Chris · April 17, 2008
A search for hotels in Cairo, Egypt on Tripadvisor reveals an interesting blend of results between upper-upscale luxury properties, and extremely modest budget hotels.
The top spot for ”hotels in Cairo” on Tripadvisor?
...the Four Seasons Nile Plaza.
Of course the Four Seasons Nile Plaza is number one. It’s an incredible hotel in an awesome location. And with rates averaging $519 USD for the year (per TA), it had better exceed expectations. According to Tripadvisor, it does exactly that.
Since I can’t really recommend five hundred dollar room rates to my friends and family, let’s take a look at Tripadvisor’s number two hotel in popularity:
The Hotel Longchamps in Zamalek, Cairo
The Longchamps has been a fixture in the Zamalek neighbourhood since the 1950’s, and is run by owner/operator Hebba Bakri. The hotel was established by the current owner’s mother who was a well-known theater personality in Egypt. I can’t remember her name, but you can see a cool portrait of her next to the hotel’s front desk if you ever stay there.
Since the Hotel Longchamps is a six minute walk from my apartment, I paid a visit to the property a few weeks ago. The hotel is actually located in a ‘typical’ Zamalek apartment building, so it’s quite easy to miss the sign if a guest were to drive by in a taxi. Once I made it inside the building, the apartment’s booabs (doormen) directed me to the building’s elevators to get to the Longchamps on the top floors.
At least one comment on Tripadvisor warned that the elevator floor sinks a few inches when entering the elevator car. This is absolutely true! If rickety elevators with floors that drop are not your cup of tea, take the elevator on the right (when facing the cabs from the lower lobby). If you feel like experiencing the thrill of ‘real’ Cairo...take the elevator on the left.
The hotel staff were quite willing to offer me a tour of the public areas, dining room and the terrific outdoor verandas at both the front and back of the hotel. The views were really nice, and the hotel was well maintained from what I could see. I didn’t get a chance to see any guestrooms, but I certainly felt a sense of hospitality and caring from the staff.
At only $30 average rate per night for a standard room, I’m sure that the accommodations are simple—but they look more than adequate from the pics on TA. The entire place has a friendly, safe and clean ambiance, and I feel quite comfortable recommending the Longchamps. This is definitely not a luxury hotel, and the facilities are obviously geared for a budget traveller. Still, for the price paid, I can’t imagine the Longchamps being anything but good value.
Tripadvisor features a variety of guestroom photos taken by guests so take a peek there if you are inclined.
The hotel’s location is outstanding, and I would personally choose Zamalek over any hotel downtown any day of the week. Less insane traffic and people congestion, and a perfect location to walk around and experience the surrounding upscale neighbourhood.
Below are some pics from my recent tour, or head over to my flickr photoset to read the captions:
Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.
If you have not yet checked out TripAdvisor’s 
