Like its relative, the Sonesta St. George in Luxor, the Cairo Sonesta combines a wonderful mix of the modern and pharaonic, an expression that this hotel company does very well. Unlike some western style chain hotels in Egypt ,while at a Sonesta, one really does feel that they are in Egypt. The Sonesta in Heliopolis is not really a resort hotel as such, but rather a great stopping off place for tours, and certainly a good residence for visiting business people to this area of Cairo. It is comfortable, and self sufficient for the average tourist who needs a nice room, good restaurants with some evening entertainment. And so like many, I stayed in the hotel for one night prior to departing on a classical tour of Egypt.
Rooms are large, and there is a good ranges of choices according to budget.
All 254 rooms include air conditioning, satellite color television, in-room movies, radio, mini bar, hair dryers and direct dial telephones. Other hotel services include 24-hour room service, free weekly sightseeing tours, a business center with Internet access, safety deposit boxes, babysitting arrangements and a doctor on call. However, another small problem for some will be the expense of using the business center for Internet access. While the hotel charges for Internet access are not unusual for five star hotels, it is considerably more expensive then most local Internet cafes. Unfortunately, in this area I found few Internet cafes nearby, so I was forced to use the more expensive business center.