Our favorite 4 and 5-star hotels to stay at in Cairo
Want to relax? If this opulent lobby at the Sofitel El Gezirah isn’t enough, head outside to chill out along the Nile.
Cairo has a plethora of places to stay, from simple hostels to opulent resorts, and there are a ton of options for hotels in the 4 and 5-star categories. Here are our favorite luxury hotels, when taking into consideration overall location (relating to tourist sites and the action in the city), price, and value.
Best budget option: Ramses Hilton
Best location: Intercontinental Semiramis
Best hotel by the pyramids: Marriott Mena House
Best hotel to relax at: Sofitel El Gezirah
Apart from the Mena House, all of these hotels are very close to or in downtown. When coming to Cairo, we always recommend for tourists to stay as close to the heart of downtown and Tahrir Square as possible. Not only is this area close to some of the most important tourist attractions in Cairo (The Egyptian Museum, Tahrir Square itself, The Nile River, The Cairo Tower), but it is a great springboard to get to other sights by car, metro, or bus, like Khan el-Khalilii and Islamic/Old Cairo, Coptic Cairo, The Pyramids of Giza, and Garbage City. There are some amazing hotels in other parts of Cairo, but they can be so far-flung that getting to anywhere of interest could take a minimum of an hour by car, and we don’t want you to spend that much time in Cairo stuck in traffic!
Another note—all of these hotels consistently have rooms under $200 a night, and many (due to the current downturn in tourism) have rooms consistently under $100 a night. There are some amazing hotels in Cairo that will knock your socks off like the Ritz Carlton, the Four Seasons, and the St. Regis, but all of these hotels will cost you more than $200 a night. In our opinion, with great options available for much less, tourists should forgo stays at these expensive properties unless they are serious about paying a lot for the experience.
Best budget option: Ramses Hilton
Check out this YouTube video to see the Ramses Hilton and Intercontinental Semiramis in action!
This Hilton sits behind the Egyptian Museum, and is only separated from Tahrir Square by a myriad of on and off-ramps and roadways that make it treacherous (but completely doable) to walk from the hotel to the museum, square, and other sights downtown. The Ramses Hilton is a great budget option because travelers can expect the same quality that the Hilton brand provides around the world, but at a fraction of the cost—in late 2020 we paid only $65/night to stay at this hotel. Best part? The Ramses Hilton is undergoing a complete renovation, so you can easily request to be put in one of the newly renovated rooms, and enjoy being in a brand new space.
Aside from the close proximity to the action downtown, the Ramses Hilton has great Nile views (although not as nice as the two other downtown hotels in this blog post, since you look at all the roadways and traffic when on a balcony at the Hilton), it is directly next to the Go Bus station (convenient if you plan on traveling by bus to places like Dahab or Luxor), and the continental breakfast is decent.
The view at the Hilton is great, once you look past all of the bridges, overpasses, and roads below.
Best location: Intercontinental Semiramis
What we love most about the Semiramis is its enviable location; it sits on the edge of Tahrir Square, making it a prime spot for walking to the Egyptian Museum, Tahrir Square, and other attractions downtown. Since it is not surrounded by the roadway mess that sits next to the Hilton (it’s on the other end of the square), no matter where your room and balcony, you will get amazing views of either Tahrir Square or the Nile River.
Whether your balcony has a city or Nile view, it’s a win-win at the perfectly-located Intercontinental Semiramis.
We also love the value of the Intercontinental Semiramis. Rooms are half the price of its neighbor, The Ritz-Carlton, but this hotel still provides a luxurious experience that may not be on the level of a Ritz, but is still what one would expect from an Intercontinental. And even though the neighboring Steigenberger is a more affordable competitor, the Semiramis’s rooms and common areas are much more comfortable and spacious, and include balconies, which the Steigenberger does not.
Best hotel by the pyramids: Marriott Mena House
The Mena House is one of only five “grand” historic hotels that remain in Egypt and it hearkens back to the days of ultimate luxury and adventure, when Agatha Christie herself wrote part of “Death on the Nile” while on a sojourn in Egypt.
The Mena House was taken over by Marriott in recent years, and they have done a great job keeping up the historic significance and grandeur of the property. Our favorite part about the Mena House is waking up to a view of the Giza Pyramids from the balcony, and then descending to the outdoor breakfast patio to enjoy a feast of a breakfast while basking in the enormity of the Pyramids just across the street.
The Marriott Mena House, along with comfortable rooms and a great pool, boasts these types of Pyramid views. What more to say?
Being all the way out at the Mena House though will have its challenges—it is perfectly located to visit the Pyramids of Giza and to venture out to Saqqara, Dashur, and Memphis, but otherwise it is at the very edge of the metropolitan area of Cairo. Getting to any other tourist areas will take over an hour in normal traffic, so spending one or two nights at this hotel and seeing the surrounding sights, and then transferring to a more central hotel is a great option.
Best hotel to relax at: Sofitel El Gezirah
If enjoying a meal outside directly on the banks of the Nile, getting pampered with a spa treatment, sitting poolside and having great food and drink options to sample while doing it, or sitting in one of the grandest hotel lobbies in Egypt sounds relaxing to you, then welcome to the Sofitel. This hotel sits on the southernmost tip of Zamalek Island and has unparalleled views of the river, and the cylindrical shape of the tower also gives it spectacular views of downtown. Since it’s just a 5 minute taxi ride (or 30 minute walk) from Tahrir Square, it is still central enough to make a pit stop to chill by the pool in between sightseeing at the Egyptian Museum and taking dinner at an authentic restaurant downtown. The spa is also fabulous, offering all sorts of treatments to relax and rejuvenate after (or before) a day of sightseeing for reasonable prices. The best part? All of this relaxation can be had for one-third of the price of costly competitors like the Four Seasons.
Aside from the luxurious lobby, the outdoor areas at the Sofitel and the multiple balcony views make this hotel a must stay.
