The Isis Corniche looks like it has seen better days, and no doubt it has- the past year has been rough for Egypt, and the tourism industry has suffered tremendous losses, but if there is one place we stayed the night over the past week of touring the country that really over-met our expectations, it was the Isis Corniche Hotel in Aswan. It was the first hotel I booked for the trip, and turned out to be the best. I called ahead of time (3 times in fact) because of the negative reviews I had read on Trip Advisor. The reservation manager, Mr. Hani, helped put my mind at ease each time. I told him we are vegetarians- no problem. We needed a breakfast box for our 4am convoy to Abu Simbel- no problem. I had to cancel the first night due to an unexpected scheduling conflict- no problem. We would be arriving on the morning train from Cairo & requested an early check-in- no problem. I began to grow suspicious, because in Egypt "no problem" can just as often mean exactly the opposite. When we arrived at 9:30am we were immediately taken to a room... which was fine, except that the "Nile-view" was obstructed, and not only had my booking stated that our room would have a Nile view, but because of this I had informed my wife that I had booked a room with a Nile view. Imagine my displeasure- here it is her first time in Egypt, its up to me to make her happy (I planned the trip), and I tell her there will be a Nile view from the hotel room... well, I was frankly upset to say the least. At reception I was told that another room may be available after noon, if we could wait until then, so we waited w/o unpacking for an hour, and then decided to take a walk around the property... counting the number of empty rooms with unobstructed Nile views. I was fuming by the time I made it back to reception... why were we kept waiting when there were so many empty rooms? But my anger was soothed when upon my entry to the main lobby I was introduced, face-to-face with Mr. Hani, who by now knew me well. He informed me that he had given us the "very best" room... #118... and whether this is the case or not it doesn't matter... it had the "very best" view of the Nile of any of the rooms I had seen, therefore I will believe him. Thank you Mr. Hani for making our stay excellent, beyond our expectations.
- Isis Corniche Aswan
- Hotel Isis Corniche