparently it would have been too much trouble for the staff to put the items away.

The kitchen had all sorts of pots and pans, but barely four glasses and mugs for four people staying… And no corkscrew, although one was delivered after asking for it.

WiFi internet speeds were decent. Most stationery had been removed from the apartment for some reason. Regular rooms in the hotel (which one of our party had on her return) came much better equipped, so it seemed like no one had bothered to place them in one of their most expensive rooms…

The spa was excellent and the attendants could not have been more helpful or welcoming. The indoor pool was also lovely. We did not use the gym.

Breakfast was extensive and the offering very good. Apart from a couple of staffed stations there was a made-to-order menu with various egg options, which would arrive fairly quickly. Staff were quick to clear plates away, but would never deliver fresh cutlery, so we would have to steal it from nearby tables, which really wasn’t ideal. The breakfast room was also freezing and nothing was done to change it despite mentioning it. Opening hours of 6am-12noon were handy.

On checkout I had to have an argument with the duty manager as we were certainly not going to pay for breakfasts for the fifth person in our party who did not travel with us in the end (about which they were told months earlier).

The public areas of the hotel were opulent, with an Egyptian flair and the Christmas decorations were impressive.

Overall, for the, especially by Egyptian standards, phenomenally high price charged for the apartment it did not meet expectations, particularly on the service side of things.

Cairo
We visited:

– the Egyptian Museum (amazing, a bit chaotic);
– Giza pyramids (brilliant – slightly regret not going inside even though there’s nothing there) and also rode camels for amazing photos!);
– the Sphinx (as I imagined it);
– Sakkara step pyramid (interesting and a bit different);
– Coptic Cairo (Hanging Church and St Sturgis Church) – well worth visiting if you have time;
– Saladin Citadel and Muhammed Ali’s Mosque – interesting counter pole to the above;
– Muhammed Ali’s Palace (lovely gardens);
– the Nilometer (interesting use!); and
– the Egyptian Museum of Civilisation (very different to the Egyptian Museum).

The Grand Egyptian Museum isn’t yet open and President El-Sisi is apparently awaiting things to calm down on the international arena so he can have as many foreign dignitaries present for the grand opening.

We also didn’t do the Sound and Light shows at any of the locations – reviews vary and I would perhaps consider some of them next time.

We also spent some time with local friends going to local cafes and restaurants in both the historic centre and New Cairo. Old Cairo is pretty mad, dusty and decayed – with efforts being made to modernise it. New Cairo is pretty much your standard western city, with IKEA, Chilli’s and a new monorail soon to open (with rolling stock from Derby). It’s a city of some 29million people and 1/3 of Egypt’s population!

I will not link to the guide we hired – he was not great and the substitute he provided for the second half of the tour was also not great. Which was a shame because he was *expensive*.

I also cannot recommend any of the restaurants we ate at – despite some of them being London-priced they were entirely forgettable. Koshary is worth trying, though.