I stayed at both LM Heliopolis & Pyramids in January 2009. I used points for all nights at both hotels. I stayed at the LM Heliopolis for the night before/after my flights and LM Pyramids for the other 4 nights.

Heliopolis: An agent from LM Heliopolis met us inside security and assisted us in expeditiously obtaining our visas. He also gathered our bags for us and escorted us to the hotel shuttle. The service at the front desk and in the lounge was also very good. I received an upgrade to a two room suite for each stay. The room is quite dated, but the service was good. The PLT lounge was just ok for a light breakfast.

Pyramids: I received great service here. The staff were friendly and pleasant. I received an upgrade to a two-room suite w/a large balcony and fabulous views of the pyramids. The rooms here are also dated. Housekeeping was very attentive and provided extra towels (w/out asking) in the evening and Hermes soap daily. The PLT lounge was okay for a light breakfast and afternoon beverages.

I would stay at LM Pyramids again, but would only stay at LM Heliopolis if I had an early AM flight.

We took one night at the LM Heliopolis recently since we had an early flight the next morning. Our previous 3 nights had been at the Oberoi Mena House next to the Pyramids.

We were, quite frankly, shocked by the brazen way in which far more people than necessary were involved in getting us and our luggage to our room and then made it very clear that they expected baksheesh. The contrast with the impeccable service, with never the slightest indication of an expectation of more money for doing their job, that we enjoyed at the Oberoi was stunning.

As a simple Corporate Preferred Guest on an award night we got what appeared to be an upgrade to the executive level, but since we were only there a few hours all we needed was a decent bed and shower. The room was absolutely fine - no complaints at all - as was the airport shuttle in the morning.

Stayed at LM Pyramids from 8/5-8/7. Pre-booked Pyramid view room with nightly turn down service. Received a room on the 5th floor to the left of the club. The hotel tour man(not baggage man) who showed us around offered us coffee in the "lounge", we had coffee only to be charged for it as we were not allowed to have coffee there....There were no coffee making facilities in the room and no complimentary bottled water. There was no turn-down service on nights one or two even though it being explicitly written on the contract :td:. Staff goes out of there way to make your life difficult, we were frisked each time upon entrance to the hotel and told we were not allowed to bring in outside food and drinks (we had water in our day bags). They didn't take the water away, and we didn't pay heed to their warnings. Bottled water in the hotel was being charged at 15 LE while outside for the same was 2.5 LE! Breakfast which was included in the tariff consisted of canned fruit, no egg station, some Egyptian beans etc. The breakfast room was so cold that the hot coffee/nescafe turned cold as soon as it was poured. Upon check-out the front desk clerk offered us a "taxi" to the airport for 130 LE. As we had paid 120 LE from the new terminal in a limo this wasn't that bad. They do not let outside cabs (even the new metered ones) in. As soon as we said ok they did a bait and switch and said that the only car available was a Passat for 175++. We said no, and to please call us a cab , they refused to and that we should use the Passat (saying that the metered taxis are dangerous etc.). We insisted and the manager came out of no where and said they had magically found a Camry for 130 LE. But this was not before he told us how difficult we were being :D ! The moral of the story is that the LM Pyramids staff are not there to be of service, but there to extract as much cash as they can whether it be bak shish or overcharging or not offering the service they should. In many countries like Egypt people choose to stay 5* hotels for the service and amenities they provide, all clearly lacking at this property.

Has anybody stayed recently at the Sheraton Cairo and can advise re: towers and location? We are in Cairo/Giza for one night only and deciding where to stay (Giza vs Cairo). Will be in Cairo at the museum daytime and khan el khalili into early evening on day one, but planning to visit Giza pyramids early the next morning. Overnight would be a Saturday night if that makes a difference for traffic, etc. Thought the casino could be interesting for evening, has anyone gone?

Robin

I have never stayed at Sheraton Cairo, but I was looking at Sheraton across the river from Hyatt. Sheraton is in a very good location comparing with LM Heliopolis and LM Pyramid. Because Giza is so dry and half-desert, you will enjoy staying at Sheraton by the river for good contrast between the desert and the river. Leaving Cairo without much impression of the beautiful Nile is almost like visiting Paris without Siene. There is not much around LM Giza and I would be bored just looking at the pyramids after a couple of hours. It should be around 20 min drive from Sheraton to the pyramids in Giza. I would leave early morning to enter the popular pyramid near the gate. When we arrive around 10 am, the tickets were sold out and we could only enter the 2nd pyramid. Sorry I don't remember the names.

