The first hotel stay on the Allegris World Tour will be at the 349-room Le Méridien Cairo AirportThanks to the cheap airfares available out of Egypt, I am a frequent traveller to Cairo and have stayed at Le Meridien several times over the years.
I absolutely love Le Meridien Cairo Airport, probably more than I should. It has a great location (directly connected to Terminal 3) and the hotel has great food and drink options. As an early riser and coffee lover, I appreciate the breakfast and coffee. Le Meridien also has a pool, a great gym, and a club lounge.
Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a spectacularly luxurious hotel. The hotel opened in 2013 and hasn’t had a major renovation since, so it’s in dire need of a refresh. Plus, as is the case in many places in Egypt, there’s a slight smell of cigarettes lingering almost everywhere.
Le Méridien Cairo Airport Reservations
I paid cash for my stay at Le Meridien Cairo Airport, and the total bill came to about $150, which seems quite reasonable by international standards given how expensive hotel prices have become in recent years.
Sure, I could have used Marriott Bonvoy points for the stay, but the stay would have cost 23,000 Marriott Bonvoy points, and since I value Marriott Bonvoy points at 0.7 cents per point, I decided to pay cash and save my points for stays where I could get great value.
Le Meridien Cairo Airport Location
Le Meridien Cairo Airport is perfectly located if you are arriving or departing from the airport. The hotel is directly connected to Terminal 3, which is primarily used by EgyptAir. There is an internal bridge that takes you directly from the arrivals area of the terminal to the hotel (you will need to go through security at the hotel).
If you are arriving or departing from another terminal, there is a shuttle from the hotel every 30 minutes. On the other hand, if you are arriving at the airport from another terminal and need to get to Le Meridien, the hotel will pick you up but you will need to book in advance.
I was planning to arrive at Terminal 3 with EgyptAir and depart from Terminal 2 with Kuwait Airways, so if I arrived in the evening I could take the bridge to the hotel and then catch the shuttle bus in the morning.
Le Méridien Cairo Airport Lobby & Check-in
Le Meridien Cairo Airport has a large lobby area with plenty of seating and is connected to various areas of the hotel, including dining options and a gym.
There are separate desks for checking in. I was promptly attended to and the check-in process took just a few minutes. The staff told me about the hotel amenities and informed me that I had been upgraded to a Club Room due to my Marriott Bonvoy Platinum status.
Key in hand, I walked a short distance to the elevator and took myself up to the fifth floor.
Rooms at Le Méridien Cairo Airport
I was assigned a Club King room, room 558. As I got off the elevator, I turned left and my room was about halfway down the hallway on the right.
A standard room at Le Meridien Cairo Airport is advertised as 355 square feet (33 square meters), so it is average in terms of size. My room had a foyer with a closet on the left, a bathroom on the right, and the rest of the room was at the front.
The main part of the room contained a king size bed which was very comfortable and had the typical Le Meridien sheets.
Opposite the bed was a wall-mounted TV and a desk area with two chairs.
There was a nice service provided at the desk, such as fruits and snacks.
There was a chair with an ottoman next to the bed.
There was a kettle near the entrance and Dilmah tea and Nescafe instant coffee were provided free of charge.
The bathroom had a sink, toilet and walk-in shower.
I didn’t really like the shower facilities for a few reasons: firstly, I don’t like half-shielded showers because they splash water all over the bathroom, and secondly, I found it difficult to regulate the water temperature because the dial is very sensitive.
The toiletries were from MALIN+GOETZ and came in a wall-mounted container.
I loved the impressive selection of other toiletries, from toothpaste to mouthwash, that you often have to call the front desk to request at other hotels.
My room overlooked the terminal, but it wasn’t a great view.
The Wi-Fi in the room was fast and free. Overall, I was very happy with the room. It’s true that the room is a little worn down compared to when I stayed there a few years ago, but that’s to be expected.
