Worth the upgrade: Meridian Pyramids Hotel vs Mena House Hote in Egypt

I'm planning my 2D1N excursion in Egypt with Ramses, one of the highly recommended tour companies on CC board. They offer a choice of Meridian Pyramids Hotel or Mena House Hotel ($50 pp extra for standard room) for our 1-night stay. I've read many good comments on both hotels on TripAdvisor but not many on the former. Wondering if any fellow CCers stayed at these hotels before and advise whether it is worth to pay the extra.

Thanks! :)

I'm planning my 2D1N excursion in Egypt with Ramses, one of the highly recommended tour companies on CC board. They offer a choice of Meridian Pyramids Hotel or Mena House Hotel ($50 pp extra for standard room) for our 1-night stay. I've read many good comments on both hotels on TripAdvisor but not many on the former. Wondering if any fellow CCers stayed at these hotels before and advise whether it is worth to pay the extra.

 

Thanks! :)

My wife and I spent 2 nights at the Mena House Oberoi in June last year and one night at the Movenpick Pyramids hotel the night before our departure. Although I have not seen the Meridien, I highly recommend that you pay the extra for a stay at the Mena House and be sure to choose a Pyramids View room. You will certainly not be disappointed, as it is absolutely gorgeous and the service they provide is second to none.

I would also recommend that you try and spend some time there in the evening, especially if you have the time to dine in the Moghul Room restaurant which is widely rated as the finest Indian restaurant in Africa ... I can report that the Rogan Josh was easily the best I've ever had.

Our stay there was one of the highlights of our trip.

Click here to see my full report: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1310288

Thanks havcam for your valuable advice and the report of your stay at the Mena. Now I've made up my mind and I shall contact Ramses for the upgrade and most importantly, request a Pyramids View room (wonder if it would cost more as the $50 extra is for standard room only).

We also signed up for the Sound & Light Show. At first I wanted to do the dinner cruise but having read some of the comments here that there wasn't much to see on the Nile at night time, on a cruise, I changed my mind and signed up for the show which some CCers said it was spectacular.

Thanks for recommending the Moghul Room Restaurant but we are not very into Indian cuisine so I think we might have to skip it this time.

Still 9 more months to go..... waiting's suck!

Thanks havcam for your valuable advice and the report of your stay at the Mena. Now I've made up my mind and I shall contact Ramses for the upgrade and most importantly, request a Pyramids View room (wonder if it would cost more as the $50 extra is for standard room only).

 

We also signed up for the Sound & Light Show. At first I wanted to do the dinner cruise but having read some of the comments here that there wasn't much to see on the Nile at night time, on a cruise, I changed my mind and signed up for the show which some CCers said it was spectacular.

 

Thanks for recommending the Moghul Room Restaurant but we are not very into Indian cuisine so I think we might have to skip it this time.

 

Still 9 more months to go..... waiting's suck!

Glad to be of help. I know that the posts I read on this site before visiting Egypt had a great influence on my itinerary and I'm 'paying it forward'.

There is an additional surcharge for the Pyramid view but trust me on this: you will kick yourself when you get home if you decide to save $50. I would pay a lot more than that to do it again.

The Sound & Light Show at the Pyramids is certainly a worthwhile experience; I mean, sitting there, gazing at the only remaining Ancient Wonder of the World, being told the story of the Pyramids through the spectacle of sound and light ... it's just another reason why one visits Giza.

Have fun.

Absolutely agree that the Mena House Pyramid view is an excellent choice. We stayed there for 4 nights on a recent trip to Egypt and were extremely happy with our choice. Enjoy!!

"Worth it" is always a subjective thing. If everyone felt it was worth it, the package would probably include it automaticly. If no one felt it was worth it they would not offer it.

My wife and I spent 2 nights at the Mena House Oberoi in June last year and one night at the Movenpick Pyramids hotel the night before our departure. Although I have not seen the Meridien, I highly recommend that you pay the extra for a stay at the Mena House and be sure to choose a Pyramids View room. You will certainly not be disappointed, as it is absolutely gorgeous and the service they provide is second to none.

 

I would also recommend that you try and spend some time there in the evening, especially if you have the time to dine in the Moghul Room restaurant which is widely rated as the finest Indian restaurant in Africa ... I can report that the Rogan Josh was easily the best I've ever had.

 

Our stay there was one of the highlights of our trip.

Click here to see my full report: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1310288

Our tour offers the Movenpick, but will upgrade us to the Mena House for a pretty sizable additional fee. Having stayed in both, what were your thoughts about the Movenpick?

I'm planning my 2D1N excursion in Egypt with Ramses, one of the highly recommended tour companies on CC board. They offer a choice of Meridian Pyramids Hotel or Mena House Hotel ($50 pp extra for standard room) for our 1-night stay. I've read many good comments on both hotels on TripAdvisor but not many on the former. Wondering if any fellow CCers stayed at these hotels before and advise whether it is worth to pay the extra.

 

Thanks! :)

We plan on staying at the Mena House Hotel as well on our May cruise. They quoted us $ 50.00 for the upgrade as well but if we want a Pyramid view room it will be an other $ 30.00 (and that is per person as far as I can tell).

