Sahara Pyramids Inn — Hotel in Giza

I enjoyed my stay at this hotel. I was on a week long business trip. I wanted to stay near the pyramids for the view, easy access in my free time, and a more authentic experience than a big box hotel in the middle of downtown . This hotel did not disappoint on any of these points. The staff were all super friendly and very inviting. I checked in around midnight of the day I scheduled without issue. A lot of hotels won’t let you check in until after 10 o’clock. I was sweating this after a long travel. The hotel is decorated with papyrus art and pharaonic statues and tchotchkes. I detected no unpleasant odors in either the hotel or my room. They do burn sandalwood and patchouly incense every morning and evening in the common areas. My room was an inner room with no windows but was quiet and comfortable. The room was large enough to not trip on my bags as I moved about. The bed was a futon style pad on a raised box. I like a firm bed so this worked for me too. The room didn’t have a security box. It had a wooden box with a key lock and wasn’t fastened to anything. The shower worked and the water was hot enough to make chicken soup and never ran out. The toilet flushed every time I pushed the button, but with not enough force to get paper down. I accidentally rinsed my toothbrush in the tap water but didn’t experience any GI issues. I’m not saying I’d drink the tap water, but I got away with it that time. I’ve been to some places where it’s a one and done GI experience with tap and even the shower water. The hotel provided me with all the bottled water I needed for drinking and use. The breakfast was an egg fritada, bologna slice with cheese, some bean paste, a yogurt, a few pieces of bread, and a bottle of water. I opted to eat dinner in the restaurant every evening. The food was great and the servings were generous. Obviously hotel food is a little more expensive than the local economy, but it was also very convenient and you can’t beat the sunset view of the pyramids off the balcony. The streets are safe to walk at all hours. The police presence is heavy and constant. And a working ATM is right around the corner. |The hotel is ran by a family group. Everyone knows everyone else in and everyone is someone’s cousin. I liked that. It fit the idealized model of the family enterprise I had of Egypt. The taxi ride from the hotel to the Cairo museum and all the surrounding cultural/tourist sites lasted from 45 to 60 minutes and costed 4-5 USD in an Uber. Getting picked up by the Uber. In front of the hotel was not a problem. It usually took about 5-10 minutes for the Uber to arrive. I will return to Egypt for work again and liked the hotel well enough that I will probably stay here again and would recommend it to a friend as long as you want the authentic local experience over the Ritz Carlton style stay. I loved the hotel. My wife is a bit of a “princess” and probably wouldn’t have liked it as much as I did. This place is for urban explorers. |I took a tour out of the hotel to Sakara with one of the cousins. The price was about the same as it would’ve been on Tripadvisor or Viator. The upside using the hotel was that I was on a business trip and couldn’t guarantee that I could make the tour. Things worked out for me and I informed them at 2200 the night before that I wanted to go to Sakara the following morning and they made it happen. I’ve taken an Egyptology course, so I’m pretty well read up on the site and culture. My guide wasn’t an anthropologist, but well versed on the area and still taught me a few things. He was pleasant and accommodating. The car was clean. The driver drove well. I went on the tour by myself, and they were willing to bump the time around, depending on how much time I wanted to spend at any given sight. The only downside of the tour was that we did stop at one site where he presented me with a local vendor that was selling very poor article like some fake Lapis Lazuli at exorbitant prices. I have several Lapis pieces at my house already and know what real lapis looks and feels like. It took me less than five seconds to identify his “Lapis” as howlite stone died blue. The vendor wouldn’t let me walk away and kept badgering me. I feel like my guide should act as a bodyguard from these guys. Outside of that everything was awesome. ||The surrounding area|The hotel isn’t responsible for what happens around it, but it is going to affect your stay. The entrance to the pyramids is about thirty meters from the front door of the hotel which is super convenient, but also means you’re going to get mobbed by panhandlers and street people selling cheap tchotchkes. They are ultra-aggressive and frustrating to the point of exasperation. I got short with one of the cousins at the hotel because I thought he was a panhandler at one point. I felt bad once I figured out who he was. By the second day of the panhandler started leaving me alone because I said “no” enough times by that point. The curio stores around the hotel are substantially more expensive than the Kahn al Khalil market. Most of the store owners are so aggressive that you can’t even browse without being accosted. Not all the stores are like that so you’ll have to figure that out on your own. Just work on your “no” game before you get there and don’t receive anything, they hand you or you just entered a...

