El Mesala Hotel

Locatie is fijn op de West bank. Ik had een eenvoudige kamer met balkon en uittzicht op de Nijl. Zwembad is heerlijk. In de buurt lagen een aantal restaurantjes. Ontbijt was lekker en uitgebreid op dakterras. Meneer die kamer poetste was vriendelijk en deed zijn best.

Ontvangst door eigenaren (?) was met momenten niet oprecht vriendelijk. Blijkbaar wist men niet dat ik gereserveerd had. Toen ik na mijn eerste nacht vroeg of mijn kamer schoongemaakt kon worden zei men mij dat dat niet meer kon na de middag. Ik was de hele ochtend afwezig geweest. Na enig aandringen heeft men toch nog de vuilnis opgeruimd op mn badkamer. Toiletpapier kan niet doorgespoeld worden en moet in een emmer. Er stond constant water rondom de wc pot. Het restaurant vond ik qua locatie geweldig. Alleen alle tafellakens waren vies.

The hotel was a great location with an excellent clean pool. The staff were friendly and helpful. It has a great rooftop bar to eat and enjoy the view.

Le rooftop

Le bruit, la nuit c'est horrible avec les motos, les chiens les cris, etc.

Wonderful breakfast selected from a long table of fresh vegetables &fruit, wonderful bean stews & falafel ,eggs& different delicacies introduced everyday all presided over by a charming host on the covered rooftop overlooking the Nile.

The shower in the bath was powerful & hot but there was no cover to the large plughole & when I inserted my own plug to protect my shampoo bottle from disappearing unfortunately the water all came up from the drain cover near the bath BUT I was delighted to return from a hard day painting to find swans made out of clean towels welcoming me on my freshly made bed sprinkled with magenta bougainvillea petals by the lovely staff & all sorted in the bathroom .

Friendly and helpful staff. Comfortable.

When the only good thing about the hotel is that it’s easy to catch a ferry to leave it, then it’s got to be bad. The teenagers cooked me a decent beef shawarma in the rooftop bar.

The room was not clean when I checked in - the pillows smelled of someone’s sweat and had hair on them, and the covers were scratchy and old. The aircon didn’t work, and where there used to be a fan, there were just open wires hanging from the ceiling. This left just the balcony for ventilation, but it was mosquito season so I ended up with about 20 mosquito bites. I booked a tour of the West Bank through the hotel (€20). The driver picked me up on time (great), but at one point in the tour took me to his friend’s alabaster shop, during which time I was scammed out of over £100 (yes I’m clearly an idiot) on rocks. Please don’t fall for their tricks - I have since been told that this is a common scam. I then was repeatedly told “if I make you happy, you make me happy” and was expected to give a large tip on top of an expensive trip. I checked out a day earlier than expected and moved to the Iberotel on the East Bank - which was exceptional!!! Do not stay here!