If I were in your place I would book LM Pyramids and arrange an extra-early car to the airport on the day of travel. You should have much more luck fighting traffic in the early morning than other times of day. OTOH you don't mention where your meeting is going to take place so that might change things.

it's right by the sheraton, which would have been my first choice had it been available....

I would have picked the Sheraton as well but it's closed for renovations.

If it's just for sleep then I suppose it might be most practical to use Heliopolis -- go there directly from the airport, check-in or drop your bags and then head to Giza for the afternoon leaving plenty of time to get back in time to get ready for your dinner. The problem which you can see by looking at a map is that the Sheraton, Heliopolis and Giza are in three different directions. There is really no perfect solution so given that I would say being close to the airport would trump all.

I would probably pick the Marriott for it's Central Location.

Le Merdien Pyramids is well away from town on the WEST side very close to the Pyramids. There is not much around here in the way of sights besides the pyramids themselves.

Le Meridien Heliopolis is on the EAST side by the airport. Most of the sights (Khan el Khalili, Coptic Cairo, The Nile) are right in the Middle of Town close to the Marriott and Fairmont (5-7 mins taxi).

If you're set on Starwood- I would suggest Heliopolis for the location.

Note - traffic bad during the rush hours. . .

I contest those times in traffic. Since the revolution, traffic has significantly incased. I got sick of spending 5 hours in the car to get to and from our family members.

Heliopolis is not convient i. It was the best suburb in Cairo, where all the diplomats lived, and it does have CityStars but the traffic can really affect the travel.

Depending on your budget, we moved to the Four Season's First Residence which has views of the pyramids, the Nile and the Zoo. There is another FS, about 5 mins away.

I head never stayed in a FS prior, it was always *wood and Hyatt, and I extremely impressed. As opposed to only treating elites very well, FS seems to to do this for every customer. The service was exceptional, particularly for Egypt.

thanks guys....i think the heliopolis is probably the best choice given the circumstances....

how long would it take to get to giza from heliopolis early in the afternoon & also to the sheraton area from heliopolis around 7-8 in the evening????

There is also a Hilton and a Conrad right across the Nile from the Marriott. And down a bit from those is a very nice Hyatt as well. But I did enjoy my stays at the Marriott. And if you don't mind being outside of the city a bit, there is the JW Marriott. It is billed as a business resort and has probably the nicest pool (actually its a water park) in Cairo, if not all of Egypt.

Seriously the Heliopols Is a dump even a 100% upgrade rate to a huge suit on rate of circa $60 isn't good enough. Having spen a few minutes in the room I really didn't want to sleep there and on both occasions pretty much stayed awake until my morning flights. The gym is worth a visit for being so laughably bad.

For a decent hotel in the area try the IC Citystars my new regular haunt in Cairo.

I don't agree that it's a dump. Yes, compared to new properties it is very average and old, but for an older hotel in the region it's really not that bad.

The IC Citystars is a good hotel, and if you're travelling with family you can get 2 bedroom apartments. It has a great pool area, and direct access to Citystars, but I fail to understand why any tourist would stay in Heliopolis unless wanting close access to the airport.

i don't think i'll end up spending more than 4-5 hours in the room & since i have an early morning flight i don't think i'll be getting much sleep as well....i would much rather stay at a starwood property than anywhere else so i think i'm going to stick with this choice....

Keyser - go in expecting Heathrow Sheraton and you'll be fine. The meet and greet service at the airport is also excellent but the return shuttle is only hourly so I took a cab.

They did upgrade me to a very large suite which I quite liked. You can see the new Le Meridien at the actual Cairo terminal that is under construction. That will be very convenient.

its been a few years since i stayed at the heathrow sheraton but i know what you mean....like i said before, i just need a place close to the airport for my early morning flight....how much was the cab ride to the airport & how long did it take????

Hmm I think you do a grave disservice to the LHR Sheraton here, it is a FAR better property than the LM Heliopolis in every possible way apart from suite upgrade potential and frankly I would rather have the worst room at the Heathrow Sheraton than the best suite at the LM Heliopolis any day of the week.

OK it has been a while since I did the LM Heliopolis but I don't believe that it has undergone a badly needed refurb since I did stay. I agree the airport meet and greet is good but that is where I would end any complimentary remarks about this property. My room on both my stays wasn't properly clean and had debris all over the carpet in multiple places. The bed was sagging and in poor condition and the bathrooms were to put it politely in need of attention. This despite an upgrade to a very large suite.

The LM Heliopolis makes the Heathrow Sheraton seem like a 4 Seasons property in comparison. I do recommend a visit to the gym at the LM Heliopolis though just for a laugh.