Noprea Boutique Hotel (best view 4U) — Hotel in Heissa Island

Firstly the location of the hotel is stunning - just picturesque, the staff working there are absolutely incredible, the atmosphere was amazing, the boat transfers to the main island are beautiful and peaceful, the flexibility of being able to leave and come back when we wanted was so helpful, the food is some of the best food I've ever eaten in my life; and I would have loved to have left a 5 star review based on the hotel and experience alone but Tamar the manager, (updated review 16/04/2025) unfortunately made the payment experience very stressful, after ignoring my messages and only replying with screenshots of the refund once I posted this review and contacted the Egyptian Fawry myself. It shouldn’t have been this complicated but I think it’s only fair to update the review if the situation is resolved.

At the end of the stay, I paid for my meals and boat transfer costs accidentally, twice by card, as the staff working there don't speak English so great, which is understandable since we're in a remote area of Egypt and unfortunately I don't speak Arabic. I didn't want to leave without ensuring the transaction had gone through. No charges showed up on my bank statement and since the card machine was in Arabic I couldn't see if the transaction successfully went through. Tamar the manager wasn't there at the hotel when we checked out, he was in Cairo, but kept calling as we checked out to translate the conversation between the staff and me and my friend. It was so disorganised and I was offered no receipt or confirmation of my payment. Tamar assured me, if I had paid twice, he would refund me.

This was the case and I gave him all my banks details and screenshots of the duplicate payment straight away.

I stayed at the hotel in November 2024. Fast forward to 2025, I have only now in April received a screenshot of a refund from April 2025 AFTER the second charge was taken from my bank account - this is so incredibly unprofessional. Initially, I didn't want to communicate sensitive information through WhatsApp, as it felt incredibly insecure and I tried to communicate through Booking.com where I made the booking originally, but Booking.com didn't forward any of the documentation I'd sent and Booking.com were no help. I was left with no option but to continue this discussion with him, via WhatsApp. I asked him multiple times for a copy of my invoice or a receipt and he assured me he'd send me this once he went to the bank and he tried to convince me he was trying to help. I didn’t receive any of this documentation until today (16/04/2025) and he began to ignore me via WhatsApp.

My bank luckily refunded me, after I opened a card dispute so I stopped trying to contact Tamar and changed my phone number in the meantime due to other reasons but then on 14/04/2025, the charge was taken AGAIN from the Noprea hotel, even though I'd already paid twice. To reiterate, I stayed at the hotel in November 2024. I have all the screenshots of our conversation and proof of duplicate payment, I even have screenshots of my friend's bank transactions from the hotel too.

I'm disappointed it resulted in me posting this review for Tamar the manager reply to me, but not the hotel itself nor the staff working and despite such a negative stressful experience with him and the payment , I would still recommend for others to stay there. It's an amazing place, truly picturesque but I would recommend to pay in cash. Very sad to have had no other option but to leave a slightly negative review but I am sure you can still have a very peaceful perfect stay, without any of the...

