Hello,

Has anyone stayed at (or heard of) the Talisman Hotel in Cairo (39 Sharia Talaat Harb)? It seems like a nice boutique hotel option, but I haven't been able to find any reviews in English or French.

The Lonely Planet guide ranks it as one of their 'top five' choices, but I'm not sure that means much, as LP tends to be orientated more towards backpackers.

Cheers,
Julian

I ran its name in the internet. Found a number of hits from the usual Egyptian sources. It's a 2 star. You don't want to stay in a 2 star in Egypt.

I just realized that there are some smaller places in Cairo that may be OK. Not luxury boutique hotels. See what Fodors & Frommers have to say. Some of them are in Zamalek. I think that one's the President. It's in Zamalek. You can find the sites that have them by running the name of the Talisman Hotel de Charme.

I looked at the LP entry, plus the others that mention it. It's listed as a moderate hotel,but there are those two stars.... It's in downtown. The pictures look nice. You could take chance on it & leave if you don't like it. LP does mention the Conrad which is a 5 star.

I've stayed in a few 3 stars outside of the standard tourist areas in Egypt -- they've been clean & comfortable with private bathrooms & usually have some pizzazz to their decor.

Hi Sunshine,

Thanks for the feedback. My sister likes the look of it and would like to try it, but I'm a bit concerned by the thought of having to find another place to stay at short notice -- is this easy to do? March is supposedly shoulder season, but I'm not sure whether than means it's easy to find a hotel room by walking in.

Cheers,
Julian

Egypt is an adventure, so view your hotel in Cairo as an adventure, too@!

There are a lot of hotels in Cairo. If it's the shoulder season, you theoretically should be able to find one in one of the big 5 stars on short notice. Don't get out of this one until you've found a new one, however.

Oh, since LP recommended it, try the LP chat room & see if anyone has anything to say.

Hi Sunshine,

I posted a notice on the LP page -- hopefully I'll get some response. The responses from Talisman have been very prompt and friendly, which is a good sign.

Another option which came up is the Hotel Osiris -- have you heard of it?

Cheers,
Julian

Hi Jasher,

I guess I'm not really sure what type of hotel you want. When I hear "boutique hotel" I think elegant & small & charming & expensive. There's nothing like that in Cairo. For example, there is nothing like the Al-Moudira in Cairo. I would guess that's because land is too expensive & rare there.

There are a few older hotels listed in the guidebooks that have been around for a long time -- like the President or the Cosmopolitan or Shephard's (sp?) Check out guidebook & website for more info on these. Fodors discusses some of them.

The places that you have come up with are listed as "budget hotels." I don't get the impression that you are looking for a place described as "minimal, but clean" as I found the Hotel Osiris to be. But, if you are, then it seems to be fine choice.

Julian, I have been to Cairo three times, and I generally try to find local, smaller hotels. At least when I visited, I couldn't locate any such hotels, so I stayed in 1997 (at Mena House, which is OK, and Nile Hilton, which has great location but is a 2-star hotel), 1998 (Marriott, nicer than the Nile Hilton but not as good location) and 2001 (Semiramis Intercontinental, better than both and great location). The Four Seasons was not open, or at least not open for long, at the time of my last visit, and I'm not sure it has a great location (by that I mean, can you walk anywhere).

I'd like to see what you find since I'd like to plan another visit -- three visits is not enough (two were business trips to which I added extra days, and the third was a stopover on a return from Saudi Arabia).

Mena House is OK, but convenient only to pyramids. I also had a bad room in the new wing, but the old wing rooms look nice.

Hi,

Sorry if I was unclear...I'm looking for a place like Al-Moudira, but there seems to be a dearth of such places in Cairo. My ideal hotel is small and elegant with local character, ideally in a historic building (with modern facilities). I don't work when I'm on holiday and I don't care for TV, so wi-fi and flat screen TVs impress me a lot less than beautiful, welcoming surroundings. A great sound system is a big plus, though -- I love to buy CDs of local music.

