nk15

London Hilton on Park Lane charges 5 UKP for a small water bottle (about $8).

pauleeepaul

The Conrad is the HH go to property in CAI, IMHO.

sfgiants13

I booked an executive room for 3 nights next week. Does anyone have any experience being upgraded beyond that as a HH gold? I know the general policy is the next level (which I believe is the Ramses suite). It would be nice to get that upgrade and rates are so low i doubt the hotel is anywhere near capacity.

OriginalName

Staying 5 nights here on award in early May. First time visitor to Cairo. Having a look at the location and hardware of both the Conrad and Hilton Ramses, am I correct in assuming the two are both fairly comparable (ie. close by and dated)? Or will I be better served by the Conrad (3x more points)?

Also, is it worth it to pre-order an airport pickup? I don't mind roughing it up a little in a regular taxi, but just wary of scams.

And as a diamond, what are my upgrade chances?

Much appreciated all.

abaheti

The Hilton is dated and hasn't been updated (well, when I was there two years ago at least). The Conrad is much newer and modern. I liked the Hilton, had dinner once at the Conrad. I preferred the Hilton location for getting out and walking to things, but the Conrad isn't that far (walking distance to me in daytime). For 1/3x, I'd stay at Hilton. Note that weekends may change my opinion -- lots of party groups for the casino and cheap weekend rates for folks from all over the region. Conrad was much more quiet. See the reviews upthread (including mine). YMMV.

If prices were equal? Conrad hands down.

As for upgrades, Hilton for sure, and also you can check in on the exec lounge floor and avoid the line in the lobby. Email the hotel manager in advance and ask -- they confirmed ours in advance.

Airport pickup? Heck yes. WELL worth it. Ours included the visa expedite/helper which made everything go super fast.

OriginalName

@abaheti
Much appreciated. I'll stick with the Hilton.

Also, how did you find the exec lounge? And is there much to do (ie. eat) around the area? Seems like the hotel is at a big traffic intersection and isn't pedestrian friendly.

Anyway, I'll do up a full review after my stay..

abaheti

The lounge can be very crowded. There are also some folks that seem to wnt to just hang out there all day and smoke and chat on the phone etc. You'll also see families grabbing huge trays of food and removing back to their room. We, frankly, didn't spend much time IN the lounge but did go there for drinks and then take a drink back to our room. There was hot appetizer type food, breads, olives, etc -- decent happy hour'ish fare. The breakfast for us was in the top floor restaurant and was VERY good buffet with excellent manager and servers. That could get crowded at the peak times, but there was always a table, and just off peak was super quiet and lovely. Full egg/omelette bar. Bangers/mash. Olive bar. Cheese. You name it. And the manager was always quite proud of whatever fresh juice was being blended that morning.

One word to the wise: If you don't like smoke, do NOT get a room on the floor with the exec lounge as they are allowed to smoke in there and it carries.

Yes, the intersection is not walking friendly per se. If you've spent time in Asia, India, etc you'll be fine... once you cross the crazy intersection (thing Frogger, but slow moving) you're in areas that are very walkable and interesting, including walking distance to Tahrir Square... just follow other locals doing the street crossing, as everywhere there IS a system even if we don't see it right away.

For a steak house kind of thing, go to the Conrad. But in the Hilton was a pretty good Indian joint if you need variety.

Also, if there on a weekend especially, do NOT take a room with Nile view. Trust me. There are party boats that dock and blare music all night, and there isn't much to see on the Nile there anyway. Ask for city side view and quiet.

Have fun!

El Puerco Volante

Does someone know if hard alcohool is served in the lounge in the evenings?I don't drink beer or lounge quality wine,so ability to mix a g&t is welcomed.

Regards,
El Puerco Volante

abaheti

I recall having a G&T when I was there, but you had to ask the bartender/attendant.

benberg2013

Hi.

Can we have your review?

Will be staying here soon.

Thanks alot.

OriginalName

Stayed here for 1 night at the end of May.

The hotel is located directly opposite the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities, separated by a large road/freeway. It is on the banks of the Nile river.

The service at this hotel is very attentive, with staff very helpful and efficient with any requests. This includes check-in, bellhops, exec lounge, housekeeping and concierge - all excellent.

The corridors of the hotel have a very unpleasant smell (musky?), which is being covered up by lots of air freshener. Doesn't do much to help things.

The rooms are extremely dated and very run down. The bathrooms are mouldy and generally very unpleasant. The hairdryer unit is attached to the wall, and uses a 'piping' system which gets too hot to touch, while drying your hair. The air conditioning unit is also very poor. The bed is very comfortable though, but is standard Hilton fare.

The exec lounge is probably the standout of the property, with attentive staff and a good evening spread. Liquor selections are a little average, but mostly because of the local offerings.

Diamond breakfast was in the main restaurant and the selections were very extensive. The fresh juices were the highlight.

Wanted to love the hotel because of the great service, but sadly the hard product is simply much too lacking. Will not return until a full renovation is done. Wouldn't recommend staying here for more than 2 nights.

Full review and photos available here.

benberg2013

Excellent review there ^^ and I enjoyed the others too.

G-ARVE

Will be visiting Cairo (and Alexandria, probably) sometime in October for a week+. It's a year since the last review, has anything happened regarding the Hilton (or for that matter, the Conrad) during that period that might be useful to know?
I gather Cairo remains a safeish place for tourists so long as one is sensible and reasonably streetwise.....?
Thanks in anticipation.

kevinyhli

Have stayed at both the Conrad and Hilton during a visit in May.

The Hilton, as all others said, is extremely dated and urgently requires updating, with stains on furniture which is pretty disgusting. That said, the location is definitely better - across the road from the Egyptian Museum and there are shops and restaurants within walking distance. Service from the front desk is attentive and if you are thinking of booking day tours, their rates are much more competitive than the Conrad. I stayed on a Thursday night and the hotel was extremely crowded with a lot of party crowded and people headed for the casino.

The Conrad on the other hand certainly have much better decor and more updated rooms. The executive lounge is also a bit dated but good enough with a nice balcony with very nice view of the Nile and the sunset. Front desk service wise was not that great though unfortunately - not attentive and very "cold". The Conrad is a bit away from the city and sights and with Cairo traffic you will definitely need to budget for some additional time to get in and out of the hotel.

If I were to return to Cairo for a stay I would definitely go for the Conrad if the rates are similar - it would be much more comfortable.

Brandinho1

That review above is pretty spot on. I was here in November 16 and the service was outstanding, the breakfast selection was very good IMO, and the staff would go above and beyond. But this hotel is like something out of the 70's 😂. I think booked this hotel at 8700 points a night so please manage your expectations as what you will get roomwise. But in a good area, and the most dangerous thing to me in Cairo was trying to cross the street.