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The Le Méridien Pyramids Hotel & Spa is one of the nicest wheelchair accessible accommodations in Giza, Egypt, just minutes from the Ancient Egyptian Pyramids and only 20 minutes by car from Cairo, Egypt. I spent four nights at the property during my wheelchair accessible tour of Cairo, and had a wonderful experience.
Reservation & Check-in
I made my reservation through the hotel website and paid with SPG rewards points. Many of my friends would criticize me for using points at this hotel because it is so inexpensive, but I still felt like I got a good value.
The screenshot above details some sample rates for this month (my stay was Friday to Tuesday, so that’s what I’ve searched), and you can see that nightly room rates start at just 55 EUR (~$65 USD) plus tax, if you book and pay in advance.
Because my flight from London arrived late at night, I didn’t check-in to the hotel until almost midnight. I had reserved an accessible room with a roll-in shower, but discovered that those rooms have not received the refurbished design. As such, I accepted a room in the renovated wing that was not specifically accessible, so that I could take advantage of a better view and the updated amenities. I did take pictures of the wheelchair accessible room that I toured, and I will detail that before showing you the room I actually stayed in.
Wheelchair Accessible Hotel Room
The rooms specially adapted for wheelchair users at the Le Méridien Pyramids Hotel & Spa are somewhat drab—they are in need of a refresh.
Compared to my recently remodeled room, the furnishings in the accessible room left quite a lot to be desired. Still, the bed sat low to the floor and there was space to accommodate a wheelchair on both sides.
The bathroom in the accessible room featured a large roll-in shower, with a small lip bordering the space on the floor (less than one inch). There were no shower curtains and no built-in shower seat. The hotel sourced a folding chair for use in my room’s shower, and the same would have been possible in the accessible room. I would recommend that travelers bring their own shower chair, however.
The toilet was outfitted with grab bars on both sides, which folded down from the wall. The sink was accessible, and could accommodate a wheelchair rolling underneath the countertop.
While this room was certainly more accessible than the one I had, I preferred to keep my view (of the swimming pool) and the updated furnishings in the non-accessible room type.
My Hotel Room
I was given a guest room on the first floor, with an outdoor balcony overlooking the pool (which I could not reach due to a step). Compared to the accessible room type, I found this one to be much more comfortable and inviting.
There seemed to be a lot more space in my room. The king size bed had a firm mattress, but was very comfortable. I accessed the bed from its left side, closest to the window (shrouded by drapes in the photo above), because the space to the right was limited. Power outlets were accessible on the wall next to the bed, and in the lamp on the nightstand.
I plugged my offboard wheelchair battery charger into the wall socket. Power outlets in Egypt supply electricity at between 220 and 240 volts. If you are traveling from the United States, where electricity is supplied at 110 volts, you’ll want to protect your wheelchair and battery with a step-down power transformer.
I forgot to take photo of the desk and television, but both were modern and recently updated. The flat-screen television hung on the wall opposite the bed and was quite large.
The shower in my standard guest room was a bit challenging to use, but I made it work. As noted earlier, I was given a folding chair to use in the shower. The space was enclosed with a glass door. I was able to drive my power wheelchair through the door and transfer onto the chair, where I bathed. Not ideal by any means, but it was a sacrifice I chose to make.
The first photo above depicts the shower controls in my room’s walk-in shower. They were easy to operate, and the shower did have a handheld nozzle. There was awkwardly designed grab bar as well.
The sink, while a bit high, was not that difficult to use, and I was able to roll my wheelchair underneath the countertop and basin. When brushing my teeth, I used the free bottled water, as I just wasn’t sure about the water quality in Egypt. It is heavily treated and said to be safe, but I preferred not to take any risks on this trip.
A bidet sat net to the toilet, making it impossible to park my wheelchair directly alongside. Because this was a standard room, there were no grab bars, which made transferring more difficult. There was just enough space to park my chair in front of the toilet, and I performed some awkward transfers.
I endured a lot of these accessibility challenges for a view of the swimming pool, and what a view it was!
From my room, I could see the shimmering blue waters and the Ancient Egyptian Pyramid of Khufu in the background. If you’re into laying out in the sun, you can surely get a lot of it if you visit this hotel during the month of July, as I did.
Sadly, there is no pool lift or hoist to assist wheelchair users in and out of the pool. It is an investment the hotel should make, as the Le Méridien could easily become the preferred accommodation for wheelchair users visiting Cairo, Egypt and the Pyramids of Giza.
Restaurants & Bars
The hotel has a number of restaurants and bars which are sure to delight. Because the Egyptian Pound has devalued so significantly, you’ll be able to eat and drink like a pharaoh without breaking the bank.
All that pictured above cost less than $12 USD—a delicious beef entree, bread and a Heineken beer. At the bar, domestic and imported beers were less than $2 USD, and you could smoke shisha (hookah) for just a few dollars.
I never expected that Egypt would turn out to be an inexpensive place to indulge my taste buds, but it certainly proved to be!
Final Thoughts
Despite some accessibility challenges (which I accepted in taking the standard guest room), the Le Méridien Pyramids Hotel & Spa was an excellent base for my exploration of Cairo and the Pyramids of Giza. It was a comfortable place to relax—in my room, poolside and at the bar—after what proved to be long days of touring the city.
If you can make one of the remodeled standard rooms work for you, do it! If not, take an accessible room and be happy knowing that you scored a really great deal on accommodations in Egypt—especially if you pay only 55 EUR (or 3,000 Starwood points) per night!
