Sofitel Old Cataract, Aswan Reviews

The hotel is more than wonderful and within it you see the fragrant history. It is basically a palace from King Farouk palaces

Cataract Aswan Hotel. Very fun and beautiful
Cataract Hotel is an ancient hostel in Aswan, southern Egypt, and its name means waterfall in English, a reference to the waterfalls of the Nile, the first of which is located in the city. The hotel is located on the opposite bank of Elephantine Island.
Between the pages of history

Its most famous pioneers include Agatha Christie, Churchill, Diana and the Aga Khan



Aswan (southern Egypt): Rania Saad Eddin
A piece of living history mixed with the fragrance of mythology and the magic of Pharaonic civilization, you can clearly see it on the walls, halls and courtyards of the "Cataract" Hotel, located in the heart of the charming city of Aswan in southern Egypt. As well as its picturesque lights that are scattered at night on a series of pink granite pieces stacked spontaneously on the shore of the Nile River, which overlooks the ancient hotel, as some call it.

After 3 years of continuous renovations, the "Cataract" was reopened, to receive its visitors from the stars and famous people of the world with a new look, which qualified it to become the third legend in the world and the first in the Middle East that the Sofitel hotel group creates according to French standards.

The hotel was inspired by its name from its location, as Cataract, according to Khaled Helmy, the hotel s general manager, means the meeting of the Nile and the granite barrier, which creates a small waterfall, which in the past was considered the end point of human civilization .. Nevertheless, stories follow on the hotel to create one legend after another of its hallways. And its rooms, the story of the hotel began since its inception in 1899 AD with the extension of the railway to southern Egypt, as the number of tourists increased to visit the city of Aswan and enjoy the effects of its sunny winter atmosphere. With the increase in numbers, thinking began to build hotels on the banks of the Nile, in addition to moving Nile boats to increase the hotel capacity of the city.



In 1901, the demand for rooms increased so strongly that the hotel management had to set up tents to accommodate the guests, and new rooms were added in 1902 to double the number of rooms and spread the hotel s fame throughout the world.

Helmy mentions that the opening ceremony of the main restaurant on December 10, 1902 was attended by Khedive Abbas Helmy, ruler of Egypt, Duke Connaught, the third son of Queen Victoria, Lord Lady Cromer, Sir Winston Churchill, and "Good Aird", the engineer of the Aswan Dam, who laid the foundation stone of the dam on the same day. In addition to a large group of statesmen and ministers. Since that time, the hotel has been keen to host high-minded people and world famous people over the years, the most famous of whom was "Aga Khan III", who regularly visited the hotel every year for treatment of rheumatism. His first visit to the hotel was in 1937, where he spent his honeymoon in the south wing on the second floor After his death in 1957, he asked to be buried in Aswan. It took about two years to build his tomb, and today guests can see it from the hotel balcony at the present time.

Also visitors to the historic hotel include Tsar of Russia "Nikolai II", and the English archaeologist "Howard Carter" who discovered the tomb of the golden king Tutankhamun, and King Farouk of Egypt, and the writer. The famous "Agatha Christie", who wrote her genius story "Crime on the banks of the Nile", where she was inspired by its events while sitting on the balcony of her hotel room. The film was also filmed later in "Cataract", King Mohammed V of Morocco, and the princess Diana, Queen of Hearts.

Although the hotel's exterior architecture is Victorian; The general manager of the hotel affirms that the interior design of the hotel has an oriental character, and the main restaurant still exists until now with a unique Andalusian character, with a dome rising on the ground by about 57 feet, and the columns are inspired by the tomb of Sultan Qalawun in Cairo, and the decorations are inspired by the Ibn Tulun Mosque in Cairo Also, the main restaurant is designed to accommodate 200 guests, and the restaurant also includes an invisible place dedicated to the orchestra.

Khaled adds that the most famous place in the hotel at all is the hotel's terrace, where guests can see the sunset from four to seven in the evening. The royal suite was also the favorite place of the King of Egypt and Sudan, King Fouad, and Al-Nahhas Pasha, the Prime Minister of Egypt, was sitting on the sofa at the right side of the hotel lobby and his special food was prepared in the old hotel kitchen.

Modern, Pompous, rude to the point of humiliating and just plain uncomfortable. If you need a bit of old fashioned Imperial British luxury to help make you feel comfortable in the manner to which you've become accustomed, better to go back to the Winter Palace in Luxor. Churchill stayed there as well, and so did Howard Carter.

Not sure if this is the correct site since there are two!
I had stayed here several times previously
The Accors web-site said no to my credit card, despite recently using it for another hotel in Egypt, so I emailed the Old Cataract with a screenshot of the 3 for 2 offer I had tried to book with
3 days later I emailed again saying forget it since they hadn't replied.
I then got a reply with an offer that was not the one I sent and was more expensive.
I didn't book!!

How not to love this 5 star hotel in Aswan, luxury in a legendary environment.

A very nice hotel is very expensive but enjoy the beauty of the nature and cleanliness of the permanent and distinctive food and excellent taste and cleanliness with swimming pool and wonderful

an unforgettable memory, a beautiful hotel surrounded by wonderful gardens but all that would be nothing without an absolutely adorable and professional staff. A big thank you to all those I met during my short stay, their kindness touched me

Beautiful view of the Nile- Take tea rocked by musicians and look to Elephantine Island to see Ra take a bath in the waters of the Nile ...

