Location

Marriott Mena House Cairo is located close to the Great Pyramids of Giza, which is the main benefit of staying at the hotel. Its proximity to the Great Pyramids offers views of the monument in some rooms and is the hotel’s biggest selling point. Besides a few small provision shops at the hotel’s doorstep and a gas station about 3 minutes from the hotel, there are few choices for food and shopping around the hotel. The nearest shopping mall, Mall of Egypt, is about a 30-minute drive from the Marriott Mena House Cairo.

The Room

We checked into the 35m² Deluxe Pyramid View Room at Marriott Mena House Cairo, the hotel’s most basic room. The hotel has three prices for their Deluxe Room, depending on how much we see the pyramids from the balcony. We got a room that had an unobstructed view of the great pyramids.

Entryway

Marriott Mena House Cairo’s luxury vibe can be felt when we enter the room’s entryway. The entryway merely serves as a pathway from the main door to the sleeping area of the Deluxe Pyramid View Room. Marriott Mena House Cairo uses dark brown timber and marble flooring that exudes a sense of calmness and elegance. The wardrobe and bathroom entrance are located in the entryway. The three-door wardrobe has two sections. The bigger two-door part of the wardrobe is allocated for hanging clothing with sufficient space to hang at least five days of clothing, though the number of hangers is limited. We found the ironing equipment and an additional luggage rack in this part of the wardrobe. The other part of the wardrobe has a single-door panel, which houses a four-tier drawer, perfect for us to stow our smaller clothing items. The in-room safe is also nicely hidden in this part of the wardrobe.

Bathroom

The marble-laden bathroom is nothing short of luxury. A single oversized sink sits by the wall next to the entrance to the bathroom. I like how Marriott Mena House Cairo did not overfit a dual sink in the bathroom to sacrifice the space allotted to the sink area. Two drawers on either side of the sink allowed us space to stow our toiletry bags. The space on top of these drawers also allowed us to place our facial care items and shavers. However, the large marble holder the hotel used to place some of the amenities on one of these drawers took up a huge amount of space. Fortunately, a glass ledge fixed on both sides of the mirror by the sink did not affect the space usage at the sink.

The toilet is wedged between the sink area and the bathtub. The placement of the porcelain throne does not affect the useable space in the bathroom. Marriott Mena House Cairo fitted the Deluxe Pyramid View Room bathroom with a shower/tub combination. I am not a fan of the shower/tub combination as I find getting in and out of the shower a hassle, and potentially, one might slip and fall, especially guests with mobility issues and children. The bathtub in the room was a tad small, and the sealing for the glass panel was questionable. I always see water seeping through the moveable glass panel whenever I shower.

Sleeping Area

The Marriott Mena House Cairo allocated most of the floor space to the sleeping area. The room looks bigger than most of the entry-level rooms in other hotels. The centrepiece of the sleeping area is the king bed, which occupies about ½ of the sleeping area. I find the mattress used for the king bed to be of the correct level of firmness and very comfortable to sleep on. I had no problems getting excellent sleep quality on the king bed. However, the pillows supplied by the hotel are a tad too soft for my liking. On either side of the bed sits a bedside table, which I find ample space to place my mobile phone and power bank, despite being furnished with a table lamp. The two drawers on the bedside tables gave me more space to put away more stuff. The only flaw in the design of the bedside table is the lack of power sockets on the left table. There was no way for me to charge my mobile devices, and I ended up charging my mobile phone using a power bank. The situation on the right bedside table is better because it has two USB-A charging outlets.

A large cabinet sits opposite the king bed, flushed to the wall. This cabinet houses a large 49″ flatscreen TV. I like the size of the cabinet. Despite placing a large TV, we still found space to stow small items on top of the cabinet. The three drawers at the TV cabinet allowed us to throw whatever we bought inside without worrying about aesthetics. We found a mini fridge hiding inside the left cabinet of the TV console. There are tons of entertainment options on the TV. We could select from various local and international channels to keep us entertained when we were not admiring the pyramids on the balcony.

Marriott Mena House Cairo seems to want their guests to relax and not work while staying with them. Instead of finding a work desk, we found a small dining table with two matching chairs. A minibar station is beside the dining table, tucked in a corner of the room. We found a Nespresso machine and the usual coffee capsules and tea bags. As the room lacked power outlets, I used one outlet here to charge my power bank and lifestyle devices. I was amazed at how Marriott Mena House Cairo could fit a two-seater couch in their Deluxe Pyramid View Room and yet afford us space to move around the room. The fabric couch is a great place to relax (although we use it mainly to put on our backpacks) and watch TV without messing up the bed.

