Cairo And Where To Stay, By The Way, Don’t Expect Too Much Service…

View of Cairo from Al-Azhar Park

Due to our backgrounds and where we grew up, we have taken our children to Japan and Egypt.  Tokyo is a large and densely populated city like Cairo but that is where the similarities end.  Tokyo is a model of efficiency and punctuality.  It can be overwhelming but there is a sense that it is controlled chaos.  Everyone knows their place and everyone follows the rules.  Cairo is the polar opposite.  No one follows any rules in Cairo.  What traffic laws?  You have to have a death wish to try and cross the street as a pedestrian.  Nothing runs on schedule.  The sidewalks are cracked, the city is covered in dust and it’s hot, really hot.

You don’t have to worry too much about cleanliness in Japan nor about the safety of water and food.  It’s a breeze traveling with kids in Japan compared to Egypt.  I am worried about my children’s safety while driving around Egypt…despite the fact we carted car seats all the way to Egypt.  In contrast to our concern, our Egyptian driver was puzzled by our insistence on using car seats for our kids.

Despite all the inconveniences and the inevitable bouts of traveler’s diarrhea, travel to Egypt is rewarding, educational and fascinating.  My children are growing up in a very sterile world of suburbia USA.  I made fun of the Hilton Waikoloa as Disneyesque but really, compared to the rest of the world, all of America is Disneyland.  I hope by traveling to Egypt our girls will appreciate part of their heritage but also experience another type of life that occurs outside the developed countries like the US.  Of course we didn’t quite have the full experience since we did stay for our first visit at the Cairo Marriott.

The Cairo Marriott is built into and around the Gezira Palace.  Khedive Ismail built the palace to house dignitaries, in particular Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III, who came to Egypt to celebrate the opening of the Suez Canal.  We enjoy staying in hotels with history and if you do too, this would be a good choice.  I want to be clear that the lobby, restaurants and banquet halls are in the historic portion but the rooms are all in the two modern towers.  The rooms are fine and the rooms we had a wonderful view of the Cairo Tower and overlooked the Gezira Sporting Club.  It was wonderfully relaxing to have an unobstructed and expansive view in Cairo.

We were upgraded to the Executive level, mainly because when we checked in at 4 in the morning, they could not provide us with connecting rooms that we had requested when we made the reservation.  The service was poor.  We were tired with two young kids and the check in took at least an hour!!!  Initially, they were going to give us two separate rooms on the ground floor.  We were not pleased.  There was no way we could stay in two separate rooms with our young girls.  The night manager finally came out to help us and upgraded us to the Executive level.  (One major benefit being at the Executive level was the access to the lounge and free breakfast...so convenient with kids.)  In terms of service, I would have to give the hotel low marks – for the check in delay and the initial unaccommodating stance on our request for connecting rooms.  I also have to give it low marks for not making our rooms on our first day.  We suspect it was due to the lack of tip.  In our jet lag haze we did not tip that first day but boy after finding our rooms unmade at the end of the day, my husband found the housekeepers, all men by the way, and tipped for our entire stay upfront.

The hotel has a very large pool, a necessary amenity even if you aren’t traveling with kids.  It’s a great way to cool off in the Cairo heat.  The downside, the pool wasn’t that close to our rooms and we did have to pass by the outdoor café seating area in order to reach the pool.  We tried the hotel restaurant and it was really bad.  Nice atmosphere, just bad food.

By the way, do not be alarmed at the security measures of the hotel.  All the cars are stopped and checked before entry into the hotel grounds.  Everyone has to go through a metal detector and all bags have to be x rayed, each time you go in and out.  A royal pain plus my bag got really dirty each time it was put on the belt to go through the scanner.

There are many other hotels besides the Marriott but it is the only one I believe with any historical interest. I also like its location in Zamalek, an island neighborhood in the middle of the Nile.  Zamalek is green with lots of colonial era homes, embassies, galleries, restaurants and cafes.

Overlook the bad service and enjoy exploring the grounds and palace wing of the hotel.  Take a deep breath, put on sturdy shoes and walk around Zamalek.  It is one of the few neighborhoods in Cairo that is ‘walkable’.