Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at Nile Plaza — Hotel in Cairo

I was wondering if this hotel would be the right choice for 2 nights in Cairo. We had gone to the Mena House for 2 nights to be near the pyramids and that was a good move. This hotel was for the time in Central Cairo. We were happy here and I think the location is pretty central. The St. Regis is in another part of town not close to here (by the financial district on the island of Zamalek I believe); that hotel might be better, but I didn't get to visit it. The Ritz Carlton is nearby but I prefer Four Seasons because I know I can use the hotel's spa facilities gratis as a guest and not have to pay extra and I know the gyms and pools will be good. The Ritz Carlton used to be a Hilton and it's near Tahrir square which doesn't allow pedestrians to walk on it. I'm wondering how that is going to work since they are building a huge Marriott right by the square. The Four Seasons also is a place you can't walk around nearby; you can hardly cross the street which is like a Formula One raceway; there are no sidewalks and the area around it is seedy and dark although I am told they are renovating the area and it will get better. As a tourist, you get in a car or a bus to go anywhere so I don't really know how much our location mattered but it seemed convenient. ||We had a diplomatic corner suite with a large balcony with a great Nile and city view. The room works; it has good AC and shower. It has a second bathroom in it. It is very spacious. What we didn't like was that it was a real riddle operating the lights and the decor is plain vanilla. It lacks any local flavor or real decoration aside from a picture of the pyramids in one of the rooms. The gym is very good and I understand it will get better after a renovation soon to come. The indoor and outdoor pools are very good (there is a separate lap pool as well) and the indoor pool and spa are open till 10; there is no machine to dry a bathing suit. To get to the gym after 10 you need someone to open the spa so you can walk through it to get to the gym. The room cards are smart in the elevator; when you use them, the elevator knows which floor to take you to. Breakfast buffet was rather good (you can get cream cheese and avocado brought to you) and the dinner buffet was good although it was a Ramadan-themed buffet which did not offer much to the international traveler who is not celebrating the Iftar. They accommodated us and made fish, rice and vegetables for us but it was annoying that these kinds of standby items were not on the buffet. There seems to be too many 5-star hotels in Cairo and prices for rooms and food are cheap here compared to other parts of the country. I felt good value for money at the Four Seasons. Only pain point here was that at check-in people were breaking their fast and our luggage just sat around for a good hour till we came down and grabbed it. I think that could be expected anywhere in a Moslem country at Ramadan, even at a Four Seasons property; we were told that had we checked luggage on the plane, we'd be sitting at the airport for hours waiting for the bags. Prearrival, I found concierges not trying too hard to book our reservations with the hotel's spa and restaurants until I pushed harder to get things to move. It seemed very bureaucratic at some point till I complained and then things moved well. But aside from those items, it's a very good hotel and probably one of the...

Sub-par service all around.

Just checked out of a suite here at the Four Seasons. After spending three days- two nights at a premium suite at the hotel for a wedding that was held on September 24, at the same hotel, I can definitely say that the hotel suffers from poor service all around.

Before I start my criticism, here are some of the good things at the hotel, which should be expected at a Four Seasons, with a premium Nile View. So yes, the view, the rooms are we maintained, the hotel facilities are in a good condition, the food is excellent, especially the Zaitona premium open buffet, the quality of the rooms service food is great, pretty much everything anything you need you can find at the hotel especially with the Baymen mall being located on the annex.

The negatives:

The (practically non-existent) Reservations Department

Almost all the groomsmen, including myself tried to make reservations by calling the hotel, and to our independent absolute shock, the hotel wasn't able to take our reservations over the phone because the reservation staff was never there, yes we called on different days at different days, past 9-5 and perhaps on weekend, but never at a very late hour. It is rather strange to be honest.

The Front Desk staff

Simply incompetent. From the get go, they entire staff manning the front desk was clueless about rates, slow, unprofessional at best, at points rude. With the exception of a manager, Ms. Inas M. all in all all my dealings with the front desk were rather horrific. Noting that I was best man at the wedding I had tens of dealings with the front desk.

Valet and Concerirge

While most staff at both units of service were super helpful and enjoyed high degree of customer service understanding, a few bad apples were present, particularly within the valet team. Straight up rude and dismissive

Ballroom Management and Staff

To simply put it, one of the ballroom managers where we had held the wedding at, tried to scam me out of an extra tip, claiming that the the ballroom waiters hadn't been tipped yet, which turned out they were. This was a scam of a few thousand Egyptian pounds. The groom and I got the money back eventually.

Room Service Staff

While most were polite and spot on, one particular room service staff member almost adamantly refused to hand my a wine bottle opener that I had asked for, it was only when I offered to buy it from him when he felt shy and handed it over, as if I was going to keep the bottle opener for myself while I am staying at a $400 per night hotel.

All in all, it's a damn shame that such a high caliber hotel...

They say that Egypt is an adventure of a lifetime, and it is, but even more so with the help of the Four Seasons Cairo. I did not plan anything for this trip and worked directly with the Four Seasons guest services who planned every aspect of our trip from hiring the best driver we could have ever had in Cairo; our tour guides; and all the experiences. Firstly, they paired us with the best private driver, Sam, who took us all around Cairo including to the Pyramids, museums, and the Bizarre. He ensured that our trip was seamless and safe. We also had an amazing and knowledgeable tour guide Ashraf Zaghloul in Cairo. He was amazing ensuring that we had a great time and also helped us to take all the instragram photos and moments!! INVALUABLE as a tour guide. I will also note that I use a wheelchair and both Sam and Ashraf assisted me throughout all of the tours making Egypt very handicap accessible. They even helped me pick me up and carry me onto a Camel for a Camel ride around the pyramids. Again, what a once in a lifetime moment. The Four Seasons also arranged a private Felucca Ride on the Nile. I would be remissed not to mention the manager at Byblos - which is the roof top restaurant at the Four Seasons. My mother and I went here every single night during our stay because they had such amazing food; staff; views; and hooka. SO huge shout out to Mustafa Shendi who made dinner every night at the Four Seasons one to remember. I think of all my world travels, he provided the best dining experience of anywhere i have been. There is really no need to leave the hotel for dinner when you have world class restaurant such as Byblos and Mustaffa running the place. Sameh Elshafey was also incredibly kind and helpful to us guiding us through the airport with immigration and luggage to make our travel experience easy - just world class assistance. I cannot thank enough Sam our driver; Mustaffa; Ashraf; Mustaffa; and the Four Seasons for a trip of a lifetime. There is no other hotel I would consider staying at in Egypt. I will cherish these memories for the...