Firstly the location of the hotel is stunning - just picturesque, the staff working there are absolutely incredible, the atmosphere was amazing, the boat transfers to the main island are beautiful and peaceful, the flexibility of being able to leave and come back when we wanted was so helpful, the food is some of the best food I've ever eaten in my life; and I would have loved to have left a 5 star review based on the hotel and experience alone but Tamar the manager, (updated review 16/04/2025) unfortunately made the payment experience very stressful, after ignoring my messages and only replying with screenshots of the refund once I posted reviews online and contacted the Egyptian Fawry myself. It shouldn’t have been this complicated but I think it’s only fair to update the review, if the situation is resolved.||||At the end of the stay, I paid for my meals and boat transfer costs accidentally, twice by card, as the staff working there don't speak English so great, which is understandable since we're in a remote area of Egypt and unfortunately I don't speak Arabic. I didn't want to leave without ensuring the transaction had gone through. No charges showed up on my bank statement and since the card machine was in Arabic I couldn't see if the transaction successfully went through. Tamar the manager wasn't there at the hotel when we checked out, he was in Cairo, but kept calling as we checked out to translate the conversation between the staff and me and my friend. It was so disorganised and I was offered no receipt or confirmation of my payment. Tamar assured me, if I had paid twice, he would refund me.||This was the case and I gave him all my banks details and screenshots of the duplicate payment straight away.||||I stayed at the hotel in November 2024. Fast forward to 2025, I have only now in April received a screenshot of a refund from dated April 2025 AFTER the second charge was taken from my bank account - this is so incredibly unprofessional. Initially, I didn't want to communicate sensitive information through WhatsApp, as it felt incredibly insecure and I tried to communicate through Booking.com where I made the booking originally, but Booking.com didn't forward any of the documentation I'd sent and Booking.com were no help. I was left with no option but to continue this discussion with him, via WhatsApp. I asked him multiple times for a copy of my invoice or a receipt and he assured me he'd send me this once he went to the bank and he tried to convince me he was trying to help. I didn’t receive any of this documentation until today (16/04/2025) and he began to ignore me via WhatsApp.||||My bank luckily refunded me, after I opened a card dispute so I stopped trying to contact Tamar, however the charge was taken AGAIN in April 2025 from the Noprea hotel, even though I'd already paid twice and had resolved this with my bank. ||||To reiterate, I stayed at the hotel in November 2024. I have all the screenshots of our conversation and proof of duplicate payment, I even have screenshots of my friend's bank transactions from the hotel too.||||I'm disappointed it resulted in me posting this review for Tamar, the manager, reply to me, but I am not disappointed with the hotel itself nor the staff working and despite such a negative stressful experience with him and the payment , I would still recommend for others to stay there. It's an amazing place, truly picturesque but I would recommend to pay in cash. I am sure without payment issues, you can still have a very peaceful...

Me (64), my son (35) and his father (73) stayed on this idyllic hotel for 3 nights and I still regret not to have had more time to stay there longer but our schedule was tight since Egypt has a lot to enjoy. The Noprea hotel is a quiet, beautiful, warm, comfortable place with relaxing sunrises and dreamy sunsets, located in one of the amazing Nubian islands (Heissa) at only 20 minutes by a nicely decorated and clean boat from the busy city of Aswan, enjoying a view of the Philae temple on the way; thanks also to the boat drivers. ||Beyond mentioning the beauty of this hotel, it is absolutely necessary to talk about the politness of those who assisted us. Special thanks from a colombian family to Mr. Tamer who not only took great care of us and delighted with his talks on history and philosophy since the moment we arrived, but who also was the perfect link to communicate with the wonderful Nubian people who own the hotel and are the ancient owners of all those lands. It saddens me that it was difficult to memorize the Nubian names (unusual for a Western person) but their faces and kindness will remain in my memory forever. ||About our room, we couldn't ask for more: wide with comfortable beds, with a spacious balcony and closet, nice and clean bed linen, huge bathroom, AC, wooden window and an amazing view. ||About the hotel itself, it captivates just upon arrival with its walls in white and sky blue colors, nicely decorated with both delicate Nubian crafts and a big painting of Maha Gamil, talented street artist of whom there are many other works in the city of Aswan. The architecture is really interesting, in a dome-style which gives rooms a perfect fresh environment. From the hotel's spacious and beautiful dining room you can not only enjoy the sunrise in the front row, but also an exquisite breakfast (try the falafel and freshly made Arabic bread) prepared by Nubian hands, widely recognized for their culinary talent.||Only one thing that the reservation operators do not mention clearly in their pages, Currently, it is adviseable to pay hotel, restaurants and some tourist services in cash (dollar or euro) since most of them are not taking cards; it also happen in other cities as Cairo and Abu Simbel. Finally, do not worry, we found Egypt a safe place to visit starting 2024; just a little patience with street vendors which, on the other hand, give a picturesque aspect of this...