AMRivlin

Go through the lobby, down to Creek Level (also the floor with restaurants), turn Left, walk for about 10-15min along the path at the waters edge, it will end in the shops below the Shangri La. The walk is entirely flat.

We did the walk 3x in October 2013, it was a bit muggy in the day, but the evenings were cool. (I would guess it will be hot during the summer.)

pazza2000

Thanks. Is the shops area below the Shangri La the Souk? 10-15mins in the summer heat might be a bit much but will give it a shot. I understand there is boat transfers around the Shangri La and if you have a dinner reservation, they will provide a buggy upon presentation at reception.

Sophoclefr

Just staid a few hours with wife and babies before a 2am long haul flight and everything went wrong:

• No status recognition, welcome gift/note from anybody
• No room upgrade despite status allowing it and availability
• Check in staff denying lounge access (and even lounge existence) despite status allowing it
• Baby cots requested at booking and confirmed again by the hotel 3 times on the day not in the room and needing more than 2 hours and 5 requests to reception to be delivered (super useful when at the hotel for 5h with a baby before a long flight...)
• No water in the room

We will never stay again.

escape4

Sorry to hear. The baby cot issue is a service failure from the hotel, but lounge access was correct : Fairmont lounges are a no-go even for Accor Platinum. You need to pay for access.

Did you book on accor.com / fairmont.com or via a third party such as Expedia? If it's the latter it would explain the lack of status recognition at check-in and the lack of upgrade - you get no elite benefits if you don't book directly.

Sophoclefr

Ok didn't know about the lounge (non) access.
Yes booked on Accor.com, booking was on my App and they send me SMS before to confirm so should have been perfect but unfortunately was not...

escape4

Since you booked on accor.com then if the room category above the one you booked was available and you were not upgraded, then that's another fail on their part. If the category above yours was full, and other categories above were available, then technically they can say no as they are not required to upgrade 2+ categories.

Regarding the welcome gift or note in the room I am no more than 70% on those. Many hotels give nothing to Platinums unfortunately.

Sophoclefr

To be fair to them after I complained they gave me an additional 5000 All points (ie 100 euros) which I think is fair?

Apparently we were unlucky and both check in girl and manager after were trainees???

CanadaDH

But is there really any way to know for sure? Hotels oversell their property or even specific room categories within it, just like airlines, all the time. They assume that some people won't check-in, and take risks that if everyone shows up, they will upgrade others further to make room, or in some cases, buy them a room at another property (I watched this happen to a most unhappy guest one time at a Westin check-in desk, as they arranged for a ride for him to another property). If the website shows availability, doesn't that just mean the hotel is willing to sell another room, but doesn't necessarily mean they actually have unsold or unallocated inventory available? We don't have access to information to prove that an upgrade was denied incorrectly, so how can a guest fight that?

escape4

Right, looking at rooms available online is a guide, not a bullet-proof indication. Not only at Accor hotels but all hotel chains...

sdm1985

Can platinum access the lounge? Booked via Accor.com

Jasper2009

Platinum/Diamond members do not get comp. access to Fairmont Gold lounges.

nicolas75

The reason why I am a happy Royal Ambassador at Six Senses / Regent / InterContinental hôtels 😉

sdm1985

Are the Fairmont Lounges any good? Just sat in Sofitel Cairo Lounge and it's just has good as it was 4 years ago! The hotel is overall great, but with a few tweaks it would be amazing!

The Fairmont up the Nile looks stunning, I like the room design.

hermesN

Stayed as a group of 4 in a one bedroom suite. Although the suite was very spacious (~1000 sq ft), it was one of the strangest suites I've stayed in. There is not enough privacy between the sitting area and the bedroom, the shower/bathtub is within full view of the sitting area and none of the light switches are labelled (which would be fine if their placement made sense, but it didn't). I also got the sense that they only partially furnished the suite. There were numerous shelves besides the TV which were clearly meant for art/books rather than storage, but they were all just bare. Another oddity - regardless of what button you hit on the phone (front desk, housekeeping, room service), you were always just connected to the same person who sometimes was confused because it wasn't their department.


The positives
1. The in room dining quality was outstanding. We ordered some middle-eastern and indian food, all of which was delicious. The quantity was also enormous.
2. The pool was wonderful. Staff at the pool bar were very friendly and their cocktails were refreshing.
3. Mazaj, the middle eastern restaurant was great.

On the whole, I would not stay at this Fairmont again. The service standards were poor, the suite layout was strange and the room hardware was also showing signs of wear and tear.