Zena Toma Nubian Guest House

This place was so beautiful, the nicest Nubian guest house run by Muhammad, who is a king, he made our stay so welcoming, he came with us on a short walk to the centre of the Nubian village. The guest house is right on the water which we went on a boat trip around the Nile which was so peaceful and beautiful, even stopped so we could have a swim in the Nile . The rooms were so clean and beds were comfortable. Fridge and kettle in the rooms if you need, but also a kitchen where the staff can make you anything you want , just have to ask them. One night we had a traditional dinner which was delicious and a very generous size, and one night they ordered burgers from another restaurant for us, which was amazing too, they are very accomodating. All the staff were so friendly and helpful. They can help you arrange tours to temples, we did the Abu Simbel through them and it was so good. Definitely recommend this guest house to anyone who wants to come to Aswan.

Nothing bad to say

Il posto è molto bello e la terrazza sull'acqua è davvero rilassante. La stanza era molto bella. Visto che siamo partiti presto, ci hanno fatto trovare la colazione impacchettata da portare con noi in aeroporto.

Le lenzuola non sono state cambiate. Abbiamo trovato peli e una conchiglia quindi chiaramente nessuno ha cambiato le lenzuola dalla visita precedente. Ci è stato proposto aiuto per andare in aeroporto. Avremmo dovuto pagare 500 egp per un taxi. Quando siamo usciti dall'alloggio abbiamo scoperto che avremmo dovuto condividere il taxi con altre due persone (che pagavano 450egp, quindi a loro era stato fatto uno sconto, ma non a noi). Non c'era neppure spazio nella macchina visto che il tassista ha dovuto mettere le valigie nel posto davanti. Abbiamo provato a contattare il numero whatsapp dell'alloggio che aveva organizzato il trasporto ma ci ha ignorati e non ha mai risposto. Alla fine abbiamo dovuto trovare noi un trasporto all'ultimo secondo (costato molto meno quindi almeno abbiamo risparmiato). Per quanto riguarda la colazione: sono stata male dopo aver mangiato le uova. Probabilmente era stata preparata la sera prima e lasciata al caldo tutta la notte (infatti lo yogurt non aveva un buon aspetto e ho evitato di mangiarlo).

El personal que nos recibió fueron muy amables

Un poco alejado del centro de la ciudad

This rating would have been much lower if it wasn't for Mahmoud, who stepped in at the last minute and genuinely tried to help. My only criticism is that he initially offered us a free airport transfer because he could see we were stressed. We had an early morning flight, had spent hours getting nowhere over WhatsApp with his colleague, and had discovered that taxis didn't want to come out to the guesthouse. The property used to offer free airport transfers, and that was actually one of the reasons we booked it. Unfortunately, he withdrew the offer almost immediately, so it clearly wasn't a genuine offer. It's better not to promise guests something you can't deliver. Although the guesthouse is much closer to the airport than Aswan city, most taxi drivers won't accept the trip. In hindsight, we would have been better off staying in the city. To Mahmoud's credit, he did eventually arrange us a ride to the airport for a reasonable price, and he was friendly and easy to deal with. Nice guy. The guesthouse itself is beautifully decorated with Nubian artwork, and the location right on the Nile is lovely. Mahmoud really did try to help, and with better management and more attentive staff, this place has a lot of potential.

The other female manager, who was communicating with me over Whatsapp while "working remotely," was one of the most unhelpful customer service people I've dealt with. The replies were super generic and never addressed our concerns.. Just st wasted hours of our time on our last night in Egypt. The Wi fii dropped in and out for our whole stay, which was frustrating as we needed it for work. We also told the staff at least four times we didn't need breakfast because we were leaving early, but we still woke up to find it prepared. A nice gesture, but it was another example of them not actually listening to guests, and it sadly just ended up being wasted.