Royal Crown Hotel, Cairo

This hotel must have seen better days, it is now a little old and in urgent need of maintenance (like paint and light bulbs).... The swimmimg pool is so small it is almost a joke, but the view from the roof is lovely. The rooms are small, clean in Cairo terms - no attention paid to corners or difficult to reach places, spare supply of toilet paper, stains on furniture- and need better lighting. However, I got a room on the 11th floor and the view was nice. Also in the small hours of the morning (remember Cairo never sleeps) the smell of freshly baked bread was tantalizing. This brings me to the next point: they serve the best breakfast: cold hybiscus drinks, excellent omelettes, cheese with different spices, their wonderful bread...just glorious to get you going in the morning. The staff are very attentive and warm, always trying to please you and get things to work better. They even took some cleaning tips from a colleague from Germany!!! There is a small gift shop with reasonable prices and the loveliest attendant. I stayed there while attending a conference at the CICC, so that the short distance from the venue was certainly a plus. It is a 10 Egyptian pound taxi ride away(ask for Saad, next door). There is a supermarket three blocks down and an Internet cafe nearby. They offer internet access at the hotel but it is not reliable. Laundry services are also unreliable. In short, nice alternative to the international hotels near the CICC, the Royal Crown allows you to get acquainted with Cairo and its people, and at the same time saves you the hassle of transportation to the downtown area.