Egypt Travel Guide
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Sleeping By The (Red) Sea in Bir Suwair's Bamboo Shacks
We learned several things from our visit to Egypt last week. First, five star there does not necessarily mean the five star that you would be accustomed to. We stayed in three five star properties in the Sinai peninsula – the Four Seasons and the Concorde in Sharm El Sheikh, and the Intercontinental in Taba Heights, and, unless you count all inclusive buffets and slightly tired decor as desirable five star attributes, only the Four Seasons was up to scratch.
Second, do not trust the buffets. They will make most likely you ill.
Third, you may tire of the resorts after a week of the buffets and the activities and the enforced gaiety and being surrounded by what seems like half the inhabitants of Britain and Russia, comparing sun burn and complaining that the guy at breakfast overfilled the coffee cup.
This is when you need to escape. And this is where you should escape to: Bir Suwair, in northern Sinai, between Nuweiba and Taba. It’s a settlement on a lovely sandy beach (this is important because not all the beaches in Sinai are lovely and sandy; most are rocky and have to import sand that’s a bit chunky and scratchy, although they have awesome coral reefs to make up for this). And by “settlement”, we mean a group of about 30 campsites made up of bamboo and wooden shacks. Robinson Crusoe eat your heart out.
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Why We Won't Be Staying at the Hilton Fayrouz in Sharm El Sheikh
Let us preface this post by saying that we are not hotel snobs. We can take just as much pleasure in spending the night in a bamboo shack on the beach (more of that tomorrow) as we do checking out the latest fancypants hotel (although we’ll make sure we’re wearing full-cover, Damian Barr-style PJs in the shack – just to make sure of those sheets).
However, if a hotel is trading under a brand like, oh, say, Hilton, we do expect it to be a certain standard. And that standard is a little higher than a lobby that makes us want to run straight back to the airport:
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When 67 Steps Are 67 Too Many: The Funicular at Four Seasons Sharm El Sheikh
Note: This video is about two minutes and 20 seconds long, which is how long the funicular ride is. Enjoy!
You know the drill: you’re on holiday, you’re feeling kinda lazy, lying by the pool is great but hauling your bod back to your room is a trial.
Luckily, the folk at the Four Seasons in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, feel your pain, as we found out when we stayed there last week*. The resort is built over five levels running down the cliffside to the Red Sea below. Which is ace, because it gives buckets of space for the 200+ rooms (they’re self-enclosed little cottages), meaning that the resort feels half-empty even when it’s at full capacity as it was while we were there.
The downside, of course, is that with the pool and beach at the bottom of the resort, the reception and restaurants at the top and the rooms in between, your day could involve a lot of walking, which would hardly be conducive to a holiday state of mind.
There are 67 steps between the pool and the lobby – a lot for holiday feet. So to avoid over-stretching your calves (it’s hot, after all), they’ve had a funicular railway shipped over from Sweden to lug your sunburnt bones back to your room. It goes up and down all day, the journey takes just over two minutes and, as you can see from the video, gives you some pretty nice views of the resort.
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Two Weeks In Egypt At Two Hotels For $2,000
BudgetTravel just posted a special all-inclusive, 13-night package to Egypt - $1,999 per person - courtesy of Foreign Independent Tours. The price buys you airfare out of New York, local flights to your various destinations in Egypt, a four-night cruise, and a bunch of other perks. They're covering most meals, taking you on a bunch of tours that hit a bunch of highlights, and even hooking you up with an English speaking tour guide.
There are hotel stays on each side of the cruise, first at the Oasis Hotel in Cairo and then at the Al Nabila Grand Bay in Hurghada. Both are super-swank establishments and are quite suitable for a trip revolving around pre-planned daily excursions and nighttime spa pampering. The Oasis Hotel, just a few miles from the Pyramids of Giza, is a functional full-scale nine-acre resort in the middle of the desert. However, TripAdvisor reviews warn against staying in a room closer to the hotel's disco. Also, we're not crazy about that room decor (above.)
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Explore Egypt With The Fairmont and a Bonafide Presidential Guide
When is a tour more than just a simple follow-the-guide and snap-photos-when-you're-told kind of expedition? Well for one, when the tour includes an expert who's good enough to accompany President Obama. The Fairmont Hotel Global Explorer Series has got one event left this year and it's obviously of a Presidential caliber—but without the high-flying price.
The tour of Egypt runs November 27-30 and is a package including one night at the Fairmont Towers Heliopolis and two nights at the Fairmont Nile City. Included are tours of the pyramids, the Cairo Museum, a felucca trip on the Nile and a dinner lecture from Dr. Zahi Hawass, the Egyptologist deemed expert enough to accompany Obama to the pyramids earlier this year.
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It's Always Sunny at Fairmont Towers Heliopolis
Near Cairo, the Fairmont Towers Heliopolis has just had a major addition. Working around the original hotel while it was still operating, some magic builders have now created a fancy new conference center and 247 new hotel rooms right next door, and judging by this pic it is something special.
The architect got into the idea of the hotel being in Heliopolis, which means "city of the sun", by incorporating lines like sunrays into the design and even including sun motifs throughout. The new restaurant and café are impressive too: there's an artificial river running through the Aqua e Luce restaurant and Café Heliopolis is right in the center of the atrium entrance. Oh, and it even serves camel milk ice cream.
Advance purchase internet rates start at $136 a night, and they also have a few packages going: we like the bed and breakfast package (starting at $200 a night for a double) because it literally includes a full breakfast in bed, and the romance deal (with wine and cheese and a lovely late 4pm checkout) starts from $210 a night.
