Hotel: Sofitel Cairo Nile El Gezirah
When in Cairo, you should wake up with a view of the Nile or the pyramids – at this luxury hotel, get a suite with both!
The Sofitel Cairo Nile El Gezirah stands tall and proud, occupying a prime riverside (yes, that river) location at the southern tip of Cairo’s Gezirah Island in trendy Zamalek.
The vast complex is a waterfront urban oasis of sorts with a slew of restaurants and leisure facilities to cater to guests staying in its 433 rooms and suites.
The hotel has a very luxurious feel and from the moment you enter the impressive Pierre-Yves Rochon designed lobby with its vast triple-height ceiling and stunning chandelier, you feel as though you will be in for a very nice stay.
Unlike many of the other hotels along the Nile, the Sofitel is actually positioned right on the water – each morning we enjoyed breakfast at the outdoor terrace of Casa Mia with the river lapping softly just below us.
The hotel works its location to its advantage – as the Nile gives life to Egypt, it also gives it to this hotel with lively waterside terraces, bars, restaurants and a gorgeous infinity pool tempting guests and locals alike away from the hustle and bustle of Cairo. We loved sunset by the river with our Sakara beers and shisha!
In terms of ease of access to Cairo for sightseeing, the hotel is only a 20 minute walk (or five minute drive) from Tahrir Square and the Egyptian Museum, and basically central enough for everywhere else. It’s hard to give estimates of time to travel around Cairo as traffic can be an absolute nightmare.
We arrived late in the evening from Amman and were pleasantly surprised to find we had been given an amazing upgrade from the Superior Room we had booked to a lovely Junior Suite. The Junior Suite was actually more akin to what would be a one bedroom suite in most hotels and is actually exactly the same footprint as the Prestige Suite a category above it (the difference being Club Millesime access).
We loved our room and it was a great place to retreat to after our long days touring Cairo. We had a magnificent view over the Nile from our 18th floor suite – from bed we could see the pyramids! We really enjoyed the space of the suite, it’s two balconies, two bathrooms, comfortable king size bed, really we couldn’t fault the room.
Unfortunately, the hotel is slightly crippled by a weakness in one of its most important areas – food and beverage service. In a location like Cairo where foreign visitors may be apprehensive about consuming food (Pharaoh’s Revenge tummy bug anyone?), a luxury hotel should be geared up to give guests the best experience possible when dining in-house.
Service in restaurants was amateur with multiple requests needed before simple things like menus were brought to our room or table, items not available on the menu (no bananas in the entire hotel for a banana split), serving stations not ready for guests at breakfast close to opening time, and staff who seemed inflexible and not empowered to do their jobs.
We pointed this out the hotel management on the last evening of our stay after a frustrating experience trying to arrange dinner at one of the restaurants at the hotel. To their credit, service recovery was incredible and we enjoyed one of the best meals of our trip at La Palmeraie the hotel’s exceptional Moroccan restaurant.
As is often the case with luxury properties with high room count and extensive facilities on offer for guests, I find that service can be lacking some areas and it can be hard for management to align a whole team with a consistent service standard. If this property could nail that (and give the rooms a slight refresh), they would really offer an exceptional urban experience.
Sojourn Summary
With a winning location and a long list of hotel facilities, the Sofitel Cairo Nile El Gezirah has all the ingredients to make it a truly exceptional city hotel but is let down by discrepancies and inconsistencies in service levels across different departments.
Sojourn Essentials
My sojourn rating: ★★★★½
Hotel’s own rating: ★★★★★
Hotel’s website: https://www.sofitel-cairo-nile-elgezirah.com/
Loyalty program: AccorHotels Le Club (https://www.accorhotels.com/leclub/join-loyalty-program/index.en.shtml)
My room type: Junior Suite (upgraded from Superior Partial Nile View Room)
My dates: 15 April 19 to 18 April 19 (three nights)
How I reserved: Sofitel STEP rates available when you book your sojourn with me (benefits include: daily breakfast for two; upgrade upon arrival, if available; complimentary high-speed Internet; early check-in, late check-out, if available; express check-in; and, no walk policy). These special rates are available through select travel agents and are equivalent to the best available flexible rate at the hotel (which are generally room only).