Cairo Four Seasons Nile Plaza hotel review
Location
Four Seasons have two hotels in Cairo both of which are located along the river, with the Nile Plaza located on the east bank of the river with views down the river itself. Currently a 20 kilometre promenade is being built along the river which will run in front of the hotel but this is currently boarded up slightly ruining the view over the river from the outside of the hotel but will make walking out from the hotel to the other close-by river bank hotels and restaurants much easier when it is finished. However, there is a very busy road out the front of the hotel which needs to be navigated carefully to get over to the river bank. At the rear of the hotel is probably the most salubrious area of Cairo, being home to many foreign embassies, exclusive shops and the most expensive houses in central Cairo.
The hotel is also conveniently located for reaching some of the main sights of Cairo, being only a five minute drive from liberation square and the Egyptian museum and a 30-45 minute drive to the must see pyramids of Giza. Whilst the rooms at the front of the hotel have views down the Nile the rooms at the back of the hotel also have an interesting view with the hotel pool on floor five and the city stretching out beyond that. Whilst the premium, and thus more expensive, river view rooms give a stunning view down the river and are perfect for watching the sunset over the city, for early risers the rooms at the rear of the hotel afford lovely sunrise scenes over the Alabaster mosque of Mohamed Ali, Cairo citadel and the Al-Azhar Park and are a little quieter, being further from the busy road at the front of the hotel.
A Deluxe double room
Staying in the hotel for two nights each either side of a Nile river cruise we had the opportunity to try both a Deluxe city view room on floor 9 and a Nile view room on floor 10. Both of the rooms were identical with a large balcony, one facing out the back of the hotel and the other on the river facing front of the hotel. The two rooms we stayed in were 910 and 1015, located almost exactly opposite each other on floor 9 and 10. Upon entering the room we were delighted by how large the room was, with the bathroom off immediately to the right of the door and a large wardrobe and drinks area to the left. The drinks station houses an espresso machine and kettle with complimentary coffee pods, instant coffee and teabags, as well as plenty of bottled water which is restocked twice a day. There is also a minibar with soft drinks, wine, beer and snacks available to purchase. Either side of the drinks station are large wardrobes, one housing a large safe, spa slippers, grooming items and the other a luggage rack and plenty of hangers, with both sporting full length mirrors on the outside.
The rooms are decorated in subtle and calming muted greens with a large sumptuous bed dressed with luxurious bed linen you would expected in a Four Seasons hotel. The large bedside tables eeasily accommodate a large lamp and telephone with enough table top space to spare for plenty of personal bedside items and a large cupboard underneath. On each side there is also a reading light, switches to control the main lights and privacy light, a universal socket for taking either US, UK or European plugs, and two usb charger points. On the window side of the bed is a large, comfortable armchair with footstool perfect for relaxing and watching the large flatscreen TV situated on a TV unit at the end of the bed, with plenty of news, movie and sports channels to chose from. Opposite this chair is a large desk table which is placed at right angles to the wall to allow for a dining chair to be placed either side of the table, making it perfect for enjoying room service, as well as working at. Our room had a beautiful balcony adorned with two large comfortable outside chairs and a table, perfect for watching the sun rise over the city with a morning cup of coffee in hand or the sunset over the river with a drink from the minibar.
Opposite the wardrobe is the massive bathroom with wonderful double doors which open out to the room opening the bathroom into the bedroom area. Inside the bathroom the white marbled floor leads to the double sink unit with a large mirror over it and magnifying mirror. There is a very useful shelf running the full length of the double sink unit, perfect for placing all your toiletries on. Off to one side of the double entry doors is a handy little table with the hairdryer placed on it and wall-hooks with two luxurious robes hanging off of them. Off to the left is a bath and a separate shower with one of the most powerful shower heads I have ever stood under. To the right of the bathroom is a separate WC with a privacy door. When the bathroom doors are closed they create a large wall of mirrors.
