Travel Betty

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As a non-guest, it may cost you an entrance fee of 85LE, but you’ve traveled all the way up the Nile to get to Aswan and you’re a doorway away from the terrace made famous in Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile. Are you really going to balk at the cost? Plus, you can unruffled your feathers a bit because the fee counts against any drinks you order.

And the Old Cataract Hotel’s Terrace is a lovely place to sip fine spirits as you watch feluccas sail by and listen to the musicians that play daily near around sunset.

It is not, however, a place to get the same pampered high-tea service Bette Davis or Mia Farrow probably enjoyed 30 years ago. You can certainly get high-tea, but the staff seem quite weary from all the gaggling tourists waddling in for a gander. I suppose you can’t blame them, but then again, for 85LE, I will blame them because in comparison to most other hard-working Egyptians, these people probably live on a fairly fine salary.
Pursed lips aside, the palm-kissed breezes and people-watching opportunities make for a delightful end to the day. If you’re looking for company, sit in the middle of the terrace on one of the couches. We had a revolving door of interesting couples sitting across from us, which helped pass the time quite nicely.

Travel Betty Basics

Sofitel Old Cataract Hotel
Entrance fee for the Terrace: 85LE (about $15)
I didn’t stay in the hotel, but it looks like prices are around $160

Hotel bookers, beware! The NEW Cataract Hotel is a hideous eyesore next door built by the Russians in 1963 supposedly as an “elegant extension” of the Old Cataract. If you like cinderblocks then you may indeed find it elegant.