Binthair

Considering a 7 day stay with teens at one of these two properties later this year. Walking distance to nearby restaurants/tourist sites is desirable, as is quiet but convenient location. Which would you stay at, considering standard accommodations? Thanks.

Casual_Cairo

No contest - the Marriott is the only choice.
The Grand Hyatt is convenient to the Hard Rock Cafe and the Four Seasons across the street and zero else.
The Marriott is in the best location in Cairo for getting out and eating at restaurants outside the hotel, walking the neighborhood, finding great little shops, galleries, and more.
Zamalek (where the Marriott is located) is home to about 85% of the worlds embassies making it a very nice, clean, safe, International neighborhood.
Garden City (where the Grand Hyatt is located) is home to the British and American Embassies, making them over the top secure and safe, but due to this, there is nothing interesting there much to do or see. Business's that were once operating in that neighborhood can not offer parking to their customers any more, due to security, so unless they operated only with walk in business, they left the area.

wanttogo

Binthair:

We stayed at the Grand Hyatt in Cairo during our trip to Egypt earlier this year. While the hotel is beautiful and is
less expensive that the Marriot, it has a few disadvantages, also. First, there is not much around except the Hard Rock Cafe. Second, the hotel is, for the most part, alcohol-free,so
you cannot even order a beer after a hot day of sightseeing.
Third, we found it unerving to walk along the river because of the military-like guards surrounding the Four Seasons Hotel.

On the positive side, the hotel staff were very polite and helpful.. The "food court" on the lowere level has several ethnic resaurants and members of your party are able to order from different menus if you eat in the common area or on the terrace-no alcohol, though.

In any case, 7 nights in Cairo is really too many. After the well-known tourist attractions which take only 2 or 3 days, there is little else readily available. Your best bet is Casual Cairo who does offer some unusual day trips to farms and even to Alexandria on the train.

Pat

Percy

I second the motion for doing a tour with Casual_Cairo.

If you are going to be there 7 days, this is even more reason to have Casual_Cairo tour you around .

The e-mail is:

[email protected]

dutyfree

And use Casual Cairo's recommendation to stay at the Hotel Longchamps which is in the same neighborhood as the Marriott but is alot cheaper;friendier and has more of an Egyptian feel. There is a reason that it is rated so high on the Tripadvisor page for hotels in Cairo.
However, ONLY if you don't want the typical cookie cutter American hotel in a foreign land option.

The Hotel Longchamps is clean,in a great neighborhood(few blocks from the Marriott) near many stores,restaurants,etc.;has free internet;fabulous selection on their free breakfast and wonderful balconies and sitting areas with the chance to have a glass of wine. The owner of the hotel used to work for Luftansa(so understands customer service) and it was her mother (an Egyptian film star) that previously owned it.It was a wonderful respite from the noise and pollution of Cairo!

I regret that our family was unable to use Debbie at Casual Cairo but her help in emails was invaluable-definitely use her for your daytrips and you will not be disappointed!

Beachnut11

We stayed at the Marriott last September and can highly recommend the property. Lovely rooms (north tower) and a great pool. If you need to pick up any water/pop if you go to the hotel parkade entrance and turn left, walk about 1.5 blocks you will find a Gas station that has very reasonably priced items. We felt very safe walking in the area and enjoyed being able to see the nile cruise boats from our balcony.

Binthair

Thanks all for your overwhelmingly decisive advice. We will have six full days in Cairo, and I will book private tours as I like to see things at my own pace and skip what doesn't interest me.

tinydancer

We loved the Marriott too. I think the pool is either open until very late or maybe even all night. It's an amazing hotel to just sit in the outdoor cafe people watching. As for the water, I just boiled the kettle twice before going to bed, and then used the cool water to re-fill our bottles in the morning. It worked like a charm and neither of us got mummy tummy. There is a great restaurant outside the main entrance, floating on a barge tied to the shore called the Khulkhal Arabian Restaurant. Very Egyptian, modern atmosphere.

Beachnut11

Forgot to mention the one great thing about the Marriott is they have an onsite bank (due to the casino). It was very easy for us to exchange a bill for a roll of coins which served us well for washrooms and small purchases (where it seemed vendors NEVER had change). We actually ended up exchanging some funds with other tour group participants who were unable to get smaller bills at their hotels.

Hal8999

I've stayed at the Marriot roughly ten times and even though it is definitely american style, cookie cutter as somebody has already mentioned, it's nice to be able to come back to a conveniently located hotel with great service options. Not a real "Egyptian experience" but highly recommended.

Casual_Cairo

Hal8999 - It's a "real Egyptian experience" - just a 5* Egyptian esperience. Not all Egyptian experiences have to come out of the village. Many top line Egyptians have never seen the village. LOL

Hal8999

Casual Cairo,
I tried a real Egyptian experience once at the Windsor, you may remember. I'll take the 5* version over it any day. I guess sloth and a desire for comfort is what happens as you grow older; it's happened to me anyway.

Casual_Cairo

Hal - LOL

Casual_Cairo

Reminds me of a friend I met here that used to say she LOVED sleeping under the stars....... All 5 of them.

lincasanova

And if Longchamps is booked full, any good option besides the expensive marriott to consider?

Casual_Cairo

There are several... not as wonderful as the Longchamps, but you might like The President, The Golden Tulip, The Windsor, or The Tallisman. The first two listed are in the same nice neighborhood as the Longchamps. The other two are downtown - noiser neighborhood and dirtier.

lincasanova

thanks. wil look into the president. saw bad review about some others. might just have to bite the bullet. I was wondering if there are upscale hotels but CHEAPER than marriott that may be as acceptable. will definitely look into longchamps if we ever go again with more time to set this up.

Casual_Cairo

You could try the Fairmont Nile City. While not well located, it is running specials I think now, so there might be some good prices you can take advantage of.

Casual_Cairo

I don't mean it is badly located....the views of the Nile are great, but the neighborhood isn't one you'd want to wander around in much.