Cairo: The Mena House Oberoi (4 Star Hotel)

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Address: Pyramids road giza , Cairo , Egypt

Lonely Planet review

Built in 1869 as Khedive Ismail's hunting lodge, the stately Mena House offers two time warps in one: the public areas sport dazzling Islamic decoration and perpetually smell of jasmine, but the grandest palace-wing rooms are Barbarella-meets-Ali-Baba, with groovy tapestry bedspreads and smoky mirrors. You really have to splash out with Pyramids view, because 'garden' views take in unsavoury chain-link fencing, while rooms in the new garden wing are dully modern.

The swimming pool is suitably capacious.