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| View from our balcony of the pool, Corniche and beach. |
Four Seasons at San Stefano
We stayed at the Four Seasons which is located at the end of the Corniche close to the Stanley Bridge and Montazah Palace. Since it was Ramadan and the hotel mostly empty, we were offered a great rate.
It is the Four Seasons after all, but some caveats. The hotel, which only has about 100 rooms, is housed in a monstrously large building. I believe most are residences. It is also attached to a shopping mall. The positive, all you need to do is go through the doors separating the hotel lobby from the mall, and you are in mall paradise, replete with fast food court, trendy stores and most useful, a supermarket.
The hotel has a beautiful view of the Mediterranean and the beach in front but it is separated from its own beach by the very busy Corniche. However, you don’t have to worry about being run over by a car while trying to get to the beach. The hotel built a passageway under the Corniche…clever! The service was good and friendly (and in one instance, amazing. My younger daughter spilled karkade juice, hibiscus, all over her outfit at dinner on the beach. The stuff is red and I am sure super staining. As soon as the staff saw our plight and saw that I had a change of clothes for our girl, they took her stained and wet clothes from us. And an hour or so later, the entire outfit was returned to us pressed and cleaned. Wow!!)
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| Dress and shirt which were whisked away and cleaned immediately! |
However, I am not giving it excellent for service because of the waitstaff at breakfast. They were passable. Having said all this, it was wonderful staying at the Four Seasons. Our rooms were beautiful with a large balcony overlooking the Corniche and the sea. The hotel boasts an indoor and outdoor pool and the biggest spa I have ever seen! And most of the time, I had the amazing locker room and showers all to myself! It also has a good gym and a squash court. (There were separate workout rooms for men and women.)
Greek Maritime Club and The Fish Market
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| The Maritime Club's beach and Alexandria's cityscape. |
For dinner on our first day in Alexandria, we chose the Greek Maritime Club, located right next to Fort Quaitbey. The entrance is nondescript and once you open the doors, you doubt yourself of your choice. At this point, shake off the bad vibes and proceed upstairs where a grand vista of the harbor and the city skyline greet you. We chose a table on the balcony and enjoyed the beautiful sunshine, gorgeous view and delicious fish. Not to say the meal wasn’t without some excitement. My father-in-law and my husband wanted beer with their meal. Our server did not want to serve them beer. Egypt’s population is mostly Muslim and alcohol is a no-no. We went back and forth to no avail until my mother-in-law produced her US passport and the boys were rewarded with two cold beers. Exchanges like this make life interesting.
My in-laws recently ate at Fish Market, another popular seafood restaurant on the Corniche. They declared the Greek Maritime Club a better choice.
Fresca, Four Seasons
Fresca was our choice for casual dining. It serves pizzas, pasta and other Italian fare. If it weren’t for our girls and the inconvenience of getting in the car and driving around in the traffic, I would definitely opt for any of the myriad seafood restaurants in town over Fresca. Fresca is clean, bright and serves decent food.
Keeping within the theme of not venturing too far from the hotel, we had a lovely outdoor buffet on the beach one night. The hotel has special feasts, iftar, during Ramadan. During Ramadan, the people fast during the day and break their fasts at sunset, partaking in iftar.
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