Meshra Katto — Hotel in Elephantine Island

The guest house is located on the West side of Elephantine island, giving the property commanding views over the Nile and the desert on this side of the river, away from the comparative noise and busyness of the East side of the island. A delicious breakfast is served on a roof terrace with spectacular views. The owner, Mohammad, is an amazing host who looks after his guests. He arranged a complimentary boat pick up from the mainland straight to the guest house’s own landing and arranged an additional boat journey that I requested from the hotel directly to the landing near Aswan railway station as I had a big bag. Mohammad arranged a day of visits for me, including a driver and two different boat captains to take me to Kalabsha and Philae temples respectively. The individuals Mohammad put me in touch with were very helpful and flexible to my plans and how much time I wanted to spend at each site, including arranging the license required to visit the less popular Kalabsha temple. Mohammad realised I was very interested in Egyptian history, and so also arranged for an additional visit to the little-visited ruins on Bigeh Island next to Philae, which was much appreciated as I had not known how I could access this location myself! Throughout the journey, Mohammad followed up with my driver to ensure the trip was going well and to check up on our progress. Mohammad’s local expertise is exceptional and his recommendations were much valued. The guesthouse has an affiliated restaurant, Kush, which serves delicious food with amazing views! I thoroughly enjoyed my stay at Meshra Kato and will be recommending it full heartedly. I look forward to staying there the next time I...

Many tourists overlook Aswan, Egypt; they stop there only to tour Abu Simbel's nearby or embark on river cruises anchored in the city. On my trip to Egypt, I choose to spend a week in this small city and discover many surprises. Instead of staying in the dusty downtown hotels, I prefer to stay in a guest house on the historic Elephantine Island, just a 5-minute local ferry ride away. ||Elephantine Island is where the local Nubian village is located. Although, some guest houses are facing the city. I choose the Meshra katto Guest House on the other side of the island. There you have a vista of a calm desert landscape and the Nile passing right at the front door. Breakfast and dinner are served on the rooftop. So there is plenty of time to kick back relax away from the hustle of the city dust and noises. Besides the Nubian culture on the island, you can explore the desert across the river Nile from the hotel, where monasteries and the Tomb of the Nubian nobles are. ||Meshra katto is a small affordable private Guesthouse The owner, Mohammad, speaks excellent English and is very accommodating. The guest house has single, double rooms and rooms for families. I highly recommend you spend a couple of days there. ||The owner Mohammad, can be reached at +20 122 572 1280...

We are a family of 4 with two young kids. We came back to Aswan after an early day trip to Abu Simbel. Meshra Katto's ferry was waiting for us at the port. We boarded the ferry and we landed straight in front of the property.

It was more like a home stay. The rooms were clean and tidy. There was a common kitchen and bathroom for two rooms and a common lobby. The bathroom was very basic, but was well equipped. The host was the warmest person we encountered in our 10 day trip in Egypt. He made us feel very comfortable. The welcome drink mango juice was delicious and the rooms had very good wifi.

Their terrace lounge is one of the best spots in the island. Has an amazing view and designed rustically overlooking the Nile. Breakfast was decent. We felt very safe. We left the kids in the room and went to the nearby temple as a morning walk. There was a beautiful bas-relief overlooking the Nile and Aswan with a gateway (good for photos). And later we took a dip in the Nile.

Everything felt so good about this hotel and elephantine island. I recommend everyone visiting Aswan to stop by here and relax for a day or two. Can't recommend Meshra...