Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at The First Residence — Hotel in Giza

It was the worst stay for me in a “Luxury brand” the same was shared with the staff upon check out where I was in touch with the second highlight of my whole stay “Cheif Concierge Sharif” who tried to ensure that I won’t leave while unhappy and unsatisfied, which was not the same with the entire Housekeeping management team “the director and the assistant director” who did not care or bothered with one of the issues I faced during my stay in the hotel.|Housekeeping is a daily miss except and careless of guests items for one day in one of the shifts where I really felt the room was cleaned properly and it was “Hajjaj”||The room is spacious and the layout is nice as it is assemble a suite in a way.|The big negative thing is the daily issues I had with the housekeeping:|1-they never refill the coffee amenities where I am always on a daily basis forced to call housekeeping for the refill for certain items; which show and extreme lack of customer needs knowledge or expectations.|2-everyday I place one of the bathrobes on the floor while I did not use it, and whoever cleans the room put it back on the hanger as new bathrobe to be used, it was dirty upon my check in with makeup on it while I did not use it at all and the housekeeping staff did not bother to think about the hygiene by putting a bathrobe from the floor of the bathroom to be used and on why I kept putting it on the floor everyday without using; shows lack of care.|3-one of the days, the housekeeping who cleaned the room seemed that he/she ran away from something; as the coffee amenities where empty, the toilet rolls where finished and not replaced, the towels were removed to be washed but not replaced and there was no refill/replacement of the complimentary water bottles! This is not acceptable in any level of hotels from economy to luxury and from one to five stars.|4-the biggest issue I faced was: the housekeeping breaking my hair straightener and keeping it as nothing happened for me to find out; where I went down the reception office with the picture of the broken straightener where the reception staff took my room number and asked me to wait for someone, then the below happened:|a) the assistant director of housekeeping came to the reception floor and asked me about the issue where I showed him the pictures and said I will be in the cafe and the room is not on DND they can go amd check it physically and he said will check and call me on my mobile,|b) I received a call 50 minutes later from the assistant director where he apologized for what happened and offered to buy a new straightener which I refused as the one I had was from Selfridges in London and was expensive (600£), he said he will check with the management and call me back.|c) 30 minutes later I received another call from the director of house keeping apologizing for what happened and mentioning that they have reprimanded the housekeeping staff and they are very sorry for what happened then he kept quite insinuating that I should be satisfied now and that’s it, then I told him “so?” Where he repeated what he said, and again I said “then?” Here he said would it be fine by you for us to take your broken straightener and replace the broken part? Where I said no and cannot happen as the company would be different 100% since it is from abroad and if it did brake again I cannot fix it with the company as it was tampered with in another company, then the director said ok will see the management and call you back.|d) Three full days pass by and no one calls nor pass by my room on the same, where I went to the reception and highlighted this and the staff took my room number for a call back but again no one called nor passed by my room.|e) On my check out day when I was asked how was my stay I shared that it was the worst and the staff “Sharif - Cheif Concierge” tried his best but I refused without hearing what I would be compensated with and I said “I will for sure write the full feedback as this hotel was recommended to me by someone who knows the owner and promised me that I will enjoy it” but he insisted to try to compensate me and offered the airport drop off to be on the hotel, where I agreed but said that I will be sharing the feedback as I cannot believe the level of how much unconcerned the management was...