Balcony

The part of the Deluxe Pyramid View Room we like the most is its balcony. The balcony space is fairly large and gives us a great view of the Great Pyramids of Giza. Furnished with a table and two chairs, we found ourselves hanging out here when we returned to our room. The table on the balcony is large enough for us to dine.

Service

Service in Marriott Mena House Cairo was exceptional. We were warmly welcomed by the staff member who took care of the check-in for us when we arrived. The staff at the check-in counter gave us a verbal orientation on the hotel facilities. They even volunteered to show us to our room and deliver our luggage. All the staff at Marriott Mena House Cairo, including the security team at the main and side entrances to the hotel, were fantastic. They were warm and welcoming, and everyone always smiled when guests walked past them.

In particular, our housekeeper, Islam, was amazing. He would always greet us with a smile whenever we bumped into him along the corridor. When we first entered our room, Islam knocked on our door to check if we needed anything else. Islam would check in with us during turndown service to see if we had sufficient supplies. There was an occasion when I saw Islam working in other rooms along the corridor and requested extra bottled water from him. Islam dropped down his work and focused on our request with a smile.

Our check-out was processed by Hazem, who did so efficiently. Perhaps it is the SOP of the hotel; Hazem checked with us on our stay. I gave him feedback regarding the water seepage issue in our bathroom. Instead of making excuses (which most hotels do), Hazem was not defensive and apologised for the hardware issue (though it was no fault of his). I saw him taking notes of our issue description, and he assured us he would get his engineering team to look into it. Hazem even thanked us for bringing up this issue to him.

Hotel Facilities

139 Pavilion Restaurant

The 139 Pavilion Restaurant is our go-to restaurant for meals, open 24/7 serving breakfast and supper. Breakfast is served buffet style, with a huge selection of food spread across several stations but concentrated near the kitchen side of the restaurant. There is a station with cold food such as salad and fruit. The bread section is placed at the end of the cold station. There is a hot food section that serves your usual continental breakfast options. There is also a station where food is cooked ala minute like pasta and eggs. The food served during breakfast was tasty and high quality.

We also had our Christmas dinner at 139 Pavilion Restaurant, arranged by our tour operator. For dinner, there is an even larger selection of food. The restaurant set up its food offerings in both indoor and outdoor stations. The indoor stations include the usual salad bar, fruit section, and a huge selection of meats and cooked vegetables at the hot station. There was also a station where pasta was cooked a la minute and served to guests. There is even a large counter set up for bread and Christmas puddings. But what intrigued me the most was the huge selection of pastries and desserts. These pastries looked too pretty to be consumed, and all came in relatively large portions. Besides the pre-prepared sushi station in the outdoor section, we were treated to a wide choice of grilled seafood and meat cooked on order. There is also a station that serves Indian naan. The food was delicious, and we were spoilt for choice for the Christmas Dinner.

Gym

The gym at Marriott Mena House Cairo is located on the ground floor of Marriott Mena House Cairo. The gym occupies a large area and is well-equipped with machines typically found in commercial gyms. There are strength training machines that work out almost every major muscle group of the body, as well as cardio training machines such as treadmills, stationary bikes and ellipticals. These cardio machines are placed facing the gardens of Marriott Mena House Cairo and the Great Pyramids of Giza. There is a corner set aside for guests who want to practise yoga. Towels and water are available in the gym.

Swimming Pool

Marriott Mena House Cairo has a large swimming pool in the northeastern part of the hotel in a separate courtyard. The heated pool is capable of allowing guests to do some serious laps. There is no lack of sundeck chairs around the swimming pool for guests to enjoy the sun or to relax by the pool. Aside from the main pool, there is a smaller wading pool for the hotel’s younger guests. There is a bar at the pool, and the staff are seen stationed at the bar, regardless of whether people are using the pool.

Overall

We had a positive experience staying in Marriott Mena House Cairo. The staff we met were very friendly and welcoming. The Deluxe Pyramid View Room was spacious and well-designed. The sleep quality on the king bed was nothing but excellent. We like the gardens and the view of the Great Pyramids from the hotel grounds, especially from our room’s balcony. Other than the views of the pyramids, there is not much going on outside the hotel. Apart from the few provision shops and a gas station, all other amenities and shopping are far from the hotel. Nonetheless, I would return to the hotel for its comfort, emphasis on safety, impeccable service and, most importantly, the magical view of the Great Pyramids.