Sofitel Le Sphinx Cairo

Quick Trip - Quickly disappointed

I’ll make this review quick as well. Very dirty floors/carpet throughout hotel. Should not be acceptable at a Sofitel. Pool was closed off. Number one complaint is that you cannot trust anyone, even at the front desk, which is an absolute shame. We figured we could expect to be taken to the right destinations if we booked a taxi through the hotel, afraid not, we were taken by our driver to a slum and led into a small house to look at "Camel Tours", they were asking $65USD, total scam, we threw a fit and had him drop us off at the legit part of town, tours were half the price. DO NOT LET YOURSELF GET SCAMMED. VERY EASY IN CAIRO. What a shame our own hotel was allowing us to be taken for "a ride". Never again.

Skip Cairo, go to Luxor if you want to enjoy Egypt. Cairo is definitely forgettable.

Sofitel Le Sphinx

If you want a good hotel downtown, near the Sphinx and Pyramids, take this hotel. You don’t even need to book any Pyramids/Sphinx tours. Its so so close to you. However, you are far from modern Cairo - the malls, modern streets for shopping, and Mohandesin, near Zamalek. Once you see the Sphinx, there isnt much to see again unless you travel to the "happening" part of town. Very very busy hotel due to location and may appear to compromise a little, the 5-star hotel standard. Hotel shops are equipped for almost everything you may need. Swimming pool is fantastic.Dont miss it! I stayed in one of the best rooms.Hotel staff made me feel welcome and did all to make me enjoy my stay.

Traveller's tip on local attractions

The Sphinx/Pyramids. You can see them from your hotel window.

Good value that has the essentials

This is an older hotel, so has the 70’s deco look and a bit frayed. However, it was clean and very convenient to the Giza pyramids and easy trip to Shaqqara pyramids. A bit of a ride to the city sights, but worth coming back to a quieter area. It was much quieter than most previous comments made it sound, especially if you get a garden room. The inner grounds landscaping and pool were very nicely maintained. If the pool chairs were all taken, they had a beautiful, soft grass area to lay upon. There was a convenience shop in the hotel for necessities. You will work for good service all over the city, so the hotel is no different, but you do get the service eventually. The food in the lobby cafe was excellent, from breakfast rolls to pizzas to hummus. The value is definitely worth the reasonable price and convenient location.

Traveller's tip on getting the most out of your stay

Pay the price for the camel ride around the back of pyramids and get away from the tourist busses - that’s what you are there for! The hotel taxis are convenient, but you pay for it. We hired a driver for three days and it was very reasonable, about $US 40-50 per day plus tips.

You can see the Pyraminds elsewhere, so find a more relaxing hotel somewhere else.

We chose the hotel based upon its proximity to the Pyramids. Unfortunately the hotel website fails to mention that the only thing between it and the Pyramids is a gigantic and chaotic road junction that never sleeps, nor stops spewing out diesel fumes. If you really want to stay here I would recommend a garden view room and not a Pyramid view room despite how nice the pictures look. As spectacular as the view of the Pyramids is, it is pretty quickly cancelled out by the constant, and i do mean constant, traffic noise and horn beeping which results in the strong diesel fumes building up outside your window. This problem also cancels out the benefits of what is quite a nice swimming pool and pool bar area. It is very difficult to relax by the pool when listening to the aforementioned constant traffic noise. And the adjacent road is certainly no side street, it is probably the busiest and most chaotic junction i have ever seen. And you hear every single moment of the action from just over the hotel walls. Staff, food and hotel condition were generally of a high standard but you dont need to stay here to see the Pyramids, that can be done during the day. Your far better off finding a hotel away from them to relax.

Pyramid view complete with a soundtrack of busy traffic.

The hotel was beautiful, the grounds kept up really well and the restaurants tasty. Our first room was a "Pyramid view" room, the view consisted of looking out of a small barred window and since it was right next to the street and Egyptians honk their car horn every 2 seconds, it was extremely loud. We asked for a room change. Our next room was still a "Pyramid view" room but this was set back a little further and had a nice deck to relax on. My parents room was a "garden view" and was extremely quiet, I would recommend that one. We requested a baby crib for our son and received a rickety, swaying crib that looked at if it would fall over any minute. Overall very happy with the location, the hotel and its services. Very friendly staff and everyone was really nice to our toddler.

good

nice hotel

An okay place to stay.

The hotel Property was very nice and the place itself is maintaned very well and very clean. The views of the pyramids were spectacular during sunset and at night when they ocassionally were lit up. However, there were a few things that i didn’t like as well. Our room had a weird musty smell that just killed me, also in order to conserve energy the Ac automatically shuts off when u leave your room, so when we would come back from a long hot day of being outside, the hotel room was just as bad if not worse. The room would be hot and smelly. I would often have to open the balcony door to let some air in and the smell out. The hotel is located a bit far from the main city, so the commute every day from giza to the city was long and expensive. Okay place to stay for a short trip if youre only going to see the pyramids as you can practically walk there, but if not then i suggest that staying in a hotel in the main city would be more convenient.

Traveller's tip

Negotiate everything in cairo and dont use transportation offered in the hotels as they are priced very high. also try to eat at restaurants outside the giza area where there are less tourists and you can have more variety at lower prices. buy bottled water from little shops selling drinks and snacks as they are available at cheap prices; also avoid drinking juices that are not canned or bottled, as my husband ended up getting a stomach flu from the lemonade he had at a restaurant.

Dated but good location and good value

Convenient location for the pyramids. Nice pool and garden areas. Good selection of bars & restaurants. Close to main roads so you really get a vibe for the hussle and bussle of Cairo daily life. Noisy when outdoors, but OK in rooms.