Room service:
Following an early flight, a long journey and some delays getting checked in to our room we couldn’t face going to one of the restaurants in the hotel on our first night at the hotel, so we decided to order room service. There is an extensive room service menu with a variety of cuisines - pizza, pasta, sandwiches and burgers, as well as Egyptian meze style food. Rich decided to give the burger a try and I ordered some pasta. The food arrived after about 20 minutes and was hot and plentiful. The bowl of pasta was huge and very tasty and Rich said his burger was well cooked, with the accompanying fries going down a treat with both of us. Having the desk table to eat at made the experience much more pleasant than is often the case in most hotels, with us both being able to fit comfortably around the table to savour our meal. We also liked that the food was delivered on a large trolley which was left beside the table enabling us to clear away the finished plates and either leave it outside our room or just tucked out of the way in our room, which was plenty big enough to accommodate the trolley without it getting in the way.
Public areas
8 Chinese’s restaurant:
We had heard good things about the hotel’s Chinese restaurant, 8, so before heading out on first full day there we made a reservation for that evening. We arrived at the restaurant, which is located on the second floor, and were shown to our table which looked out over the river Nile. With quite a large menu to choose from we asked our waitress to help us and decided upon a starter of dim sum and spring rolls, followed by a spicy chicken dish, a vegetarian Bok Choy and oyster mushroom dish and some accompanying rice. We also ordered a bottle of white Egyptian wine to have with our meal. We had never tried Egyptian wine but were very happy we had.
Soon after placing our order we were presented with an amuse bouche of little Chinese chicken fried sweet and sour balls. We then shared our starters, each trying both the vegetable spring rolls and the crab and shrimp dim sum topped with caviar - both of which were delicious. When the main courses arrived they were very large and we were glad we hadn’t ordered any more. Both dishes were very tasty and we managed to polish off all of the food in front of us but since they left us feeling quite full we decided not to have a dessert. However, before presenting us with the bill we had a delicious plate of sweet fresh fruit placed in front of us which was simply a perfect way to end the meal.
Zitouni Egyptian restaurant:
This is the main restaurant in the hotel and is located on the third floor immediately above the Chinese restaurant with the same lovely Nile river views. This is where the buffet breakfast is served for hotel guests with a mix of European and traditional Egyptian hot foods, cheese and olives, salads and cold cuts, delicious fruits and the largest array of pasties we’ve ever seen. There is also an eggs station with freshly cooked egg dishes made to order and a juice bar with pre-prepared fruit juices and smoothies.
Dinner here is more traditionally Egyptian with delicious meze style starters and simple meat and fish dishes for mains. The vegetarian options are mostly pasta based and the menu here is very similar to the room service menu. The food is plentiful, tasty and reasonable priced, and the decor is beautifully Egyptian with plenty of tables looking out towards the Nile.
Bullona Mediterranean fusion restaurant :
This restaurant is situated on the second floor, next to the Chinese restaurant and is open from Tuesday to Saturday for evening service only. The food served here is fusion of Mediterranean cuisine with an Egyptian twist. The main food on the menu is seafood and fish with a separate steak menu for meat lovers, which unsurprisingly is very pricey. The restaurant itself is beautifully decorated with large, comfortable chairs and sofas in a contemporary grey and cream palate. There is a large, glossy bar at one end of the restaurant and at the other end many of the tables have views out over the Nile river.
Beymen cafe:
This cafe style venue is situated in the middle of the shopping centre and attracts locals as well as hotel guests. The decor is white and bright reds with contemporary cafe style seating with a food counter and coffee station situated under a large glass dome which signifies the middle of the shopping centre. All of the shops surround the cafe making it perfect to stop at for a refreshing drink and light lunch or snack in the middle of a shopping trip.
The Bar:
This traditional style bar is situated in the third floor, next to Zitouni’s restaurant. It is decorated in dark browns and woods and has the feel of an old style bar with live music playing most evenings. With its extensive cocktail menu, it’s the perfect spot for a pre or post dinner drink when dining in any of the surrounding restaurants, Zitouni’s, 8 or Bullona’s, as well as serving bar snacks and meals.
