First impressions are so important, and they impressed me. The hotel was kind enough to give us 2 rooms with an interconnecting door (without being asked), a little thing but it made our 7 night stay easier and more flexible. I loved our rooms with Nile view balconies; I would never get bored of watching the Nile and the valley of the Kings at sunset with the call to prayer echoing over the water. A Nile view room is very worth it. If you take a side view room ask for a room on the right hand side (if facing the Nile) as the hotel is horseshoe shaped and it will block your own view of the Valley of the Kings however it will still be a great view. Bring mini binoculars too as you can see a lot - even Queen Hatshepsut's temple - from the hotel if the sunlight is right.
We ate at the Lebanese which was excellent and they kindly let one of our party have Italian from the other restaurant, I guess this was more accommodating because there was a lack of tourists? The meat and fish in the Lebanese was excellent. The Italian was reasonably good. The cafe food was good too. Our favourite by far was the Thai restaurant, it looks over the Nile, has a Thai chef and lovely staff. They also offer the menu as pool snacks during the day. We also ate at 2 of the pool bars and this food was well cooked too. Overall food was very reliable and catered to most family tastes easily. Not quite enough variety to keep us interested for a week tho.
Breakfast was good, good choice and a eggs station for omelette and such.
(As an aside we also ate at the Sheraton, they welcomed us, offered us a discount on the buffet. The food was excellent with some traditional Egyptian dishes and they have a chef station making you dishes while you wait. We also ate at the Isis they have Italian and Chinese restaurants but because if the lack of tourists they'd move all the seating into a single main restaurant. It was cute that they'd laid out separate sections of tables in Chinese style and Italian style so you still got the 'flavour'.
We also had afternoon tea at the Winter Palace which was a nice experience but a little overrated. )
We'd normally go to more local restaurants but we had my parents with us and were given lots of dire warnings about Egypt-belly even by our Kuoni Rep so we played it safe.
As with many other reviewers we used taxis: Mr Fish and his 'nephew' Mr Bob. Always courteous and helpful.
For water turn left out of the hotel and there is an excellent, clean little supermarket just next door.
The bank at this hotel is not 24 hour but we did manage to use it a few times during the day. There is a pharmacy in the front if the hotel too. There is wifi but only in the pool, patio and bar areas.
I took the tea tray at £25 for the week, extra cups meant we shared it between the 2 rooms, it was well stocked and always replenished with extras if you needed.
We also took a felucca ride from the hotel, pre-agreed time and at a standard rate per hour, no haggling for once. If you get the chance, go with Captain Ash, he's a funny, knowledgeable and eloquent man, we learned a lot and had a lovely time.
My only real complaint is that the hotel on the left next to this one allows the large cruise ships to moor on its banks, this meant out first 3 days were plagued with diesel fumes and a constant vibration and rumble from the constantly running generators, it really did take the edge off our experience. My boyfriend found this particularly troubling and difficult to sleep. It also spoils the poolside atmosphere even though it doesn't block the view. I'm told such mooring is not actually permitted and is done outside the law, the Nile Palace should do more the get it stopped.
I would happily return to this hotel.
My other Egypt review is of Le Meridien Pyramids at Giza.