Five star luxury at Four Seasons First Residence Cairo

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When British Midland International told me I'd be staying in the Four Seasons in Cairo, it was all I could do to not jump around with excitement! The Four Seasons?! Five Stars?! Yes!

I'm all for luxury, but just don't enough of the finer things in life as often as I'd like. This was going to be a REAL treat.

There are two Four Seasons hotels in Cairo, the Nile Plaza and the First Residence (on the River Giza) which we stayed in

The 5* experience began when me and Nicky arrived at the airport and were greeted by our Four Season driver. He took our luggage and walked us to an air conditioned BMW. Waiting for us in the car was some chilled water and refreshing lemon scented towels. And it's these little touches continued throughout our stay.

We got our first taste of Cairo traffic on the hour's drive from the airport. I enjoyed just taking in all the new scenery along the journey. When we arrived at the hotel we were greeted by the assistant manager who swiftly took care of our bags and showed us to our rooms.

Thoughtfully, they had given me and Nicky rooms next to each other. My breath was taken away as we were given a tour of our accommodation. I've stayed in some nice hotels before, but this was another level!

Hand written welcome card: "Dear Ms Strunks, Welcome to Four Seasons Cairo at the First Residence. Have a memorable stay"

I wasn't sure what do it first! So of course I made a video giving a tour of my room!

 

The next thing I wanted to do was get online. The Four Seasons do charge for wifi. If my memory serves me correctly it's $20 (usd) for 24 hours for one device, or $30 (usd) for up to four devices and super speed. We had the first option complimentary and I found it fast and efficient for general internet use. I think the super speed would be useful if you wanted to connect more than one device and had a lot of uploading/downloading to do.

So, within minutes I was tweeting away! Yay.

Well stocked fridge, snacks, and complimentary water

Room Service Menu

Suggested jogging routes with measured distances

View over River Giza towards Tahrir Square

After a day of travelling, and grabbing a bite to eat and a few drinks, I was ready for sleep.

I've got to tell you about my bed!!

It was perfect. Do you know that lovely feeling you have when you get into a bed, and it's so comfortable and you think 'bliss' and have a smile on your face as you fall to sleep? That. But x10! I LOVED the bed.

The next morning me and Nicky made our way to breakfast armed with our cameras. This was not just any type of breakfast. This was something else! 

Of course there was breakfast cereal, and fruit and yogurt and such like - and even with those items there was a huge choice. But there was so much more. Countless types of bread. Savory traditional Cairo dishes, and sweets. Meat and dips. Fresh local honey comb. Fish. Spices. Vegetables. Whatever your heart desired for breakfast there was something here that would satisfy it.

This is a very big hotel. It has (I think) 17 floors. It has a shopping mall. Several restaurants. A Spa. Pool. Casino. Bars. If you were so inclined, you really needn't leave the hotel at all. Everything you need is at your disposal.

 

The opulent corridors and indeed, every room, had the most amazing fresh flower displays!

Of course I was drawn to the red flowers! ;) Thanks to Nicky for taking the photo!

At every turn there was more splendor. I was in love!

This is the shopping mall. Three tiers of shops surround an open restaurant.

Of course, we had to make use of the pool too! Nicky dived straight in and cooled down. I relaxed under the shade of an umbrella.

I've been totally bowled over by this hotel. They have earned their 5 star rating for a reason.

They second guess and meet their guests needs. Even things you didn't know you wanted or needed, they provide without prompt. More fresh fruit for your room? There it is. Running low on bottled water? Don't worry, the fridge has already been stocked up. You must be hot from exploring the city? Here's a refreshing lemon scented towel. You need directions to a restaurant? No problem, here's a map and directions in Arabic for the driver. We'll even ring the restaurant and book your table for you. All these seemingly small gestures went towards making a relaxed and stress free stay.

Not only does the hotel offer luxury surroundings and accommodation, but the staff were second to none. They were friendly, attentive, efficient, and went that extra mile.

I can not fault anything about my stay here, and I have been thoroughly spoiled!

 

Thank you to the Four Seasons and BMI for a stay and trip of a lifetime!

Coming up -  my business class flight :)

My Cairo Experience

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Where to start?!