La Galerie lobby and bar:
La Galeria is the heart of the hotel, located in the ground floor lobby. Walking into the Nile Plaza the concierge desk is situated immediately to the left, with the elevators and reception desk off to the right. immediately in front of you but hidden by a beautiful, prominent floral display, is the slightly elevated La Galeria lounge. The large lounge has a mix of casual sofa and armchair seating for guests to relax in during the day and into the evening. There is usually gentle piano music playing in the background which occasionally is being played live on the grand piano at the back of the room. Drinks are available from 8am until the early hours of the morning and range from speciality teas and coffees through to extravagant cocktails and decadent mocktails. There is a small light breakfast menu available in the morning and an all day menu serving light meals, salads and sandwiches from noon until close. For early risers there is self serve complimentary hot drinks available near the reception desk.
Upper deck lounge:
This is a gorgeous little bar overlooking the pool on the fifth floor, serving drinks, snacks, light meals, sandwiches, tapas and sushi from 4pm until the early hours of the morning. It surrounds the back of the pool and has floor to ceiling glass to give it an open feel. This bar is used as a sports bar if the situation arises and we happened to be there for the Africa cup final which Egypt were playing in, so the TVs came into their own throughout the bar and on the open pool deck as people came to watch the match. The Upper deck has a resident DJ playing during opening hours with music that isn’t too intrusive, instead just giving a lovely background ambience.
Outdoor pool, bar and grill:
As well as the indoor bar overlooking the pool there is an outside bar and grill serving the usual grill type food like burgers and pizzas during the day and into the evening, with patio heaters among the tables for the surprisingly cooler Egyptian winter evenings. This, along with the lighting around the pool and terrace area, gives the bar quite a Mediterranean holiday club feel to it. During the day the pool is open to guests with plenty of comfortable lounger and sofas to relax on. By the afternoon the whole pool area is shaded by the 30 floor hotel, perfect on the incredibly hot Egyptian summer days but less desirable in the winter (when we were there) making it rather of too nippy to use the outdoor pool area.
Spa, indoor pool and gym:
Adjacent to the outdoor pool area is a rather lovely indoor pool and whirlpool which also has a few comfortable lounger around it for guests to relax on. The pool temperature is perfect for swimming in whilst the enormous whirlpool is much warmer, prefect for lounging in. Next to the indoor pool is the spa area with large male and female changing rooms both housing a sauna, another hot tub, a steam room and a cold plunge bath. The spa team are ultra attentive and seem to magically appear to help you with whatever you need - using a locker, finding your way around or bringing you cold water or delicious hot fresh ginger tea. For the more energetic guest there is also a large gym with a personal trainer on hand to ensure you know how to use all of the equipment in there.
Summary
Things we loved:
The deluxe rooms are a nice size and we especially loved the ones with balconies.
The bathrooms are large and luxurious with the most powerful showers we’ve ever had in a hotel.
The hotel is perfectly placed for both lovely Nile and city views with glorious sunrises and sunsets, especially the rooms from about floor 10 and up.
We loved the spa pools and gym which are free for all hotel guests to use, with a special mention to the lovely, ultra attentive staff working there.
There are some very good restaurants serving a variety of foods at a relatively reasonable price (for a luxury hotel). The included breakfast is excellent and room service food is also good.
The less good:
despite its central location the extremely chaotic road outside the hotel makes leaving the hotel on foot almost impossible.
Although the Nile view rooms offer a spectacular view if you are a light sleeper ask for a room out the back to avoid the extreme road noise coming from the road outside the hotel, which also makes using the lovely balcony during the day less than enjoyable.
We stayed in the Four Seasons Nile Plaza in Cairo as part of a pre and post river Nile cruise with Uniworld river cruises. The price of the hotel stay was included with the cruise package which ordinarily includes a city view room. We would like to thank the Four Seasons hotel for our complimentary upgrade to a Nile river view room.
If you enjoyed this blog why not take a look at our reviews of the luxury hotels, Marina Bay Sands in Singapore or The Torridon in Scotland.