Our tour offers the Movenpick, but will upgrade us to the Mena House for a pretty sizable additional fee. Having stayed in both, what were your thoughts about the Movenpick?

We like to hear the answer to this question as well.

Thanks,

Theo

We plan on staying at the Mena House Hotel as well on our May cruise. They quoted us $ 50.00 for the upgrade as well but if we want a Pyramid view room it will be an other $ 30.00 (and that is per person as far as I can tell).

I was quoted the same for the pyramid view room. It is a per person charge. I don't think I will pay the extra for just a 1-night stay, though.

If you can, spend your evening eating at the Mena House and looking around the hotel. Dinner was fabulous and there was a show included. Here are some pics.

http://tahitianprincessworldcruise2009.blogspot.com/2009/04/oberoi-mena-house-dinner.html

There are a couple of different restaurants. I don't know if they will all be open if tourist traffic is down but your guide can likely check in advance for you. Our dinner was arranged by our guide.

Looking back at my blog it appears I had a pyramid view room. Here is a pic. from the balcony. I don't remember if I asked for it and paid extra or not. The days in Egypt are so packed that I don't think I would consider it worth it to pay for the upgrade as I just saw the view for the time it took to take the picture and then left for the day.

http://tahitianprincessworldcruise2009.blogspot.com/2009/04/oberoi-mena-house.html

Our tour offers the Movenpick, but will upgrade us to the Mena House for a pretty sizable additional fee. Having stayed in both, what were your thoughts about the Movenpick?

We like to hear the answer to this question as well.

Thanks,

Theo

The Movenpick Pyramids is a very nice hotel but in my mind, it cannot be easily compared to the Mena House Oberoi.

The Movenpick is farther away from the Pyramids and there are no views from the rooms. The Movenpick is also right on the busy Cairo-Alexandria Highway, whereas you enter the Mena House grounds through a security gate from the Pyramids Road (Al Ahram). The rooms (more like small cabanas) at the Movenpick are large and pleasant but need updating - ours also had a strong smell of tobacco. The Garden rooms at the Mena House are new and spacious and of course, have killer views of the Pyramids (or the sumptuous brand new Pool area, if you don't care). The service at the Mena House was the best I've experienced and it's restaurants figure on my top five I've been to, in the world. The Movenpick has a nice pool, ordinary restaurants and good service.

The amenities and grounds at the Movenpick are quite nice but the Mena House is a Palace ... need I say more?

Having been to both, and having seen the Meridien from the lobby, I would say: if you want a very pleasant stay, you can choose either the Movenpick or the Meridien. If you want a unique experience, one that will form an indelible memory, choose the upgrade to the Mena House. It's more than worth it.

We stayed at the Mena House in November 2011. Certainly worth the extra money. It is a Palace...and the grounds and amentities are incredible. Our rooms were pyramid view and the photos our sons took of the Sound and Light Show from our room balcony the night we stayed there are amazing.

The Mena House is also very historical.

Enjoy your stay.

The Movenpick Pyramids is a very nice hotel but in my mind, it cannot be easily compared to the Mena House Oberoi.

 

The Movenpick is farther away from the Pyramids and there are no views from the rooms. The Movenpick is also right on the busy Cairo-Alexandria Highway, whereas you enter the Mena House grounds through a security gate from the Pyramids Road (Al Ahram). The rooms (more like small cabanas) at the Movenpick are large and pleasant but need updating - ours also had a strong smell of tobacco. The Garden rooms at the Mena House are new and spacious and of course, have killer views of the Pyramids (or the sumptuous brand new Pool area, if you don't care). The service at the Mena House was the best I've experienced and it's restaurants figure on my top five I've been to, in the world. The Movenpick has a nice pool, ordinary restaurants and good service.

 

The amenities and grounds at the Movenpick are quite nice but the Mena House is a Palace ... need I say more?

 

Having been to both, and having seen the Meridien from the lobby, I would say: if you want a very pleasant stay, you can choose either the Movenpick or the Meridien. If you want a unique experience, one that will form an indelible memory, choose the upgrade to the Mena House. It's more than worth it.

We stayed at the Mena House in November 2011. Certainly worth the extra money. It is a Palace...and the grounds and amentities are incredible. Our rooms were pyramid view and the photos our sons took of the Sound and Light Show from our room balcony the night we stayed there are amazing.

 

The Mena House is also very historical.

 

Enjoy your stay.

Thank you both for the information and based on this and others we have made up our mind and go with the Mena House (why not, you only live ones).

Now our only hope is that they don't cancel our port of Alexandria.

Theo

I was part of a large group (600+) that visited Cairo in November 2011. We ate lunch at the Meridien because it could accommodate our big group. We did not spend the night there -- we commuted from the NCL Jade in Port Said.

This is the hotel used by our US travel company. The hotel seemed nice enough but I don't think it has a view of the pyramids. If I were going again and had a choice, I would want to stay where I had a pyramid view.

One more vote for the Mena House!

Have stayed at all three over the years, would rate them in order; Mena House, Meridien (pyramid view is available) followed by the Movenpick. The Mercure Le Sphinx is also quite nice.

Definitely go to the Mena House if you can.