Thanks Kats, good advice.

Robin

Currently in the Sheraton Towers, room is amazing (+2 balconies), but rest of the hotel not great, no entertainment, poor breakfast. Hope to go to pyramids later this week, wonder how much it will cost.

edit (update):

this is a pretty poor hotel, especially for $200/night

-a phantom taxi fare was added to my bill (airport taxi on the 2nd day) then when I asked to remove it they said I had paid for my colleague to go to the airport! (I don't have any colleague here)
-room key often doesn't work
-noise from boat disco until 2.30am each night (heard from 15th floor)
-all hotel car drivers tried to sell me a trip to the pyramids then sulked when I said no

Saw this in another thread with no reply, but can anyone advise;

is paying the extra for the Club Level at the Sheraton Cairo Towers worth the extra $$? Not sure what exactly you get with it at this particular hotel.

Thanks

Stay report: Le Méridien Pyramids May 2010
 

I stayed at the Le Méridien Pyramids twice for two nights each time in May. Summary of my stay: Room: Single queen bed, small desk, pyramid view, no balcony. Room was very clean, bed was comfy. Bathroom was OK, but a bit dated. Staff was very helpful and courteous. Requests for baksheesh (tips) were constant and annoying. On the second stay, :)room had two double beds, also very clean but dated. This room had a nice balcony with two chairs. Both rooms had a pyramid view. Constant din of car horns on street below was muffled by sound-proofed windows. Breakfast buffet in dining room was OK. Pool area was large and very clean. Only problem was pool closed at 7PM! Would stay here again if visiting pyramids and sphinx, but a long haul to other sites in city center. The Med restaurant had surprisingly good continental cuisine and friendly service at moderate prices.

I'm at the Sheraton Cairo at the moment, and the answer to your question is NO.

I've never seen a Club Floor without a Club, but that's what you'll (not) find here. I'm on a club level room on the 18th floor, and there used to be what was a club on the 19th, but it appears to be long closed along with several restaurants in the hotel. No complimentary breakfast or any other perk normally associated with a premium floor room.

This place is shop-worn and tired. I would suggest the Grand Hyatt, which is very lively and positively sparkles in comparison. Glad I'm only here 3 nights on business; this property is definitely a huge disappointment.

I'm a little confused...
 

We planned on staying at Sheraton Cairo next year and I've been following reviews on Tripadvisor. The quoted comment below is from a June 2, 2010 review of a May, 2010 stay:


The Club level room provided breakfast, a more than ample array of breads, meats, fruits etc. The food was refreshed frequently and of good quality.


What could be the reason for the discrepancy? :confused:

I may have solved the mystery: I asked at the desk this morning and discovered that because they upgraded me to a "club" floor (instead of me actually paying for the same) I was not entitled to breakfast in the "lounge" nor to use the wi-fi contained therein. The lounge, by the way, is now next to the front desk on main lobby floor. Smallish and nothing special.

So, SPG apparently has a new category of room upgrade: Upgrade Lite: All the space of a club floor with none of the calories. Perhaps if I were a Plat instead of a lowly gold, I would have been deemed worthy of a "full" upgrade.

Matters not to me: I have two more trips to make to Cairo over the next couple of months and I'll either be at the Marriott or Grand Hyatt. This is a distressed property, and given their marketing accumen, small wonder why.

That would not be in line with corporate policy. If it were me, I'd file a formal complaint with Corporate Customer Service. They can be reached at [email protected].

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Online Guest Feedback Coordinator
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]

To elaborate on Starwood Lurker's comment, when any SPG member (regardless of elite status) is upgraded while on a qualifying rate*, SPG's policy is that the guest is to receive privileges for all perks that are included for all guests who reserve that room on a paid rate. Any perk that is part of a room description is to be provided. It's clearly stated for the Club Level rooms at the Sheraton Cairo. Their corner suites also have such perks in their online room description: "Continental Brkfst, Exec Lounge Access."

* Non-qualifying rates such as Travel Industry rates and Employee Friends and Family rates would likely be exceptions.

(If I've left some exception out that should be mentioned, I'm sure I'll be corrected.)

This sounds like Egyptian customer service at any 5 star hotel I have stayed at!