Sofitel Cairo El Gezirah is located on the banks of the River Nile. With its 433 rooms and suites, the hotel designed in contemporary French designs fused with Oriental influences, a large outside heated swimming pool and a good selection of restaurants, a favorable Sofitel Cairo review seemed plausible from all angles. So we were here to look into how much of the claims were true. Sofitel Cairo El Gezirah was a difficult hotel to access being located on an island on the Nile. With the bad traffic and narrow roads, getting there was a harrowing experience. Click here to see all 34 pictures of the Sofitel Cairo El Gezirah in Cairo, Egypt.

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First Impression/Lobby: We were greeted at the car… sort of, and the bellman not too eagerly gather our luggage and haphazardly pointed us towards the front door. The doorman of the Sofitel Cairo El Gezirah seemed more to be allotted to his position as a decorative piece, as he didn’t do much in terms of service and just looked at us as we entered, not even bothering to open the door (an experience we had every time we entered or left the Sofitel). Definitely no five star treatment seen here.

As initial reactions, the Sofitel Cairo El Gezirah didn’t do much to leave a lasting first impression. The entrance proved to be just mediocre with unimpressive glass doors leading to the lobby. However inside, tall ceilings, a huge chandelier and large windows that gave one an impressive view of the Nile were the features the lobby had to boast about.

Reception: Having booked an Opera Suite at the Sofitel Cairo El Gezirah, we were able to use the Club Lounge for our check-in. The small tacky lounge reeking of cheap smelling air-fresheners was not the most comfortable place to be seated for the check-in process which took over 15 minutes to our wonderment considering there was no one in front of us. In fact, we were the only guest there; the lady in charge was quite slow and the many interruptions slowed her down even more.

The Suite: The Opera Suite that we had booked for our stay at the Sofitel Cairo El Gezirah proved to be quite a disappointment. The plus sides of the suite were the king-sized bed, the three distinct spaces of the suite - a bedroom, living room, and dining room; and the amazing panoramic view of the Nile.

On reaching our suite, we were subjected to another 15 minute delay while we waited for our luggage to arrive. It gave us time to size up the room and the results were not exactly favorable; the suite lacked modernization badly. There was an aura of an old-worn-out room that once saw its prime. There was a living room and a dining room with a table for six people. The room was in muted colors and the wall hangings, the light shades, sofa and cushions and drapes did very little to liven up the place. There was a writing table, a TV and a few basic amenities that barely border on being luxurious.

The bedroom had a deep sea-foam green carpet, a large king sized bed with en engraved head stand, night-stands with table lamps and a balcony that gave you a view of the Nile.

The bathroom at Sofitel Cairo El Gezirah had a small rain-shower in a shower/tub combo fitted with a half-shower door which I find quite detestable. The bath products were all Hermes which was a nice touch. However, the size of the bathroom seemed quite small for a suite that was this large.

There was also a small half-bath tucked away near the living room and balconies off both the living room and one off the dining room. The downside being that all the balconies were miniscule in size with no chairs to lounge in and take-in the view which made them pretty redundant.

To complete the suite, there was a small attached kitchenette; which had a really awful stench which forced us to keep it behind its closed doors at all times. To say that the suite did nothing to wow us was quite the fact.

Room Service: Our only encounter with the room service happened when we called in to get our Chocolate Delight which was part of our package. Three phone calls and a two-hour wait finally materialized into the arrival of our ‘Chocolate Delight’ which was no delight at all. Two small pots of chocolate that must have turned warm instead of hot during its long journey to our room, two small glasses with chocolate pudding, four chocolate macaroons, three small strawberries that were partially chocolate dipped and two miniscule treats claiming to be chocolate mousse cakes endowed the basket. Not impressive and definitely not worth the wait.

Housekeeping: The inconsistent housekeeping at the Sofitel Cairo El Gezirah is a point to mention. It was fine the first day and disastrous on the second day; inconsistency didn’t sit well with us and we docked points in their favor.

Concierge: The concierge at the Sofitel Cairo El Gezirah was consistent enough without being too impressive.

Club Lounge: The Club Lounge offered happy hour between 6:30 pm to 8 pm. They offered dates, some other fruits and small cookies as short eats and some really cheap and tasteless local wine. The Club Lounge at Sofitel Cairo El Gezirah really was below par, especially for a Sofitel hotel.

Restaurant: The Sofitel Cairo El Gezirah had the Buddha Bar which served Asian fusion dishes, cocktails and more, but we tried to get reservation to no avail as it was either fully booked or reserved for private parties for the full three days of our stay. It also housed La Palmeraie serving Moroccan cuisine set in an Arab-Andalusia ambience, Le Deck which was a lounge/restaurant that floated on the River Nile, Sud which served an all-day a la carte menu, Vendome which was a French brasserie, Window on the Nile, a Parisian tea lounge offering a library of art books and serving pastries and tea and El Kebabgy offering traditional barbecue with live entertainment. We only had the opportunity to have buffet at the main restaurant and it proved to be only average in quality and taste.

Pool/Spa/Activities: The spa at Sofitel Cairo El Gezirah claimed to offer Middle-East, Asian and European treatment with a French touch. There was also a fitness center, hammam, an indoor heated pool, Jacuzzi and massage center. The outdoor heated pool with an infinity design that offered a great view of the Nile was a good place to relax.

Check-Out: After the not-so-great experience at the Sofitel Cairo El Gezirah, we were waiting to get out of the hotel. The checkout took longer than we anticipated even though we were at the Club Lounge. Five star service at the Sofitel Cairo El Gezirah in Cairo was pretty much impossible to find!

Overall Impression: We definitely didn’t have the most pleasant stay at the Sofitel Cairo El Gezirah. The hotel didn’t live up to its five star standards and we were met with disappointments at all corners. We rate them Between Bombastic and Not though they barely made it to that rating and are closer to being Not Bombastic. The Sofitel Cairo El Gezirah is definitely a place that deems no second visit from us.

Address and Telephone Number
Sofitel Cairo El Gezirah
3 El Thawra Council St Zamalek
Downtown
Po Box 732 El Orman Giza
11518 Cairo
Egypt
Tel : (+20)2/27373737
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