My partner stayed at the Cosmopolitan in mid October 2006, using it as a base for exploring Cairo before heading down the Nile. The location is great -10 minutes walking distant from the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities and around 20 minutes from the train station from where you can catch the sleeper train to Aswan or Luxor. We also found a great little restaurant (Felfella's) just round the corner where you can get a beer (harder than you might think especially during Ramadan when we were there!).

Whilst a little shabby at the edges the Cosmopolitan doubtless retains a certain charm. Many of the original period features from a grander era are intact and it’s hard not to wonder how the hotel would have looked in its heyday.

Quite a few staff are on hand and as ever in Egypt you feel obliged to tip every man and his dog but they weren’t what I’d call as pushy as others we came across and were on the whole pretty helpful. On a couple of occasions this was helpful in the way of pointing us towards their mate who drove a taxi or whatever so they could take their cut. To be fair we found this sort of thing to be fairly standard practice throughout Egypt so weren’t too bothered by it.

The bedroom was adequate. The bathroom was not to the standard you get used to seeing in the developed world but saying that it was clean and we had plenty of hot water (I’ve read a handful of reviews from people complaining of a lack of it).

Breakfast consisted of fairly standard Egyptian fare (cucumber, yoghurt dip, black beans etc) as well as cereals and other things you would associate with a more western breakfast. Interesting that there are a couple of reviews of the Cosmopolitan that are quite scathing stating things such as “staying here will seriously spoil your holiday and harm your health.” During my time in Egypt it was actually the food in the 5 star hotels that gave me a dodgy tummy, yet at the Cosmopolitan we were both fine.

In summary, if you like minimalist, immaculate, but more often than not soulless hotels go for your usual chains which can all be found in Cairo. If you want to get close to some of Cairo’s colonial legacy in the thick of downtown Cairo in a place that will add authenticity to your Howard Carteresque Egyptian explorations, give it a go.