Ramses Hilton Oh How I Love Thee…

Let me count the ways…

1. Diamond Club! = Gorgeous rooms! - Thanks to Jason being in the Hilton Diamond Club we were upgraded.  This meant a gorgeous room,  great customer service from the hotel staff, fresh flowers, bottled water, free alcoholic drinks at night (these are very hard to come by in Muslim Egypt), and dessert left in our room each day while we were out seeing the sights.   

Diamond Club! = Daily Desserts

2. Views-Views-Views!  - The views from our balcony were amazing.  These are the same views seen by millions of people around the world during news broadcasts of the riots that swept Cairo in early 2011.  From our rooms we had gorgeous views of the River Nile and a great perch to watch Cairo traffic, which is really something to see and hear.  I liked to listen to the rhythm of Cairo, there was a buzz and energy about the city that was almost like a song.  The cab drivers honk all the time to communicate their next move and they usually honk in a generic or friendly manner unlike in America where honking is usually a sign of aggression.  The constant honking and the 17-20 million people (depending on the time of day) made Cairo a very loud and busy place. I had never seen anything like it.  I really enjoyed the views from our hotel.  Supposedly you can see the Pyramids really well from the Ramses Hilton.  We couldn’t see them most of the days we were there because of pollution and smoke from a wildfire in Israel.  On one of the days we could see a shadow outline of the pyramids, I imagine on a clear day the view from the hotel would be really impressive.    

3. Location! Location! Location! - The Ramses Hilton is located on the banks of the River Nile in Cairo.  Everything we wanted to do was within walking distance or within a short distance by taxi.

4. Security – Every time we entered the hotel we had to go through security including a metal detector.  It was really easy to go through security and the security officers were very professional and easy to deal with.  It was nice to know we were in a safe place and that measures were taken to keep us safe on vacation. 

5.  Food – The hotel had a buffet every morning that we were able to attend before heading out for our daily adventures.  There was a mix of Western and Middle Eastern food so you could always find something you liked to eat in the morning.

I highly recommend staying at the Ramses Hilton.  Someday I would like to go back to Egypt, when it is safe again, and when I do I will try to stay at the Ramses Hilton.