Novotel Cairo El Borg bintang 4

A Mixed Bag at Novotel Cairo El Borg — Great Views, Great Breakfast… and a Staff Surveillance Team Worthy of a Museum We stayed at Novotel Cairo El Borg for three nights, and let’s start with the good news: breakfast is excellent — at least if you’re an adult. There’s loads of variety, plenty of authentic dishes to try, and it’s genuinely one of the highlights of the stay. If you’re travelling with kids or teens, though, don’t expect the same enthusiasm from them. The swimming pool is small and spends most of its day hiding in the shade, which is not ideal if you’re hoping to catch some winter sun in December. There are two restaurants on-site. The food itself is pretty good, but the service is… well, let’s call it slow. The Italian restaurant has all the atmosphere of a dentist’s waiting room, while the rooftop restaurant at least compensates with spectacular views. Honestly, the views alone deserve five stars. The service, however, moves at a pace of a snail. Fine when you have hours to kill taking in the breath taking views...less so if you are actually thirsty or hungry. Their English is limited, so bring patience. The location is central and convenient — a definite plus. Now, for families: this hotel is not kid-friendly. Not even teen-friendly. Not even human-being-who-moves friendly. It feels like there’s a dedicated staff member assigned to monitor your children’s every breath. Our teens were treated like they were on the verge of committing high crimes against hotel property. Filling a water bottle in the gym? Absolutely not — a 13-year-old doing such a reckless thing must be stopped immediately. Getting in and out of the pool? Too dangerous. Too wet. Too… something. It’s not that the staff are rude — they’re actually polite — it’s just that the whole place operates with the energy of a museum where your children are the ones holding dripping ice creams while leaning over priceless artefacts. You can practically feel the collective inhale every time a teenager moves. In summary: Great breakfast, great views, decent food, central location… but if you’re travelling with kids or teens, prepare to feel like you’re starring in a live-action version of Night at the Museum, except you’re the ones being watched.

Terrible service and limited dining options. I received a text messaging 5 days prior to arrival demanding full payment ,otherwise, the reservation would be cancelled; this was not explained to me when I made the reservation. The hotel is located fairly near to the original Egyptian museum, however, there is little else to explore. The roof top restaurant is limited with choice and dry; the hotel does not serve alcohol, although there are plenty of nearby hotels offering alcoholic beverages. I booked a family room, there was no bedding for the children and we had to contact reception to add an additional bed. I received a very rude response. When I tried to check-out the hotel refused. The receptionist insisted that a colleague needed to check that there was no damage to the room - I was appalled. We finally checked out and we will not be booking again; there are much better hotels within the vicinity.

I am extremely pleased with the excellent work carried out by our Arab friends, Esraa and Hossam, who work at the Novotel. They provided outstanding service, demonstrating great professionalism, attentiveness, and kindness.

Great hotel in a great location. We had rooms overlooking the Nile and loved the fact that you could open the window to get fresh air and absorb the sounds of Cairo. Our checkin, room and overall experience was 100%. We had dinner in the roof top restaurant a couple of times and the food and service was excellent. Breakfast provides a great variety of food with eggs cooked to order. Loved the fact that you could get an ice cream in the lobby area at any time, it was yum. We used the tour company situated in the lobby and they assisted with all we wanted to do whilst in Cairo. Thanks to all the team who made our stay very special.

This review is based on my observations and my personal interaction with the staff members. I booked for this hotel for five nights stay for a family holiday of 4. The reason for choosing the hotel was the location and ease of make booking ( as they didn’t insist on separate room for the children). The rate was reasonable compared to other 4-5 stars in Cairo, I found that hotel rates in Cairo are on the higher end and I paid for 5 nights more that what I’d usually pay for a 5 stars hotel in Seoul, BKK or Tokyo. The hotel is a very good four stars and it’s reflected in the price, Service, rooms and breakfast buffet . I noticed the hotel doesn’t employ many females for example in the reception ( after 5 nights stay )I encountered one female staff , during breakfast I occasionally saw one female working VS 5-6 males , I think HK has no female staff at all. The reception could be hit and miss, some members like Mohammed is always very warm, friendly and pleasant whenever I had any interaction with him. I found other reception staff to be quite mechanical, zero smiles ,just doing the job they are paid to do, lacking warmth. On the day of the checkout I interacted with one staff who was very cold and stiff, wanted to serve another guest but the guest told him I was there first and he didn’t even apologise( will not mention the name) I asked for extended checkout and he said it’s $40 extra until 6 pm, at the time of payment a female colleague Veerine happens to be there, I hinted that I might leave little bit after 6 just in case ,his face changed and said ,after six I will have to pay again from 6 to 8 then Veerine cut him off and said not to worry about 30 minutes. One week before arrival , I emailed the hotel to prepare the sofa bed as we will be arriving around midnight and kids will be tired , I received a positive reply just to arrive after midnight and the sofa bed was not ready and had to wait for HK to set it up. We stayed 2 nights in a city facing room then paid to upgrade to Nile view room which was worth it. Rooms are of reasonable size , beds were comfortable with no bath tub and weak shower pressure and when you turn on the hot water it takes a minute to for the hot water to come. Rooftop food was nice , expensive and you choose a table facing the Nile a loud chiller noise could annoy you , I personally enjoyed the view and it didn’t bother me. Breakfast area is narrow and you have to move carefully between chairs , breakfast spread is not large but most of the food had good flavours and tasted good. Breakfast staff are very friendly and helpful. Went twice to the Italian restaurant both times didn’t even see single staff or other customers, see photos. Swimming pool surrounded by high walls and seldom gets any sun. The hotel has no Conceirge . No restaurants or supermarkets in the immediate vicinity of the hotel ,means you can walk 20 minutes to reach downtown via the bridge , or take Uber to Zamalek area for about EGP 60 Bottom line, this is a solid 4 stars hotel well priced. All in all the stay was good and we didn’t encounter any issues. I felt most of the staff were trying to please the guests. It’s not a place where whenever you encounter staff you’d be greeted and smiled at.Maybe next time we visit Cairo we stay here again and lower our expectations or pay more and move to a 5 stars property . If you’re looking for exclusive place to stay Novotel el Borg is not the place but if you want clean rooms, decent place to stay and save on your accommodation this Novotel is the perfect place . Checkout took 5-7 minutes to check the minibar