Le Meridien Cairo Airport Gym
Le Meridien Cairo Airport has a 24-hour gym just off the lobby. The gym isn’t very big, but it has pretty modern equipment. It also doesn’t have windows, but I worked out in the middle of the night, so it didn’t bother me because I couldn’t see anything.
Le Meridien Cairo Airport Pool
Le Meridien Cairo Airport has an outdoor pool that is open from sunrise to sunset. I’m not a big fan of pools, but with the high temperatures in Cairo year-round, it’s nice to be able to swim.
Le Méridien Cairo Airport Club Lounge
Le Meridien Cairo Airport has a Club Lounge on the 5th floor that I got access to thanks to my status, which is great because it is open 24 hours a day and you can get a soft drink or coffee any time of the day or night.
The lounge is not that large, and given the number of people allowed into the Marriott Club Lounge, I imagine it would get busy during peak service times.
As for the lounge services, breakfast is served from 7AM to 10AM, snacks from 12PM to 5PM, and evening happy hour from 6PM to 8PM. I was too late to go for the evening happy hour, and as for breakfast, club guests can have breakfast in the restaurant, so I did.
I visited the lounge in the middle of the night and coffee, tea, soft drinks, snacks, etc. were available.
Le Méridien Cairo Airport 24/7 Cafe
As a coffee lover and someone with an irregular schedule (especially on a trip like this), my favorite thing about Le Meridien Cairo Airport is the Latitude Coffee Bar, the hotel’s lobby bar that’s open 24 hours a day.
In addition to a full bar, Latitude Coffee Bar also serves barista coffee and pastries. It’s great to have barista coffee at any time of the day or night. It was also great to have a coupon for a free espresso or cappuccino in the room, so you can enjoy a drink without paying for it.
Le Meridien Cairo Airport Breakfast
Le Meridien Cairo Airport serves breakfast at its Mediterranean restaurant, EVOO, located one floor below the lobby. As a club guest, I was able to have breakfast there, which I did. The restaurant is fairly large, and I can’t imagine it getting busy, especially since they have outdoor seating.
The most notable thing about breakfast at Le Meridien Cairo Airport is when breakfast is served, from 4 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. That’s right, this hotel serves a full breakfast buffet from 4 a.m. onwards, which is almost unheard of.
I had never seen anything like it so I had no choice but to go for breakfast at 4 a.m. I sat there for about an hour and had the place to myself, until shortly before we had to leave.
The restaurant’s breakfast buffet exceeded my expectations with a wide choice of Middle Eastern and Western dishes, and the quality of fresh bread and pastries, fruit, yoghurt, cold cuts and hot dishes was quite good.
The drinks were also delicious, from the freshly squeezed orange juice to the cappuccino. The waiters in the restaurant were friendly and kept checking in on me (it probably helped that I was the only person there).
Dining at Le Méridien Cairo Airport
I mentioned Latitude Bar and EVOO Restaurant above, but there are a few other eateries I did not visit.
Meze Restaurant, a Lebanese restaurant open for dinner, is probably the most upscale restaurant in the hotel, and China Red, a Chinese restaurant open for dinner.
Finally, the live sports bar is open late into the night. Wow, the people here are totally drunk and I was lucky enough to share the elevator with some people leaving. There was also live music coming from inside the bar. At first I thought someone was doing some really bad karaoke but then I realized there was an actual performer (at least I guessed, because I heard the same person 30 minutes later). Oops.
Conclusion
I love Le Meridien Cairo Airport. It’s the most convenient airport hotel in Cairo, and the hotel offers a fantastic breakfast buffet starting at 4am, a 24-hour coffee shop, a pool, a gym, a club lounge, and more.
If I’m in Cairo for less than 18 hours I’ll stay here rather than going into the city, considering the traffic. It’s not a modern or luxurious hotel by any means, but I’d stay here again.
What do you think about Le Méridien Cairo Airport?