Shepheards Hotel, Cairo, Egypt
Reviewer, Trip Advisor , Suffolk, England.
21 February 2008
Previous reports of this hotel were not brilliant but my travel agent had booked us in so we had no choice. The first impression was favourable, tall large marble floored atrium includes reception, large breakfast/dining room, cafe serving gorgeous cakes and proper tea and coffee. Breakfast is outstanding, loads of fresh fruit, toast-making facility, omelette bar, cereals and all the usual hot buffet stuff. Staff are all smart and very efficient.
Room 430 was clean, big and roomy with two big double beds (both with that horrible roll in to the middle), super bathroom with full wall-width shower, bidet, good towels and lots of smelly toiletries. CNN TV, English speaking movie channels with continuous old films. Our room looked out on to empty offices but you could pay a little extra and get a full view of the Nile. Lifts are fast and plentiful.
Downstairs there is another restaurant, the 'Asian' serving Chinese and Indian, which is better than the big one.
The location is perfect for the Egyptian Museum, downtown Cairo and faluca rides on the Nile.
It is 20 steps across the road to the Intercontinental Hotel which offers more elegant surroundings and has a restaurant on the 3rd Floor which has a non-smoking room and overlooks the Nile, roughly about the same prices as Shepheards but much classier.
Shepheards was a pleasant surprise and not at all 'tired' as one trip advisor described it.

Hotel was fine, but there were meal and mini-bar charges at check-out that were not mine. When I asked them to show me where I signed for meals they could not produce anything, yet still insisted on charging me. They also charged me for use of the mini-bar in my room when I never used it. In all, I was delayed at checkout for more than an hour before I paid the bill so as not to miss my flight. I am currently disputing the charges with my credit card company.

We booked into this hotel for 3 nights and enjoyed the stay very much. The room was large, 2 double beds, with a lovely large ensuite bathroom. The view from our room wasn't good as our room was at the back, so would recommend booking a room with a view of the Nile. Food was very good with a choice of buffet or A La Carte. We were lucky enough to see two Egyptian weddings at the hotel and the bride and groom were happy for us to take photos. Take care if buying drinks in the bar, a small glass of wine and two cokes cost £7. The location of the hotel was great - on the banks of the Nile and only minutes from the shopping centre and the souk.

We booked for 3 nights, left after 2. October 2007. Ramadan had just finished. We have travelled more than 30 countries and have experienced many hotels. This hotel needs work. It is owned by Egyptians and is not well run these days. Reception are helpful, just, but not prepared to go the extra (inch!) to help. I tried.
Positives: Price, well, we live in Egypt so got a standard room for US$145 incl. taxes through our travel agent. It is a 10 minute easy walk to the museum.
It has great views from the Nile side upper rooms.

Negatives: Dated furniture. Too much in one room making it conjested. Small noisy balcony on Nile side. Small TV with only 2 English stations, CNN & a movie channel. No free water. Bathroom needing upgrade. Blankets not duvets. No hot water first night. Breakfast (at our time 9.00am.) very poorly presented, sloppy service, flies everywhere including the food.
NO POOL, NO GARDEN. Really, you can do better in Cairo like the Nile Hilton for similar money.