Cairo, Nile Hilton Hotel

Pleasant enough hotel. Was upgraded to 'Junior executive' or somesuch, which means you get a good sized apartment of; kitchen - bathroom/lavatory - bedroom and a sitting room. The kitchen had a good sized fridge and freezer. The bedroom had a bed that was simply enormous; at least 7' wide. The sitting room was also fairly enormous. The decor was a bit brown, but that isn't important. The aircon was OK. Minibar prices were horrendous: £18 (£1.80 stg) for 1.5 litres of water. I didn't look at the Pepsi price per can. Better prices can be found at the Mobil garage on the main street towards the city centre - both water and Pepsi cans were £2 (20p) each.

Meals are served in adjacent restaurants. We were B&B only, so ate at the Italian restaurant each night, as it provided a decent range of vegetarian food. Others had less choice; some only had one veggie dish per course.

Outside of the hotel you were continually pestered by taxi drivers. Crossing the road was a challenge. It was best to wait until everything got jammed on a red traffic light. Then you simply skipped between the tightly packed cars.

Walking outside of the hotel was, likewise, a challenge. If any of the locals starts talking to you, be very wary - we were herded into three papyrus/perfume shops by the three people who started to chat to us. Notwithstanding that, it was an interesting experience - it is evident that few tourists stray out there alone, judging from the looks we got from the locals.

All in all, the hotel was OK and the Cairo experience was interesting. If you like motor-vehicles from the 1960s - 70s and 80s it is a haven for you. If not, it is a city full of smelly old bangers !;0)

The luxury Nile Hilton Hotel is now a little jaded in decor but the friendliness and efficiency of the staff more than make up. The rooms are large and very comfortable and most have a spacious balcony. There is a large selection (about 6) of restaurants and bars and an adjacent, connected, shopping mall. For Europeans hotel meals and services are excellent value and service is always excellent. The hotel will arrange an agent to meet you at Cairo Airport (a must as they will get you through immigration and customs!) and provide a chauffeur car to the hotel for about 20 US dollars.