Great Pyramid Inn — Hotel in Giza

TLDR: Despite good reviews, our stay at the Great Pyramid Inn was marked by outages, broken promises, and some of the worst hospitality we’ve experienced.

We first picked this hotel due to the great reviews and photos we saw about this hotel. What we actually got was a series of logistical disasters, misinformation, and some of the worst hospitality we've experienced. Before we even arrived, we tried to request a pyramid view room but there was no option to do so, so we left a comment asking - no response. We tried calling this hotel multiple times. No answer.

When we got to the hotel (with the complimentary airport transfer), the staff was friendly and they changed our room to accommodate for our earlier arrival. The room was clean and tidy. But any hopes of relaxation quickly ended when we opened the curtains to find our “city view” was a wall, literally a concrete wall. Zero natural light. And to make matters worse, the WiFi didn’t work (a huge issue since only one of us had a working eSIM). Staff told us it was due to a citywide outage, but we had perfectly working WiFi everywhere else in Cairo and Giza that day.

Now, the nightmare.

While one of us was in the shower, the hotel suddenly lost all power and with it, all running water. Keep in mind: our room had no natural light. So now we were in pitch black, (and very hot due to no air conditioning).The front desk vaguely said it was a government-related outage and that it would return in “20 minutes.” We went out for lunch — only to find that every single store and restaurant in the area had full electricity and running water. An hour later, we returned to total darkness. Still no water. The hotel couldn’t explain why they didn’t have a backup generator. We were forced to shave and wash up with bottled water and phone flashlights, not exactly what you expect from a “top-rated” hotel.

We were forced to spend the whole day out in the city, and we had no way of knowing when the power was coming back because again, they don’t pick up the phone. Eventually, the power and water came back. When we explained everything to staff, they were kind and offered to move us to a better room with a pyramid view, free of charge, and even encouraged us to book dinner on the rooftop terrace. We were hopeful. That didn’t last.

The new room had a beautiful view, but was located in a different wing and the elevator to that section wasn’t working. Again, we rolled with it. After returning from a long day in Giza, we were looking forward to a proper shower. Instead, we found cold water and a shower that sprayed and leaked all over the floor, flooding the bathroom. Staff came, confirmed the issue, brought a couple of towels, and said they’d return in two minutes. They never did. We followed up at the front desk only to be told that it couldn’t be fixed until morning.

Still trying to salvage the night, we went to the rooftop for the dinner we were promised. Despite assurances earlier, we weren’t given the table we’d been told was reserved for us, but that wasn’t the issue. There was no functioning WiFi, and our phone’s data wasn’t working either. When we asked for a physical menu, we were told to scan the QR code. We explained (again) that we couldn’t, they said they’d bring us one. Then nothing. We waited. And waited. After over 30 minutes with no menu, no order taken, no acknowledgment, and other tables being served around us, we left.

We understand things happen- power outages, technical issues. But what separates a good hotel from a bad one is how they respond. The Great Pyramid Inn failed at every turn. No contingency planning. No communication. No accountability. And unfortunately, no hospitality.Do yourself a favor — skip this hotel and find another place in Giza that treats its guests with basic respect and is prepared to deal with the realities of...