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A Boutique First For Cairo Coming Soon
“Cairo” and “tranquil” – not two words we’d normally associate with each other. At least, we didn’t until news of Villa Belle Epoque plopped into our inbox this morning.
It’s opening on March 21st and calls itself “Cairo’s first boutique hotel” – boutique meaning a 1920s villa with just just 13 period-style rooms, chandeliers, lots of balconies, and date palms and mango trees in the gardens. Foodwise, you can choose from Egyptian, Oriental, Italian and French; and there’ll even be a high tea served on the bank of the Nile on offer, as well as felucca boat trips at sunset.
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Cairo Loses a Hilton, Gains a Ritz-Carlton
We're looking forward to the new year; January 1st is traditionally a day for renewed hope and fresh beginnings, and no one is taking more advantage of this than Cairo's Nile Hilton. When the clock strikes midnight (Egypt time, of course), the 431-room historic hotel on the shores of the epic River Nile will become the Ritz-Carlton Nile Hotel.
As the first Ritz-Carlton in Egypt's capital city, The Nile Hotel will have to dust off its top hat and tails to remain a leader in Cairo and keep pace with the 5-star standard of Ritz-Carlton. What does this mean, exactly? It means sweet, sweet renovation of course. Beginning in mid-2009, the hotel will begin an ambitious 2-year revamp, while continuing to host guests. Although there will no doubt be angry TripAdvisor reviews about the construction, you just can't flip a Hilton into a Ritz without a little elbow grease (and a lot of brocade).
In case you're wondering why Ritz-Carlton picked this old Hilton as their new property, we refer you to its breathtaking view of the Nile and the abundance of hookahs they keep poolside. Too bad they didn't add belly dancers to the room service menu; then they probably would have gotten five-star status without the help of Ritz-Carlton.
[Photo: Etihad Holidays]
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Grand Hyatt Cairo Owner Now Says, "Party On Wayne"
Back in June we were stunned to hear that the owner of the Grand Hyatt Cairo committed the biggest party foul EVER by dumping out the remaining bottles of liquor from the hotel, worth nearly $1 million, into the Nile River.
Aside from getting unsuspecting fish drunk, Sheik Abdelaziz al-Brahim also said the hotel would no longer serve alcohol ever again, in accordance with the Islamic ban on alcohol.
Fortunately, someone has woken up and smelled the absinthe. The owner has struck an agreement with Hyatt to serve alcohol in the hotel's restaurant on the 40th floor. This restaurant will actually be a Hyatt enterprise so the sheik doesn't have to be involved in the sale of alcohol. Guests can also order alcohol through room service.
While it's not quite the "Shorty, let me buy you a drank" vibe we were hoping for, getting drunk in a secluded restaurant on the 40th floor or in our private rooms will suffice.
[Photo: Chrispitality]
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Nikki Beach Hotels To Open Resort in Egypt's Hacienda Bay in 2012
Sure you've heard of Nikki Beach Hotels, a self-styled funky line of resorts in all those cool places like Panama,Turks & Caicos, and Honduras, that pride themselves on hip style, music, and film tie-ins.
Nikki recently announced they're opening up a beach resort in Egypt's Hacienda Bay, which sits on the Mediterranean Coast, about 60 miles west of Alexandria (between Cairo and Sharm el Sheik).
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Owner of Grand Hyatt Cairo Commits Biggest Party Foul Ever
PARTY FOUL, MAN: the owner of the Grand Hyatt Cairo recently decided to ban liquor from his hotel. Citing religious reasons, the Saudi owner showed everyone he was totally serious by reportedly pouring over one million dollars-worth of beer, wine and whisky into the Nile River.
One million dollars. Into the river.
Dude, COME. ON. There are thirsty men and women in America; why'd you have to go and be that guy by dumping all that precious nectar into a @#$%!*# river?
According to the LA Times, the Egyptian Hotel Association is all like "oh hells no":
The move is a gesture to bring his business into conformity with Islamic standards. That may be so, but the Egyptian Hotel Assn. has its own rules. The organization has given [the owner] an ultimatum: Either put the liquor back by July 2 or have his hotel demoted from five to two stars
Ha! That'll show him: take away stars from his hotel to depress him so much that he'll want to drink away his sorrows. Well played, Egyptian Hotel Association.
Meanwhile, we're wondering if the Nile tastes delicious right now.
[Photo: Chrispitality]
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Sonesta Beach Resort Serves up Smiles and Skin in Sharm El Sheikh
We now present you with our VIP Hotel Reviewer Series in which we hand-pick experts in the travel and media worlds and beyond to tell us what are their favorite hotels and why. Once a week, we'll feature a hotel review from said VIPs about their favorite leisure or business hotels. Pay attention: These VIPs are experts at what they do and they don't mess around when it comes to their hotels.
Our next VIP reviewer is Chris Clarke, the blogger behind the hotel industry site Vacant Ready He's traded living in Vancouver for Egypt for a little while and of course is checking out the hotel scene over there. Here's his story on a little holiday he took.
I'm currently based in Cairo, and like most of my colleagues here I look forward to getting out of town for a little R&R. Last weekend I checked into the all-inclusive Sonesta Beach Resort for five days of amazing Red Sea snorkeling. This was not my first time visiting Sharm, but it was my first visit to the Sonesta Resort.
The expansive resort grounds are very well maintained, and offer just about any activity imaginable. Guestrooms are huge, though fairly sparse in amenities. Food and beverage offerings were surprisingly good for an Egyptian all-inclusive -- right up until I got sick the last night after dinner.
This surprised me since my system is accustomed to all kinds of abuse from Cairo's culinary scene.
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