I booked a two night stay at the best hotel in Giza, right next to the famous Pyramids of Giza.
Marriott Mena House is the highest rated pyramid view hotel in Giza and is also a heritage property. There’s a lot of history there. Many notable people such as presidents, heads of state and celebrities have stayed there, as far back as the 19th century.
My hotel room was a bit expensive at $400 per night. That was for a pyramid facing room. Most rooms don’t have a view of the pyramids, and those were priced at $300 per night. You’re basically paying $100 per night extra for the view.
I did consider booking the cheaper room and hoping for an upgrade due to my Gold Elite status in the Marriott Bonvoy loyalty program, but in the end I decided not to chance it. For me, there’s no point staying in a nice hotel right next to the pyramids, unless you can actually see the pyramids from your room.
I arrived in Cairo the previous evening, so I decided to stay in one of the airport hotels for the night, which were significantly cheaper than Mena House. I booked a 1 night stay at the Novotel Cairo Airport for just $60.
I wasn’t too impressed with Novotel room. It was small and cramped. Towels, bedsheets and even the wall were covered in filthy stains. The desk was so low that there was no space to fit my legs under it and the internet speed of 1.5 Mbit/s was pathetic.
On the plus side, they have a nice swimming pool area, well equipped gym and an authentic Italian restaurant.
Over all, I was happy enough with the 1 night stay for the price of $60 but I certainly wouldn’t want to stay there longer than a night.
After checking out of the Novotel, I booked a Careem to my hotel in Giza, which is about an hour drive away from the airport. Careem is the ride hailing app that is most popular in that part of the world.
I’ve used that app in Dubai and Pakistan and it’s proved useful in getting me to exactly where I want to go, without getting ripped off. It’s difficult as a foreigner to get a fair price from taxi drivers in Egypt, so I was determined to use Careem for every journey, even when there were regular taxis right there, immediately available.
It wasn’t looking good when after 10 minute my Careem “Captain” cancelled on me, but I tried again and got another driver. The ride to Giza cost just $10, which is good for a 1 hour journey.
(not shown in the video) Our car was stopped at a police checkpoint, right before reaching the hotel. The policeman tried to sell me a tour and other stuff. I just kept telling him that I already have all that stuff booked through my hotel and eventually let us drive on.
There’s a lot of police around this area who moonlight as tourist touts. If you catch any of them on camera they force you to delete the footage, so I did my best to avoid filming them.
At the gates of the Mena House hotel I was offered a golf cart to take me to the main entrance lobby. I declined and instead had a nice walk through the hotel gardens, which are pristinely kept.
Unfortunately my room wasn’t ready when I tried to check in at 2 p.m. so I went to the swimming pool to relax until it was available. The swimming pool is huge and magnificent.
After finally getting my room, then making the essential trip to the nearest grocery store to stock up my fridge, I made full use of that incredible heated pool, which I had all to myself.
Swimming lengths in that spacious pool was the perfect way to build up an appetite for a lovely Egyptian dinner in my room. I enjoyed an Egyptian mixed grill, with Egyptian dessert, Um Ali, on my balcony with a view of the Egyptian pyramids.
I enjoyed this hotel for the view and facilities but I thought the room itself was a bit basic for the price being charged. This may be the best hotel near to the pyramids but there’s certainly better value options available.
0:00 Cairo Airport Hotel
8:32 Careem Ride to Giza
12:55 Mena House Hotel
22:08 Room Tour
27:29 Mini-bar Hunt
30:25 Swimming Pool
35:24 Egyptian Mixed Grill
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