Five stars for hospitality, kindness and empathy! My wife and I had a reservation at the hotel for a 1-night (Tuesday) stay in late Dec 2023. We arrived around 11:00 am with the intention of leaving our bags at the front desk, visiting the pyramids and returning late evening to check-in. To our surprise the manager at the front desk told us that our room was ready to check in! The room was spotless and very nice. The view of the pyramids form the room was breathtaking! The hotel lobby was spotless with the ambiance/aesthetics depicting the Egyptian civilization. En route to the room, everything was in order and gleaming! The bell boy who helped us to the room was very nice and friendly. Back at the lobby after check-in, the manager offered to arrange a tour of the Giza pyramids which we took. Considering the Sound and Light show at the pyramids, happens only on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, he offered for us to view it from their roof top restaurant the following evening (Wednesday) despite us having been checked out. This would mean we could save on the entry tickets (USD 26.00/person) to see the show! How very nice! Now for the part which demonstrates true hospitality, genuine empathy for guests and charitableness on the part of the hotel management. Later that evening I started to feel unwell and into the night it worsened. Since the plan was to stay in the area and do additional sightseeing, shopping and cap it off with the Sound and Light Show in the evening, me becoming unwell threw this plan into disarray. Considering our only chance to see the Sound and Light show was Wednesday evening, my wife asked the manager if he could extend our stay in the room until evening for an additional fee as our plans to go outside have to be cancelled due to me being unwell. He looked though the bookings and told us the current room was unavailable, but he could accommodate us in another room, which we happily took up. The second room was as good as the first … spotless and very nice! When my wife asked for directions to the pharmacy, in addition to providing the directions, the manager sent a bell boy to accompany her to the pharmacy. This meant she did not lose her way to the store and in case of a language issue, the bell boy would help. Truly a noble thought! After having accommodated us with a room, helped with getting medicines from the pharmacy earlier in the day, in the evening when we finally came down to checkout, the manager refused to accept any rent for the additional hours of stay! We insisted that he charge us for the room as the help he rendered was immeasurable. Even then he did not relent. After much insistence he suggested we donate any amount into a charity box placed in the lobby in lieu of the rent. We were truly speechless at his gesture. My wife and I still have no words to express our feelings. Such acts of kindness truly reinforce the belief of humility. I sure will pay it forward. We went up to the roof top restaurant and experienced the Sound and Light show. I have traveled to many parts of the world and stayed at many hotels. Undoubtedly, the hospitality, kindness and empathy shown by the hotel manager and his staff at Great Pyramid Inn, Giza, is something I have not experienced before and will cherish and treasure forever. Thank you management and staff of Great Pyramid Inn, Giza! You the best!

PS: The pictures reflect the the hotel corridors. The view of the pyramids are taken from the hotel roof...

I wish I could leave a great review for this hotel. I had an amazing experience staying here for 3 nights other than 1 very extremely uncomfortable situation that happened my first day here. I’m a solo female traveler age 35 so I run into plenty of uncomfortable situations daily but this tops the list of uncomfortable situations I’ve encountered in all of my solo travels. If that situation never happened, this would have been 5/5.

I stayed in a balcony with pyramids view room and the view is unlike anything I’ve seen. It’s a great room to view the pyramids at day and night. At night, it’s easy to watch the Sight and Light show from the room or balcony. I definitely recommend getting a room with balcony if you are planning to stay here. I did a lot of research before booking this room and I can confirm that this hotel gives the best views of the pyramids. It does a little noisy sometimes with traffic and people but that’s expected. I brought earplugs every night so the noises never bothered my sleep.

Breakfast/lunch in the mornings (until 1pm) was great and the food was fresh with a lot of hot and cold options to choose from. The view from the rooftop restaurant was even better than the view from my room. Ali Baba was so kind every morning having a table set up for me with nice views. They offer fresh squeezd juices. Having breakfast here every morning was a great start to every day. I also ate dinner here a couple nights and the food was also great, I tried their Egyptian dishes and was happy with everything I ordered. They have a ton of non alcoholic drink options and coffee drink options. Overall very happy with the food and drink options.

The first day I arrived, I had gone out souvenir shopping and came back with a couple heavier bags. I brought the bags into the lobby and the receptionist told me I could leave them there and he’d send someone up with the bags. I went to my room and a few minutes later I heard a door knock and opened the door to a young 17 year old boy. He brought the bags into my room, I thanked him, gave him a little tip, closed the door behind him, and then laid on the bed as I was tired from the shopping. A couple minutes later, he opens the door to my room WITHOUT KNOCKING, walks in, and asks for a selfie. I jumped up from the bed and said fine to the selfie. I really just wanted him to leave since I was uncomfortable with the situation. After I took a selfie with him, he tried to kiss my neck and I tried to move away. He left when it was clear I wasn’t reciprocating. After this situation, I saw him around the hotel several more times throughout my stay there. That left such a bad taste in my mouth and made me feel uncomfortable every time I saw him. I didn’t feel comfortable telling management about the situation during my stay because I was afraid of retaliation from him.

Overall, great hotel and highly recommended but I hope management deals with their inappropriate employees...