Hotel smells like mold, uncomfortable beds. No elevator (5 store building) Hotel is run by a family and they are very dishonest when it comes to money . The hotel owner offered me a tour to Siwa for 7,500 EP I mistakenly read $750.00 . I gave him $800.00 He just kept the $800 and didnt say a word. I only realized now, after everything happened (and Im not longer able to complain about this one.)he Unfortunately I paid cash, and there is no way to dispute or get this money back).

The Owner of the hotel also promised to customized a tour for me. I was VERY VERY specific with what I wanted to see (showing pictures of the places I wanted to go and everything)... He promised to deliver my request. He took my money (I paid in cash). Then completely changed the tour on the day of departure (From a private tour to throwing me with a group of strangers. From seeing Djara Cave, to going to the White Desert only) When I realized the tour wasn't private or that I wasnt going to see the Caves I had requested they told me they (the hotel is a family business so owner and siblings) would refund me the money after I returned from the tour (silly me). When I returned from the White Desert tour with the group of strangers and asked for a PARTIAL refund, the hotel owner REFUSED to give me a refund. He found every excused in the books to explain why he wasn't going to give me a refund (from telling me there was an extra charge for converting money, to telling me the tour was considered a private tour because I didn't have to share a tent with anyone. In regards to the Djara Cave he gave me excuses saying it was a miscommunication during translation. The tour guide was very clear that the owner of the hotel had asked him about the Caves and he told the owner he couldnt do the caves because he already had the tour set up to the group I was unknowingly going to be joining) The hotel owner never informed me about the group or the cave. He took my money knowingly he wasn't going to deliver the services he was charging me for. He refused to offer any kind of Partial refund for selling me a tour and providing a different one.

He also completely robbed me when I mistakely made a mistake when talking about currency (Siwa).

Very VERY dishonest family business.

PLUS, they will stand over your shoulder waiting for you to write a review before you complete your stay (in my case - day 1) and now I need to figure out how to edit my review on booking dot com.

the view of the hotel is good, but not worth dealing with the thieves that run this place.

Run, don't look back, there are plenty of other nicer hotels around this place!

I will NEVER recommend a place like this to...

I recently stayed at the Sahara Pyramids Inn in Cairo, and unfortunately, my experience was not what I had hoped for. While the hotel is located in a convenient location near the Pyramids of Giza and other tourist attractions, there were several issues that left me feeling disappointed. Firstly, the room I was given was not clean was super small and had NO (correct) window. The sheets were stained, the bathroom was dirty and small, and there were hairs on the floorand on the sheets. Secondly, the Wi-Fi in the hotel was not existing and the only place with a wifi was the lobby at the ground floor. As a traveler who relies on the internet and staying in touch with friends, this was a significant issue for me. I was unable to get much work done and had trouble making plans for the day due to the poor internet connection. Additionally, the breakfast provided by the hotel was a nightmare. The food was not fresh, and the selection was limited, leaving me feeling unsatisfied and hungry. The breakfast in the photo is definitely not the one we got. Additionally there was not proper staff to serve, when we entered the roof where breakfast was supposed to be served there was absolutely nothing indicating a closed place. After inquiring some very young staff they brought us something to eat which was way different from the photo. The staff seemed disinterested and unhelpful, making for an overall terrible breakfast experience. Lastly, the noise level in the hotel was quite high, making it difficult to get a good night's sleep as. The walls were thin, and noise from the street and neighboring rooms could be heard clearly throughout the night. This made for an uncomfortable and restless stay. I would not recommend this hotel to travelers looking for a comfortable and enjoyable...