El Gezirah Sofitel Towers

By Jimmy Dunn

The El Gezirah Sofitel Towers is a main portal for tourists to Egypt. A good number of those entering Cairo to go on tours spend their first night in the country here. Opened in 1984, it is located on the southern tip of El Gezirah Island. From here, downtown Cairo is just minutes away. Fronting the Nile river, the hotel's round tower poses a striking silhouette on the city's skyline

It is both a grand as well as a large hotel, with 460 rooms and a huge lobby which seems to be always busy with people coming and going, or just relaxing in any one of many sitting areas. The facilities will meet any tourist needs, including a variety of restaurants, bars and shops.

As luxury hotels go in Cairo, the El Gezirah includes some points heavily in its favor, as well as some drawbacks. It is located in a clean, quiet part section of the city, and does have nice facilities for the most part. And it is a Sofitel, guaranteeing one a certain security in is operations. However, rooms could use some updating and the style of the hotel does not bring to mind much of an Egyptian atmosphere. It is also located a fair walk from most non-hotel stores, which is unfortunate as the area does have some fine shopping.

Having said that, the Sofitel El Gezirah is a comfortable and entertaining place to stay and is not far from many of Cairo's main attractions and the entertainment district. Depending on ones budget, there are luxurious suites, with many rooms facing the Nile and some rooms even have a view of the Giza Pyramids. On the Nile side of the hotel, the main terraces are very nice.

The hotel restaurants include Ciao Italia, with Italian cuisine, the 24-hour Andalus main restaurant and Kababgy El Gezirah, which is an open air Oriental restaurant. One outstanding aspect of the restaurants are their exceptional desserts. For libations, there is the El Gondool piano bar, which serves some snacks, the Paradise Island Bar, which is a floating, open air bar on the Nile, and the Nile Terrace. Evening entertainment may be found at Le Disco or the well-known Le Casino, where one may gamble.

Guest rooms do have all the amenities one might expect, including private balconies, in-room safe, mini bar, data port, television with cable and satellite, in house movies, hairdryer, direct dial telephones, air conditioning, of course private baths and non smoking rooms..

Other services and facilities provided by the hotel include a 24-hour business center, a number of shops, including a tour agency, a fitness center, swimming pool, meeting facilities, babysitting services, 24-hour room service and disabled facilitie

You can do much worse then the El Gezirah Sofitel, and given the choice of downtown hotels, this is a good property. Most of the newer hotels are located outside this area. Sofitel has a lot of experience in Egypt, and this is a well-run facility with good service.

El Gezirah Sofitel Towers

P.O. Box 264 El Orman, Cairo, Egypt
Phone: +20-2-23411333 or 20-2-23411555
Fax: +20-2-23405056