Wendy
+: We loved the location - on the quieter West Bank of the Nile, in a village where everyone knew each other and was so friendly. As we were there for two weeks, we actually felt welcomed into the community. People knew who we were and said hi - just from friendliness. There wasn't the stress of the highly touristic East side where the posh hotels are. We felt we'd made a great choice for our budget.The hotel itself was lovely. Clean and comfortable. Breakfast & the lovely evening meals we took in the gorgeous garden were great. They were made memorable by the kindness and friendliness from the staff. Staff were happy whether we ate at the hotel or chose to go out - we just let them know our plans in the morning. There are lots of good local restaurants - but we especially enjoyed 'Africa' and two right on the river 'The Lighthouse' and 'The Nile Rose'. We also loved a very nice cafe called Moon Cafe which had just opened. Good WiFi, lovely music, perfect cappucinos and amazing biscuits. We also ate there some evenings, and although the menu looks simple, the dishes were divine.Back at the hotel, hot water and WiFi were great 95% of the time. There was a fridge in the room and the staff gave us the use of a kettle - which we hugely appreciated.The pool was a boon for cooling off at the end of a hot day, and pool towels were provided.Mohamed, the proprietor, helped us plan our trips and sourced the most wonderful guide for us. As a group we were really interested in the historical and cultural details. Our guide, Mahmoud, had a PhD in the Coffin Texts. He was well connected and extremely well informed. We know from eavesdropping on other tours by less qualified guides that we had very high quality input. Mahmoud was very encouraging to one of the teenagers in our party with a passionate interest in history.
-: There was nothing that we didn't like (apart from an exchange rate hike - which made the trip much more expensive than we had planned for). The little sachets of shampoo provided had permanent black dye in them. I imagine it's a shampoo widely used in Egypt - but I only realised after using it twice, and others mentioning it, that my light hair had darkened significantly. Not a problem for me, but it could be for others.
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