When I had a call asking me if I wanted to go to Cairo last weekend it was all systems go with just a few days to get my work up to date and pack, but this was an opportunity I couldn't turn down, and the promise of Business Class travel with Flybmi AND 5* treatment at a Four Seasons hotel was irresistible! I'm going to blog about my first time in business class and the luxury of the hotel in my next blog posts. What an amazing experience!

In the meantime, this is all about Cairo. With the offer of bringing a +1, I asked my friend and work colleague Nicky Getgood if she would like to go - and she said YES! We had 3 nights and two days in the city.

Our journey began at Digbeth coach station on a 5am coach to London Heathrow Airport.

By around 6pm that evening we had arrived in Cairo, and checked into our hotel suites that were to be our home for the next 3 nights, grabbed some dinner and a couple of drinks nearby and had a great nights sleep.

Day 1.

Getting lost!

We were on a mission! As part of the trip to Cairo I had said I would write a travel article for Flybmi. I chose an ancient street called El Moez Street housed in the ancient heart of the city. (You can read my piece on Flybmi's website)

We told the hotel concierge where we wanted to go, who in turn told the taxi driver. Sorted! Or so we thought. The taxi driver had other ideas! He decided that what we really needed was a tour of the city instead. With the language barrier, (we spoke no Arabic, and the taxi driver spoke limited English), we just managed to wave a map at him and repeated "El Moez Street!" to him. Eventually he pulled up the taxi. "Is this El Moez Street?" "Yes, yes. But it's miles away". Hmmm.... "Come on Nicky, let's just get out."

And so we stepped out into a narrow street and headed in the direction we thought we should go. It was total guess work at this point. We continued down the narrow street which was lined with market fare, fruit, vegetables, spices, herbs, meat, and live chickens, duck and rabbits.

As you can probably tell from the photographs, the sun was very strong. Me and Nicky had done our best to protect ourselves from the heat.

Buying my first maxi dress and a big floppy had was one of the best ideas I've had! Oh, and wearing factor 50 sun lotion! 

Nicky, cool in pink cotton!

But there is adventure in getting lost, and despite not being in the right street, it was certainly an experience. Being the only tourists on the street (well, I spotted two others who looked equally lost!), I felt we really got a taste of life in Cairo.

With the heat getting the better of us at around midday, we decided to head back to the hotel to cool down. We walked to a main road and stepped into the chaotic traffic.

We managed to flag down a taxi, who this time, took as straight to where we wanted to go.

I've got so much to tell you about the Four Seasons, but I want to save it deserves a separate blog post!

Nicky threw herself in the coolness of the pool and I joined her poolside for some time to chill out and relax.

A little nap in our beautiful rooms had us set for a night out in the city!

Nicky had managed to find a restaurant online. It's called the Estoril and gets rave reviews on Trip Advisor. A short taxi driver over the rivers Giza, and Nile and past Tahrir Square and we had arrived. (BTW, taxi's in Cairo are super cheap, but I would advise agreeing a price with the driver first).

We received such a warm welcome there. The staff were attentive, and there was a great choice on the menu. It was busy with music playing, but not too loudly.

I seeee you Nickyyyyy! ;)

Homous with lamb! Delicious.

After dinner we walked through the streets looking for a bar that Nicky had found online. I think it's called the Hoyeka Bar. We got a little lost but eventually Nicky spotted it. I just stared at the outside. It seemed all boarded up, but there was light coming from the inside. I peered through the cracks in the boarding. It was packed in there!

When we walked in we were guided to a couple of spare chairs and a little table. They only seem to sell beer (but I opted for water). It was hot, noisy, smokey with only a few ceiling fans acting as air conditioning. It was a real hang-out kinda place. Lots of animated chat. A real mix of people, from Cairo residents to tourists. It all got a bit too much for me! I was tired, hot and started to feel a bit closed in.

We met an English couple who were living in Cairo and we talked about life in the city, then we headed back to the calmness of the hotel and had a night cap in the Library Bar before a good night's sleep.

Day 2

The pyramids!

The night before we managed to book a tour of the pyramids online with Memphis Tours. Again, they got good reviews on Trip Advisor. We loved that they had a 'live chat' option, so we were able to ask a few questions before placing the booking online. It cost around £40 and included the pyramids and the Sphinx.

