Basma Hotel Aswan

This hotel could be a gem but poor management, lack of maintenance, and fraud in the restaurant make it a turd. Upon arrival we were greeted, and folks offered to carry our bags up the stairs so that was pretty standard. Check-in was fine. The rooms are small and ours was very outdated. It’s nothing like the photos shared by management so be aware that the property is in varying states of repair. You may luck out, you may not. After putting our stuff in our room, we went down to the restaurant for dinner. They had no menu, just buffet and no disclosed prices. Later they said $15US. This is not a convenience, this is a made up number for tourists, but fine. They did provide a drink menu and we ordered drinks. The drinks were ok but I’m positive there was no alcohol in them and they were rum cocktails. All three of us agreed there was no alcohol and were from Wisconsin so, rest assured, we’re professionals in this area. First scam. With the bill, the server worked on the numbers for a while and eventually presented it. The math was close enough so I proceeded to pay it in cash. The total was 3515E£. I counted out 3600 (twice, all in 200 bills) and gave it to him. On our way out he flagged us and showed us that one of the bills was a 50 so we were short. Now, this was technically possible because the one and only 50 I had received the entire trip was given to me at that table by my brother for his share so I thought, maybe I screwed up and somehow managed to get that bill in the stack. But, when I reached into my bag to grab another 200, I pulled out that 50. So, he was trying to scam us. The following night we begrudgingly returned to the restaurant because the food is actually good and we had an early departure in the morning after a long hot day touring. This time, we planned to pay with card to avoid the possibility of bill changing. The server brought back a bill with lots of difficult math on it and a total 1000E£ higher than it should have been. We dealt with it and payed the correct amount. On our way out, we overheard another customer arguing with the same server over his bill. There is rampant scamming going on in the restaurant. And here’s the thing, there’s no way management doesn’t know that at this frequency. So, now I find myself concerned leaving anything in the room too. I’m now in a zero trust mode at my hotel and that’s a horrible customer experience. Another issue is that the lock on our bathroom door was very sensitive and my daughter got trapped inside. We couldn’t get it open quickly so I called for service. She did get it open before someone arrived so I called down to cancel. Someone came anyway, which is fine. But after he arrived and I told him we resolved the issue, he insisted on coming in and showing me that the door worked, and then said very rudely “unlocked” as if I didn’t understand how to use a door knob, rolled his eyes and left. Not exactly good service. Of course the door is open, there’s not a young girl trapped inside anymore either, Bozo. Last, make sure you double lock at all times. The staff gives zero s—ts about your privacy. There was no delay when the person came to assist between knock and opening the door and there was zero delay between a knock and housekeeping attempting to open the door for us. There are multiple patrons noting this and it’s extremely bad form. General notes, the pool area is reasonably large and nice, but not enough seating at all. This is an easy fix do it further suggests poor management. The area is also run down and could use maintenance. Positives: Nice property, great location for tours, front desk was courteous, restaurant food was surprisingly good, especially for a buffet.

I didn’t have high hopes for this hotel based on the reviews so overall I wasn’t surprised or disappointed. We ended up staying here because our first choice was sold out. The breakfast buffet was really bad… the worst of our entire trip to Egypt. Our room was dated and we ended up with two twin beds. There is not a lot of food in the area when we asked the hotels for recommendations they said they only recommended this TGI Fridays rip off called makinis which was sub par but better than the hotel dinner buffet we had the day before. The prices for beer are good but other than that just be prepared for a dated hotel.

Loved it!

Excellent service

I enjoyed spending 2days in a special place have a very respectful staff, will repeat same trip with my wife soon isa, Special thanks to Reham for her cooperation and her smiley face. Thanks a lot for basma team please keep the same spirit. Maged zaki

Beautiful views from our room and the staff were helpful. However, the pool was a bit dirty (ie sand/bits in it) and the floor of the bedroom could have been cleaner.

Excellent location within walking distance to town, Nubian museum, Sofitel and the Cathedral. Bed was comfortable and service was very good. Breakfast could be improved but overall great for the value! Highly recommended for families and couples.

Staff amazing

We had a very easy stay at the Basma Hotel which provided everything we wanted. A big thank you to the staff who were extremely friendly and helpful

The hotel is very well located, and the gardens and pool are very nice. The staff is helpful and collaborative, but it is also evident that they lack guidelines to organize their work. I stayed for three days, and never had the list of numbers to call to from my room in order to get adequate service. The food at the restaurant is better on the list than the buffet. Could be qualified as average. The maître d'hotel, Ahmed Aly is helpful and keen on pleasing the visitors. An improvement in the general management would be necessary to put the hotel up to its potentiality.