The hotel was lovely, and vacant. It comes as a result of the turmoil in Cairo and in the surrounding areas. Due to the instability we made alternate arrangements for part of our itinerary, skipping the rocks and tear gas near the Khan el-Khalili souk and instead opting to spend a little more time at the hotel.
Note to self: No matter where or when you travel, make sure the kids pack swimsuits. Forgot this time. Oops.
The Mena House Hotel is quite a compound. Unfortunately tourism isn't what it once was and entire wings are dark. The girls and I went exploring one evening and had the distinct feeling the place was haunted. I'm sure we were imagining things.
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| Imagine this hallway... but with no lights. |
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| We think the housekeeping staff was bored. |
The spa too was deserted. We had the steam room all to ourselves. I know there's a 10-minute limit on it but each of the girls had a 30-minute appointment and neither wanted to sit in the steam room alone, so I got roughly 45-minutes of steaming. I was a little thirsty after.
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| What's a menu without a little camel milk? |
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| Ian's orange. |
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| Or was it?? |
We traversed empty halls, ate in the mostly deserted breakfast room, hung out in our three lovely suites decorated far beyond our prior minimalist surrounds in Jerusalem. At the end of our visit we collected all the little freebies and Rebecca got a little over-zealous. We asked her to put it back.
I really can't get over this place. A lovely oasis in a bustling city of 22 million people. If Cairo is on your list of things To Do before you die, I recommend the Mena House.
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