The tour was scheduled from 8.30 to 1.30 and we were to be picked up from the Four Seasons. I was expecting a coach with about 20 other tourists on board so I was delighted and surprised when we met our tour guide Tarek and a driver in a large car. It was just going to be me and Nicky with our tour guide! 

It took around an hour, maybe less, to get to the Pyramids. Although, with hindsight, you could just get a taxi to the pyramids and pay the entry fee (about £5 I think), it was a real bonus to have Tarek with us. He gave us hints and tips, dissuaded the keen postcard sellers and camel riding people and of course gave us a full run down on the history and stories of the pyramids. Plus we had the air conditioned car to travel between the pyramids. It was SO hot there and I would not have relished the walk (or camel ride!) between the pyramids.

It was well worth the visit and I'm so happy I got to see these iconic structures!

With Tarek, our tour guide

Me and Nicky

Obligatory tourist shot! ;)

I hope you enjoy my little video tour of the pyramids! :)

After our tour Tarek took us to a few shops, so I took the chance to make a video.

This guy demonstrated how papyrus was made.

We arrived back to the hotel at around 1.30, and promptly had a couple of hours snoozing! I can't tell you how comfortable the bed was. Heaven!

The Street - Attempt Number Two!

I still had to get to El Moez Street after our failed attempt the day before. This time I left nothing to chance. The concierge at the Four Seasons were so helpful. They printed off a map and wrote instructions in Arabic for the taxi driver. The door man made sure the driver knew that where we must go and that we MUST get there!

The drive took about an hour. Now is a good time to mention the traffic in Cairo. It's something else!

Nicky sums it up really well in this tweet.

I was struck by the lack of lane discipline that we are so used to in the UK. The cars get so close to one another. There is a constant sound of horns sounding. Each horn sound has a different meaning: get out of the way, after you, I'm coming through!

I made this short video to give you a little taster of typical Cairo traffic.

We finally made it to El Moez Street! It was nearing sunset, and it was still lively and busy. The stall holders were vying for our attention and engaging us in conversation. El Moez is based in the ancient heart of Cairo and as well as selling things like rugs, gold and silver jewellery, clothes, hookah pipes, bags, shoes...it is lined with mosques

After walking along the market street for a while we decided to go into a mosque. As we were taking our shoes off we were greet by a little old man. He was pointing up to the roof and asking for fifty Egyptian pounds. Now it IS free to go into any mosque. You do not have to pay. However, I was too tired to argue with him and a little curious about the pointing finger! We were escorted through a little wooden door and immediately faced a narrow flight of stairs. Up and up we went until (a little out of breath) we reached the roof top.

It was SO worth it. Stepping out of the bustling city and onto the serenity that the rooftop offered, it just felt so special. The sun was setting over the 360 view we had of Cairo.

It's one of my favourite moments from my Cairo experience. Enjoy the video!

In the evening we arranged to meet Noha Atef for dinner. Noah is studying at Birmingham City University and lives in Cairo and she will be returning to Birmingham next month. We first made contact earlier this year when she asked me to speak at her We Are What We Tweet Event which I wasn't able to attend unfortunately.

We met Noha at the reception of the hotel and we took a walk along the main street and arrived at a restaurant. I wish I had taken some photographs of us! I can't believe I didn't get my camera out. I really enjoyed Noha's company and she shared with us stories about life in Cairo. Thank you for a wonderful evening Noha!

After such a full day, we were ready for sleep. I had a little night cap and had another great night's sleep. Me and Nicky agreed to just enjoy a lesuirely morning at the hotel before our flight back to Birmingham in the afternoon.

We allowed ourselves a lie in, and a long, hearty breakfast. We explored the hotel and took some more photographs.

Then it was time to check out and say our goodbyes. Just as the hotel had picked us up from the airport, we had a driver for our return journey.

I was feeling quite sad at leaving the city and didn't feel quite ready to go home. There was still so much of the city to explore and although we packed a lot into a couple of day, I felt I only just scratched the surface. 

Thank you to Flybmi, Four Seasons and Cairo! And thank you to Nicky for being such a great travel companion!

My next blog posts wil be about my first busines class flight and the luxury of the hotel! :)

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