A quick trip report on my stay at the Fairmont Cairo Nile City.
I stayed at this property May 3, 2011 to May 6, 2011.
I booked a Non Refundable Advance Purchase (no cancellation) Rate for a City View King Room for $150 USD + taxes via the fairmont website.. Upon arrival, I was upgraded to a Nile View with two doubles, which I gladly accepted. I was thankful for the upgrade, as I had previously stayed at a very obviously empty Le Meridien Dahab and was not offered an upgrade, despite presenting a SPG Gold Card that is supposed to offer upgrades. My impression in Egypt is that you get exactly what you pay for / reserve.
The fit and finishing of the hotel is fabulous and the rooms have lots of amenities. Free Loufas for scrubbing, fabulous rain shower, bath salts, turn down service, high quality finishing’s in the rooms, his and her’s slippers and FPC internet at a reasonable bandwidth speed.
The hotel is located in an “in between” neighborhood. It is 7-10 minutes away from downtown on the El Corniche. Unfortunately it means that you need to take a cab every time you need to go out as it is just beyond walking distance. Behind the hotel are slums, and the river side boasts some of the finest riverfront view property in Cairo. I was actually cautioned by the hotel staff not to walk into the area behind the hotel (I was looking for a convenience store that would sell coca cola at street prices). The hotel is in the middle, making this a truly in between location.
View from my room of the Front of the Hotel:
View from my floor of the rear of the Hotel:
I also found that many cab drivers are not aware of the location of this hotel, even when showing the Fairmont hotel business card with the address + map in Arabic, which I had obtained from the front desk. Perhaps Fairmont is not a well-known brand within Cairo to date? Even more challenging, I was assured by the hotel staff and my guide the fare from the hotel to Midan Tarhir was 10LE ($1.70 USD), but in actuality, many of the cab drivers refused to move accept fares for less than 20LE, some even attempting to gouge 50LE before they would even turn a wheel. I did have a public white taxi hailed through the hotel that decided to take a very long way around to my destination, when I insisted on using the meter. While one could go one about being lucky to live in the first world and being able to afford Fairmont prices, I don’t agree with the concept of overpaying just because of the way that you look. Especially when a minibus ride for a similar distance goes for 1LE and 50 piastres.
The Cairo – Luxor//Aswan rail line is 1 block from the hotel. Despite this, the room was well soundproofed and being on the 11th floor was quite quiet. (You can just see the train bridge in the right of the Nile photo)
Sadly the Egyptian Revolution has taken its toll on the tourism and business economy. During my stay, several of the restaurants in and around the hotel were closed or burnt to destruction by fire.
Napa Grill – I had the opportunity to dine here one night after a long day tour. Aside from room service, it was the only restaurant open. It was our most expensive meal in Cairo. Dinner with two entrees, two glasses of Egyptian Wine, Egyptian Taxes (10% and mandatory service charge (12%) came to 480 LE ($80 USD). The food and service was of excellent quality, particularly for Africa, but it did not offset the prices paid in comparison to other offerings in the city.
Saigon Blue – Closed
Wayagama Noodle Bar in Nile City Mall – Permanently closed. A pop up display indicates that this is as a result of the revolution and that customers should visit it's other branch in City Stars Mall.
The Arcadia Shopping Mall, which occupies the lot immediately to the south of the Fairmont, has been completely destroyed by fire as a result of the revolution. As a result, there really are no other restaurants or shops in the area. As previously reported, there is a Starbucks in the Nile City Towers Mall under the hotel. There is also a Cilantro restaurant, which appeared to cater to office operatining hours.
Picture of the Arcadia Shopping Mall:
The only hotel problem experienced during my stay was that I was unable to get the TV to work when I was settling into my room. I mentioned it on my way out at the front desk the next morning and they said that they would send someone to fix it. On the second night it remained broken (no power?). They had to send two “technicians” to fix it, and eventually it was sorted out after about 10 minutes. Similar to other’s experience, it took a few attempts to get the problem sorted out. However, they did attempt to fix it immediately when I raised the issue during turn down service, so I have to give hem the thumbs up for that.
I was easily seduced into staying with the Fairmont and received terrific value on the room. However, I don’t know that I would stay here again, given that the convenience of staying at a more centrally located property around Midan Tarhir (Seramus Intercontinental – fabulous Lebanese food at Serbaya, the New Nile Ritz Carleton or even the Marriott – great tea garden) might be much more convenient. Overall a fabulous experience, but one that I probably wouldn’t repeat in a hurry. Especially considering I ended up dining at these other two hotel properties while choosing to stay at the Fairmont as they simply were better located, and had more restaurants open.