Ithaka Mansheya Hostel Alexandria — Hotel in Alexandria

I arrived early morning together with fellow guest from bus terminal. This guest messaged hostel that she'll arrive early morning like 5am and hostel replied no problem. When we arrived hostel, nobody answered despite we rang the bell and called the hostel number numerous times. Finally, one lady opened the door and she showed grumpy face like "What time is it? Why do you wake me up so early?" Not even single "Welcome!" or "Good morning" greeting. If hostel says reception is 24/7 and she is on night duty and knows some guests will come early morning, at least she should be ready or set an alarm to attend immediately.

Coffee and tea are all chargeable even during breakfast. This is the only hostel I encountered such thing. I've stayed many hostels in all around Egypt such as Cairo, Hurghada, Luxor, Aswan etc and at all hostels coffee and tea are free. This is not Egyptian hospitality.

As some other guests wrote about it, toilet rolls are always run out. And they don't even care about refilling. I had to ask reception everytime when I go to bathroom, that's ridiculous!

One living room area is used for "smoking room" and empty almost all the times, which is a huge waste. Why can't smokers just go down to smoke?

Wifi in female dorm is not working. I believe many guests feedback about it, but again, they don't care. When I reported reception, she said she messaged to management, but nothing happened while I was there nor no response from them.

Shower water pressure is low, room is too cold since there is a gap at the bottom of the door and wind comes in, can't use lift... lists continues.

Staff are not friendly, except one lady who checked me out. They do their job, but that's it. Not smiling, nor interacting with guests.

This hostel don't provide Egyptian hospitality which I received at the rest of...

The rooms are comfortable, the facilities are nice, and the location is excellent. That said, I had several experiences worth mentioning:

Alcohol incident: I mistakenly brought in a beer (5% alcohol, purchased legally from a nearby shop). When I was told it wasn’t allowed, I immediately threw it away without drinking it. Despite respecting the rule, the manager insisted that I either pay a fine or wouldn’t be allowed to extend my stay. Strangely, later that same day I saw another guest openly walking around with an alcoholic drink and no one stopped him. This felt inconsistent and unfair.

Treatment of guests: I noticed a clear inferiority complex toward locals. Egyptian guests are treated as second-class, while foreign tourists—especially Western/white foreigners—receive noticeably more lenient and friendly treatment.

Tour business issue: A staff member (a man wearing a hat) was speaking with a Canadian guest about arranging a private car to Siwa. When the guest asked about travel onward to Cairo, I mentioned that there’s also a comfortable, affordable public bus option. Later that evening, the staff member told me I had “ruined his business” by sharing this, since he relies on keeping such public transport information from tourists.

Lost watch (Garmin Venu, ~500 EUR): I can’t say who took it or whether it was a guest or staff, but I know for certain I left my watch behind when rushing out for important meetings. When I returned two months later and asked about it, the staff member in the hat immediately and confidently told me that I hadn’t left anything there, leaving no room for doubt. The manager, however, kindly said he would check, and I appreciated that. Still, the watch never turned up. I’m not directly accusing anyone, but it was left at the hostel and unfortunately...

Ithaka has to be one of the best hostels in Egypt. It’s also probably one of the most expensive, being the only real hostel in Alexandria - which is pricier than most of Egypt in general - but for the quality I’d say it’s worth it.||Located on the 2nd floor of a building right on the seafront, it’s directly halfway between the Citadel of Qaitbay and the Library, and right above or close to lots of nice Egyptian-style cafes (the city is known for its cafe culture). The railway station is a 20 minute walk so nice and close.||The hostel is clean and modern and colourful, with a terrific common area (half of which is sadly given over to smokers, smoking indoors is the norm in Egypt), and is also filled with cushions, books and games. The bathrooms are large and were usually in a good state. Check-in and WiFi access is done via scanning a QR code so very modern, and the dorm has great AC (although it was a little too cold at times) with great beds which have two fab pillows and blankets (!) and an under-bed locker which you are given a padlock for (a 100 LE deposit is taken for this). There is also a “mini-market” tuckshop in reception where you can buy cheap snacks and drinks.||The breakfast is terrific - tea or coffee with a mixed plate of flatbread, Egyptian beans, cream cheese, cucumber, fried egg and a sweet cereal bar. Laundry can be done for 30 LE which is a great price. The staff were all sweet and helpful.||Decent beaches aren’t plentiful in Alexandria but Stanli beach (under the Stanli bridge) isn’t bad, 25 LE entry, and you can easily take an Uber there. The Royal Jewellery Museum is close to there also, as is Gleem Bay, which has plenty of great modern cafes and restaurants.||Overall a fantastic stay, I’m sad I had to leave!...