Boutique Hotels Near the Pyramids

Now here's a room with a view.


And it is not expensive.  Rooms with a view in the immediate vicinity of the Pyramids are currently going for $55 to $90 per night.  Its the law of supply and demand and supply is winning right now.

There have long been a few small hotels near the pyramids but you can probably find close to fifty of them now.  Most of these are conversions of stately family homes in the "village" of Nazlet el Samman.

The younger generation who might inherit a very nice home in this area are not enthusiastic about living among the crush of tourists, camels and horses that wander the streets.  They would much prefer a home in a suburb like Six October with a two or three car garage and an easy commute to their job at Microsoft, Oracle, Vodafone or one of the large accounting firms in that end of the metropolitan area.  So the family homestead gets sold, divided and remodeled and a new boutique hotel is open for business.

One of the newest in the area is the Pyramid Edge.


It's located along the road that most tour buses use to exit the pyramids area near the sphinx and then head to their next stop.  For "people watching" you probably can't beat this location sitting on a balcony with the pyramids in the distance and all manner of pedestrians passing by.


I suppose it is called the Edge because it is on the far edge of the area that you would call pyramid hotels.

There are a great many hotels now just across the road from the entrance to the sphinx and the famous "Sound and Light Show."  Here are a few of them including not one but two "Cleopatras."





It was still Christmas season as we passed through and Santa Claus was visible in many places including playing a saxophone in the lobby of this Hyat Hotel. We jokingly called him "saxy Santa".



Some hotels have a very modern look while others try to preserve more of a 1940s style.


I love the clocks above the front desk in these two lobbies - they give sort of a "Casablanca" look to the scene.


Of course, you may wonder how it could be 9:55 in Cairo and 9:30 in New York - but a lot of things in Egypt should not be taken literally.

There are a variety of informational signs in the lobbies - almost always in English, the common language of travelers.


Note the middle sign on the right side - just in case you were thinking of photographing the pyramids with your own drone launched from your balcony.

The breakfast areas of most of these hotels will be found on the roof top with a great view of the pyramids.



The art on display in each of them can vary from ancient to modern.




You might even encounter a collection of television or movie stars since you are close to a couple of Egypt's major studios.  (Omar Sharif is at the top, you are on your own after that.)