Great place ,,,
Very expensive

Staff availability
Service to match
Wealth of meals

This is an amazing hotel built by Mr Thomas Cook.
It's well worth a visit - it's a blend of timeless traditional and very good service (in the restaurants and bars anyway) as we didn't stay in a room but I'm sure they're very good too

Hoda did a gracious job of hosting our group. Best service

If you do not have a previous reservation they will not let you enter the restaurant or cafeteria.

Architectural masterpiece hotel, a mixture of classic and modern. Change its location on the Nile. You can see it clearly while you are in the Nile. And its entrance is in front of the Nubia Museum, as if it is one of the royal palaces. It is famous for the Grand Hotel series. And next to him, another new hotel with the same name, but it is modern style

Great hotel rock and see the Nile beauty. And his calm

King Farouk Hotel is a very special and papery service

Antique designed hotel, fabulous river view and excellent service.

One of the most beautiful places I had ever seen and best services ever

The service was amazing , the view wonderful and thank you for having me in this fantastic hotel

The worst treatment is because I have a French group, and they want me to enter them, as if they are going to pay a dollar
Because Farah Omar Youssef stop tourism because of joy

In the old hotel, we enjoyed all thanks to Professor Mustafa Salem

The hotel features a picturesque location and wonderful hospitality

Great experience, highly recommend, very unique. Do the short free tour. New hotel building is great, room is huge. If you had a teenager they could sleep 2 on the sofa in the room if they would let you.

Amazing experience.. The architecture is awesome.. the view is outstanding.. The service is perfect and the people there are very friendly.. It was my sister's birthday and they celebrated in a very decent way.. Special thanks to the waiters Hussein Nagy and Essam

Elegant, historically interesting and a relaxation in the middle of a very troubled city with a great contrast to Europe.

Great location, wonderful view and the food is amazing, I really enjoyed it!!

Exceptional hotel. A renovation of quality. The following is very well done. View of the nile and the incredible city. Dinner at the gourmet restaurant 1902 good but few people. We were 5 in a big restaurant. Nice pianist during dinner.

Amazing view with excellent staff and service love it sooooo much

Nice hotel, and what Marcel did not believe me that I am in Egypt.

One of the best, or maybe the best hotel in Egypt. A must in Aswan!

A different world of hotel management, managed by Accor International Company

Historical and legendary hotel of Aswan...kept well in shape even through the economic crisis and the recent revolutions. Of course everything is overpriced for the quality you get. The best thing of course is the service. We tried the 1902 More

Best Hotel in Aswan The staff are very respectful and thank the hotel management for their good organization and attention in the guests

We had the pleasure of having high tea at sunset here. As we visited Aswan we started reading Death on the Nile that Agatha Christie wrote while staying in the Old Cataract Hotel. Currently it is 300egp per person for a voucher that can be used towards your high tea. We shared a food tray which was plenty for our preferences. The sunset was lovely and it was the highlight of our day. Definitely worth dressing up a bit and enjoying an evening out.

The accommodation fee for the Nile Wing seems to be US $ 320 per night in December.

Hotel is one of the nicest hotels in Aswan from beauty and elegance and service I listened to there and I would recommend everyone to visit this charming place
The Cataract Hotel is an ancient hotel in the southern city of Aswan, called the waterfall in English, a reference to the Nile Falls, the first of which is located in the city. The hotel is on the opposite bank of Elephant Island.
The most famous visitors to this wonderful hotel are

king Farouq
Agatha Christie
Winston Churchill
Diana Princess of Wales
Aga Khan III and other world writers, ambassadors and many important personalities

Wow! Cannot wait to be back & enjoy this hotel 100%. Tyd staff is a little all over the place but the facility, rooms & food was exceptional! Aswan deserves at least a 4 night stay! I'll be back soon.

So elegant !! Very cheerful reception lady !! Loved the amazing view..highly clean .. management so organized and nice staff...old is gold :)

First of all I d like to express my warm thanks & gratitude to Mr. Mohamed ADRIANO Guest Relations Manager for his tremendous effort to bring a joyous time for my stay, from first moment I stepped on the hotel I felt pampered from all staff, the room was decorated nicely & the view was charming & breathtaking, I d like to describe every moment but it could be described briefly as you feel at home with your family, everything we want was found and flexible to be in hand, eventually I think the choice now became easy when I revisit ASWAN my residence will be ISA #SOFITEL LEGEND OLD CATARACT

Royalty hotel...so vintage..so exponential..one of the kind ..the first destination for deplomatics and primemisters ..was a palace of king farouk ..
Amazing rooms with gold plated every were... celebrity first choice

Preservation of the historical character of the place - in a modern setting - Group way work inside the hotel with a smile Permanent - speed service delivery - I love Softel Cataract Aswan

My experience with that hotel was excellent. The room was spacious and luxurious. The view over the Nile was marvelous.. you take the boat right from the hotel to have a Nile cruise. The breakfast served was lavish. Staff were very friendly. Every corner of the hotel whether indoor or outdoor was a picturesque.

old historical hotel
you may enjoy afternoon tea there

on February 27th at 17:39 with a group of 9 friends we decide to visit the hotel. To enter you pay 15 euro including a drink at the bar. 3 of us pay by credit card and in the general confusion do not receive a voucher like the others, nor did they know they should receive it. At the time of leaving, the waiter asks for the vouchers, the 3 unfortunates have had to pay twice and nothing has been worth the protests and the demonstration of having paid, in fact they would not have let us out. The guy who issued the tickets said with great assurance that he had given us the vouchers. Given the usual hurry of tourists, it was not possible for us to expect to see the cameras. So the guy has pocketed he pocketed 45 euros extra. Great was our consternation being a similar hote !!!! Caterina corrado