I'm not hung up on the star system per se (I've read that it doesn't necessarily bear much relationship to the actual quality of the hotel but more to the facilities on offer -- the Nile HIlton is officially rated as a five-star, but Michael and many other people have rated it as a two-star whose only redeeming feature is the location).

The Talisman seems to be the closest thing we've found so far, though it's not really up to the standard of the places I normally stay at. The Osiris, which was suggested on the LP Thorn Tree, is a bit too basic for my tastes. I suppose that's why I spend more time on Fodors than on Thorn Tree!

If we can't find a boutique hotel, then it's probably the Four Seasons at Nile Plaza (the FS First Residence looks posher, but it's out near the Pyramids, and if I stay out there I'd rather stay at Mena House) or Mena House. I'll actually have two blocks of time in Cairo (at the beginning and end of the trip, book-ending a visit to Luxor) so I may end up doing both. I doubt I'll be able to resist at least one night at Mena House (Palace Wing)!

Michael, how long did it take to get from Mena House to downtown Cairo? Also, did you get a chane to take a look at the Palace Wing rooms while you were there?

Cheers,
Julian

With average traffic (and I'm not quite sure what I mean by "average" Cairo traffic, because the roads are always busy), it was 30 minutes or so from Mena House to downtown (the Egyptian museum area). I didn't see any of the palace rooms, but I did see the public areas in the historic building, and they are very nice. I stayed at Mena House at the beginning of my trip, then went to Luxor, and stayed at Nile Hilton on my return (mostly for proximity to the museum). I made reservations while there, and I don't think you'll have problems switching if you're dissatisfied. Mena House is worth at least one night, if only for dinner poolside withe the pyramids in the distance -- I fortunately timed my visit to coincide with full moon so the pyramids were visible from the hotel. On a dark night, it would be much less impressive.

It's hard to go wrong with a Four Seasons Hotel. If you can, you should try to swing by the Marriott for the Terrace Restaurant for a meal or drinks since you like gardens.

There's a atmospheric Oriental Restaurant near there called Abu as-Sid (157 26th of July Street, Zamalek, Tel: 735 9640 which is within walking distance. Reservations probably necessary.

I'm moving to Cairo on Wed. I'll try to stop by the Talisman & see what it's like.

Hello Sunshine --

Thanks for your offer -- I'd really appreciate a first-hand opinion of the Talisman!

Are you moving permanently to Cairo? If you will be there in March, perhaps we can meet for lunch or tea.

Cheers,
Julian

I'm moving there for an indefinite period. Could be two years, could be forever.

Tea or lunch sounds like fun.

carolyn
[email protected]

Just found a favorable review of the Talisman in Egypt Today's online edition. Here's the website. It doesn't look like the author stayed there, however. Here's the link:

http://www.egypttoday.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=6788

hello, Jasher,

as the Talisman hotel website is out of order, would you have their email address ?

Thanks in advance

Sunshine,

I'm moving to Cairo, too, but in two weeks, although I'll only be there for nine months (studying Arabic ;-)

For what it's worth, and probably not much, I'll be 'living' (as in dorm overbooked) at the Cairo Khan hotel on July Street. Not luxury, but doesn't look like a dump either.

Laura

My email is [email protected]. Give me a message when you get settled. I'm down in Ma'adi.

Hi Till,

Check your email account - I've sent you the email address for the Talisman.

Cheers,
Julian

Hello,

Someone asked for a first-hand account; I'm posting this reply from the library of the Talisman Hotel. Tonight will be our second night here. It's a very charming little hotel. The furnishings and decor are full of atmosphere: lots of dark, carved wood, rugs on the walls and (apparently) orignal artwork. Friendly, helpful staff. As to location, it took us about ten minutes this morning to hike over to the Egyptian Museum. My only complaint is the noise: lots of traffic. My impression so far is that it is probably illegal to drive more than three blocks in Cairo without sounding the horn. Summary: nice place, glad we chose it, but I'll probably borrow some earplugs from my wife at bedtime tonight.

--Aaron