Mena House Oberoi Hotel

Description:

• Apart from the fact that it's historically worth a visit in its own right, the Mena House is a good place to stay for those who are in Cairo to see the Pharaonic sites at Giza and up the valley toward Saqqara, Dahshur, and Memphis. Originally built as a hunting lodge next to the pyramids for the Khedive Ismail, it was converted to a hotel in the 1890s. Oberoi took it over in the 1970s and distributed a roomful of 19th-century furnishings throughout the present guest rooms.

  The hotel's location is not ideal for venturing into Islamic Cairo, but it cuts an enormous amount of hassle out of getting to Saqqara and Memphis, as well as the Giza pyramids (which can be viewed directly from the hotel). Public areas of the hotel are decorated with dark wood paneling and mashrabeya, which evoke a time of more relaxed and elegant tourism. Add to this one of the nicest outdoor pools in the city and easily Cairo's best Indian restaurant, the Mogul Room, and the Mena House makes a pretty good home base for Egypt.

• © Frommer's 2012

Awards:

Travel + Leisure

•  Top 10 Hotel for $250 or Less 2008

Travel + Leisure 500

•  Best Hotel 2009

Frommer's

•  Very Highly Recommended 2010

ForbesTraveler

•  Forbes Traveler 400 2008

Other features:

Disco; casino; cabaret with belly-dancing; outdoor floodlit tennis courts; jogging track; 18-hole golf course with Pyramids views; special business services including PC rental, secretarial services and interpreter hire; Moghul Room, Cairo's best Indian restaurant.