Traveller's tip on local attractions

Don’t get scammed by huslers at the pyramids, you’ll see what I mean when you get there. Just keep your wits about you and say no with an assertive smile. Top recommendation: if you meet a guy called Sayed with three ponies offering rides around the pyramids go with him, he’s the best guide in Giza and will take some great pictures of you! You will also avoid exhaustion, dehydration etc.

Very comftable hotel

The Hotel was very clean and the staff very friendly. Room service was very efficient. Hotel reception was very welcoming, The resturants in hotel were good with varied food available and the evening entertainment in the bar was good. The pool area very nice and relaxing. Enjoyed our stay very much. Thanks Sofitel!

Extremely nice hotel!

Very nice clean, spacious and impressive hotel. Service was excellent, rooms were impecable and well kept. The grounds are excellent, the garden and pool overlooking the pyramids was an amazing sight. Many bars and very nice varied restaurants within the hotel, four in total i think, with an incredibly cheap breakfast buffet. The hotel has all required facilities with a games area (pool, darts etc) internet facilities, in a very helpful information desk. The staff could not have been more helpful or welcoming and friendly. Didnt use the spa faciliies but did see them and they were very impressive, overall an amazing hotel that would rival some of the best in London. I would definately go back if i were to return to cairo again.

Traveller's tip on getting the most out of your stay

To see everything there is in Cairo, a guide is definately the easiest and safest way. There are many tour operators at Cairo airport offering a complete package including private transport everywhere. This turned out to be the best choice we made as the taxi’s there are distressing to say the least! Luxor is the place not to miss and worth the 1hr flight! Finally, a ’faluka’ (sailing boat) ride at sunset on the nile is an experience my girlfriend and I will never forget!

definately not five star like advised.

thought the level of standard for the hotel was below advertised, but located right on edge of an extremely busy intesection and roundabout.

three nights at the sofitel

aside from the fact that obtaining new batteries for the tv remote control too no less than three hours, and calls to room service often went unanswered, our stay wasnt all that bad. dont trust the hotel taxi people to reliably get you to the airport or hook you up with straight-laced camel rides. all of the connections we obtained through the hotel were SHADY! jewelry shops are beautiful but ridiculously overpriced. if you’re young and you like to get out and about, go to another hotel. there’s not really much to do. and the restaurants inside the hotel aren’t optimal for the times they’re open. but it’s a cheap hotel, so if you’re going by the ’you get what you pay for rule’, it wasn’t all that bad.

Traveller's tip on saving a few bucks

negotiate negotiate negotiate!!!!!! don’t ever take the first price they offer. not for the hotel, but for the shops and the businesses you visit. try to set the price at the beginning, and don’t get swindled into tipping too much!

More 3 star than 5 star

Apart from the constant noise of cars honking 24 hours a day, the pollution, the odd cockroach and the vague smell of sewage it’s an ok hotel and it does have a view of the pyramids. The concierge is very helpful, the desk staff are ok, their payment system if often down and they ask you to pay in cash. The pool is a welcome sight expect the hotel is next to the busiest roundabout in Cairo so it’s not exactly quite. The trucks with multi-tonal horns are the loadest & most annoying. They also charge you LE14 for a bottle of water (you are adviced not to drink the tap water) but if you go out the front door, turn right, there is a stall there that will sell it for LE4.

Traveller's tip on getting the most out of your stay

Giza pyramids are good but go to saqqara first, there is far more there if you are interested in the details of ancient Egyptian life. A black & white cab from Cairo town should be LE 40-50 (the Sofitel will charge LE80)

Hotel is not a luxury.

Its advantage is that it’s near pyramids and sphinx. but i didn’t feel it is a clean one. i.e: beds’ sheets has a smell.

Very clean hotel,th best holiday ever

This hotel is really clean , the service is more than good, they are all friendly and always here for you if you need anything.

Sofitel Le Sphinx Giza. Comfort in dusty Giza

The Sofitel in Giza is perfectly adequate european style hotel. the only critisism of the room was that it was quite dark for reading...could have had a few more lamps. there were also not many electrical sockets so if charging batteries one lamp would have to be off. The breakfast (included) was good with both fruit, cereal, pastries and egyptian style food available. The coffee let it down as it was generally awful. Also we didn’t venture to the cooked breakfast which included beef bacon! Staff were all friendly and helpful. There is a taxi service within the hotel which have very helpful drivers and reasonable prices. The Pool is great - very clean extremely deep - shallow end fenced for children - with a guard on duty most of the time. Pool bar does good food with chicken kebabs with chips and freshly squeezed organge juice - excellent. Gardens around pool area are well maintained and offer a pleasant change to the hot dust and general pollution around Giza. (you can hear the traffic noise as a busy roundabout is on the other side of the garden wall).

When you get asked by taxi drivers vendors etc if it is your first time or first day in Egypt don’t say yes straight away. You may be about to be ripped off as you don’t have an idea of how much baksheesh (tips) you should pay. Don’t get all of your egytian pounds in 100s. Remember that this is 10 sterling and is a lot to give in baksheesh.

Would not go back!

The location is too far from centre of Cairo, and the hotel fronts onto a very noisy roundabout. The reception counter staff were not at all helpful when we had an issue with the room. Indeed they were quite obstuctive and we had just arrived from the airport! From what we saw, this hotel is not a 5 star offering in any guise.

Traveller's tip on saving a few bucks

Hire a car for the day / 1/2 day - far cheaper than the set tours and it allows complete freedom / independance in terms of destination choice and duration there.