Arrived at the hotel which has its own bay for parking right outside, the team swiftly greeted us and helped us with our luggage inside, through security we went (this is very normal in Egypt) and we checked into room 1218. I noticed straight away the friendly staff and huge display of fresh flowers in reception. ||The room was immaculately clean, with large windows facing out over the zoo opposite and views in the distance of the mighty pyramids. ||1218 came with a large bed which was SO comfy, fluffy towels & robes too. There was a large bath which I made full use of and plenty of complimentary products to use. The room also has a large TV, safe, hairdryer & very good iron which I did use for my shirts for dinner. There is also tea & coffee making facilities. ||When booking this hotel I emailed them to let them know it was booked as a birthday treat for my partner. One night we came back to a massive happy birthday pillow on the bed and possibly the best tasting birthday cake for us to share - this really was very thoughtful. ||Venture down to the pool and you’ll find it heated and very inviting. Around the pool there are little rooms for guests to use with sofas & TVs inside, you can sit here and eat in the day or evening which we did and just relaxed. If you use the sun loungers a cool box of ice will be delivered to the table next to you with fresh water inside. There are ample fresh towels to use so don’t worry about bringing the towels from your room down to the pool. ||We explored the hotel quite a bit, full shopping mall is under the hotel, we didn’t personally buy anything there but for some people looking for gifts it would be ideal. We went into another bar in the hotel one night and it’s like a sports bar with free pool which we took full advantage of and really enjoyed the vibe.||The staff at this hotel will go over and above for you to make sure your stay is perfect. No ask is too big or too small, you really can just sit back and relax. ||If you dine on the boat which is semi attached to the hotel you will be whisked down by car which takes only 30 seconds or so, I imagine this is for guest safety as when we arrived at the boat there were a few beggars etc but nothing scary so don’t panic, the car just makes you feel even more special. The food on the boat was great, I had Chinese and my partner Indian and we enjoyed both. ||Each night the staff do turn down service, new waters are put in the room, bed turned down, curtains drawn and room cleaned again. I loved this after a busy day exploring Cairo or coming in from a meal it just felt like you could instantly relax. ||Location wise this hotel was about an hour from the airport. With uber it worked out at about £6 - amazing right! Things like the pyramids and museums ranged from 20 - 40 mins away which for us was fine. ||I’ll finish this review by simply stating this hotel blew me away. I am well travelled and the level of service and cleanliness was top notch. ||A big shout out to the reception team, our room attendant & the team working the pool area you were all amazing. ||If I was ever back in Cairo I would book here no questions asked and would recommend it to anyone wanting to know where to stay. ||Remember to tip the staff - 50 Egyptian pounds is £1 UK sterling so use the machines inside the hotel to get your Egyptian pounds out!...

If you're staying here in the next few weeks and plan to use the pool area, read to the end of this review. We had the occasion to stay here for two 4 night stays over a two week period, and over all the experience was top notch. Upon arrival we were warmly greeted and Yasmeen's welcoming at check in was our introduction to the positive friendly attitude that every member of the staff here demonstrated. During our second stay there was an issue relating to finding a nonsmoking room which was professionally handled by Tamer Kelany. It seemed that all the rooms were spacious and well laid out, and no request was too small. If you have the occasion to send out for laundry, you're in for a treat. And a really special recognition Ghada who kept our rooms spotless, neat, tidy, and took the time to get to know us. As it happened, we were on her floor for both stays and her always smiling personality was a pleasure to encounter. Our rate included daily breakfast at the Tea Lounge which you have to see to believe. A huge assortment of everything - freshly squeezed juices, a smoothie bar, baked goods, local dishes, fresh fruit were waiting for us every morning. The always pleasant wait staff seemed a little overwhelmed when it was busy - requests for coffee and cooked to order eggs at times taking longer than expected. The poolside Aura restaurant, open for lunch and dinner, has a huge and tasty menu with live music in the evenings. Finally, there's the pool which sits between the two hotel towers. It is in the sun between 11 am - 3:30 pm. The staff are very attentive, helping to find loungers, towels, food, drink, and stopping by with sample sized smoothies and ice waters. Unfortunately, there is major construction going on at the pool area. For the whole of our stays, we watched the workmen in their flip flops hammering up new cabanas, welders in their sunglasses connecting framing, and endured the never ending din of saws cutting steel, wood, tile, cement, only to be outdone by the guy with the jack hammer breaking up concrete. There is, and was, NO MENTION of this on their website, or even in the hotel lobby. The only signage posted to acknowledge is at the pool - a little late and a BIG fail for a Four Seasons hotel. The pool area only gets 4 hours of direct sun - one might have thought to pause the construction for this period at least. So be aware. And if you plan to use the pool during a stay over the next few weeks, contact the hotel first to get an update on what you might still expect. Aside from this, I wouldn't hesitate to stay here again - this hotel is very nice, and the staff here...