The Best Hotels Near Pyramids of Giza with Rooftop Views

If you’re going to be planning any Egypt itinerary that includes Cairo, you’re going to want to where the top place to stay is.   What you might be surprised about is that I actually don’t think it’s a good idea to stay in the downtown core of Cairo, where you actually want to be is in Giza.  That’s because hotels near the Pyramids of Giza have epic rooftop views that you can’t find anywhere else.  Here are the accommodations to book.

Table of Contents

Why You Should Stay in Giza

Quickly, let’s first talk about why you want to stay in Giza.

When we were planning our trip to Cairo, like you, we thought we needed to stay in the city but when we talked to our tour operator, Djed Egypt Travel, they told us that we should consider Giza.  After doing a bit more research, we realized that they were right.

Giza is considered to be its own city and is located on the west bank of the Nile and southwest of central Cairo.  It’s Egypt’s third largest city and forms the Greater Cairo metropolis.

Here’s what you need to know about why you should stay in Giza:

• The main sights you want to see in Cairo are actually located in Giza.
• Avoid traffic and needing to wake up really early to get to the pyramids.
• Surreal views of the Giza plateau.
• Cheaper hotel prices.
• Watch the Sound and Light Show for free.
• Preferred location for tour companies.
• Less chaotic than being in central Cairo.

Now that you have that background, I can jump right into the best 5 hotels that you should take a look at in your search for where to stay in Cairo or better yet, the best place to stay in Giza.

Good to Know About Hotels in Giza

I don’t mean to scare you but one of the things that I learned from our stay in Giza is that many of these hotels may not be official properties from a licensing standpoint with the government.

Essentially, many enterprising locals have either been buying up multi-story apartment buildings or perhaps they were already family owned and then converting them to inns/hotels/home stays.  You can say, they’ve been swept by the Airbnb movement.

Without understanding the whole picture, I feel like what’s happened is that the government has been playing politics with the issuing of hotel licenses in the area.  They’ve either been hard to get or impossibly expensive.  As a result, locals have just gone ahead and built hotels anyways.

What I was told is that the government hasn’t been policing this but there have been instances in the past many years ago when they decided to do a sweeping closure of all un-licensed properties in Giza in one fell swoop.  It’s not something that happens often but our tour company did warn us.

From a tour operator perspective, there’s also the complication that they can’t be the ones to book these properties because  they’re officially licensed by the government so these have be ones where you book yourselves

Are these safe to book?

That’s probably the main thing you’re wondering.  The properties themselves certainly won’t tell you this and when we found it, we definitely had to do a double take on where we should stay in Giza.  In the end, we were confident that there was minimal risk based on the reviews we read.  The prices were just too good and no other properties on Booking had the same type of views of the pyramids that we wanted.

It worked out beautifully and had no regrets about it.

Best Hotels Near Pyramids of Giza with Rooftop Views

Let’s jump right into the top hotels near Pyramids of Giza that have incredible rooftop views.  Note that the operative word here is rooftop views which is why you won’t see popular properties like the Le Meridien Pyramids Hotel & Spa and Marriott Mena House.  They both have views of the pyramids because of proximity and they’re that massive but they don’t necessarily have rooftops that are close enough to watch and listen to the Sound and Light Show.

The below hotels near the Pyramids of Giza aren’t listed in any particular order so I’ll let you be the judge which one you like the most.   Here goes!

Map of all the best hotels near the pyramids

1. Giza Pyramids Inn

As you’ll learn about Ancient Egyptians, nothing is every built accidentally.  Everything is calculated to extreme precision whether it’s lined up with the stars or with the rising of the sun.  In Giza Pyramids Inn, it’s almost perfectly aligned down the axis that connects Khafre’s pyramid with the Sphinx and this hotel.  What this translates to is remarkably superb views of the pyramids and the Sphinx that is hard to beat.

When it comes to the property, there’s a cozy rooftop with modern patio furniture which makes it a great place to hang out after a long day of exploring and also a prime location to watch the Sound and Light show.

In terms of the rooms, they’re small but they’re comfortably appointed and has a design that’s closer to a Western hotel standard which is different from many of the other properties that you’ll find in this list.

From a price perspective, it may not be the cheapest but is still a ridiculous bargain.

Simon from the UK had these great words to say about the Giza Pyramids Inn:

With Cairo such a vast city, we made the decision to base ourselves near the Pyramids for our brief stay, and with such a range of similar looking budget options, we are really glad we went with Giza Pyramids Inn. literally a 1 minute walk from the ticket office of the Pyramids site, and a rooftop with panoramic views over the Pyramids (free Sound and Light show in the evening and top breakfast views in the morning!). Staff were really helpful – helped us arrange a private driver for an evening we wanted to spend at Khan el Khalili and Zamalek (nice car and English speaking driver). Even where we planned things ourselves, they were really helpful in assisting (our Uber driver didn’t speak English and we would have missed our nightrain had it not been for the hotel staff speaking with them to clarify some details). Room was nice, clean, quiet, comfortable, well appointed, good bathroom, comfy beds, heating in winter. Staff gave us nice gift and many bottles of water without asking. Great value for money.

2. Comfort Pyramids Inn

If you’ve read any of the content from my latest trip to Egypt, you’ll know that we stayed at the Comfort Pyramids Inn during our Cairo leg of the Egypt itinerary.  You could say that almost out of everything we did in Egypt, I got the most questions about “where did you stay?” because of all those epic rooftop views.

Since this property I have personal experience with, I’ll be going into a bit more detail than the others.

To find this property took a little bit of work as our drivers have no idea where this was and had to ask some people nearby for directions.  You then realize the full extent of the Giza accommodation situation when you’re dropped right into a local neighbourhood.  You walk down a maze of alleys and you get to an unmarked building that opens into the property where the owners greet you.

At the time (late 2019), Comfort Pyramids Inn was doing its soft opening which meant that they were hosting stays but there were a couple of things that were still a work in progress.  Most of the property is there but you started notice things that were incomplete.  For instance, our friend’s suite had a kitchenette that wasn’t fully complete and the workmanship on the shower door resulted in some flooding.  When you reached the roof level, we weren’t sure if it was purchased from a previous hotel called “Egypt House of Life” or if they were re-decorating the wall decorations.  In fact they were working on a few things even at night up there.

The rooms are all a little different even if you book a specific type of room.  In our case, we booked the Deluxe Room but ours was completely different from our friends’.  I reckon that they assign rooms on the fly and we just happened to get the room with views of the pyramids but our friends had one that had a kitchenette.  Also, the booking said it was one double bed but ours had two double beds.

In the room, you’ll find a mini-fridge and varying funky LED lighting with kitschy Ancient Egyptian decor.  I appreciate their effort.

Now a few things that were really nice touches were the water dispensers that were available on each floor.  This meant that we didn’t need to spend money on water bottles while we were in Cairo.  We just filled up bottles we received from our tour company.

The star of the show is certainly the rooftop which is quite large and spacious.  Once you walk up to the top floor. you will see the kitchen.  This is where they serve breakfast with tables places to sit.  They also serve shisha, alcohol, and food in the evenings if you manage to find the owner.  Once you exit out of the doors you’re on the lower level of the rooftop.  It has walls on all sides and in the corner is a covered and carpeted area for lounging.  Take the stairs up to the very top and you have the best views of the pyramids.

Lastly, I’ll talk about the elevators.  These are those tiny elevators that can really only fit two people with luggage and have that door you have to swing out to enter.  Once it starts moving you realize that the door side is fully exposed the levels passing by so you definitely don’t want to get anything caught there.

Overall, this is a property that you simply have to have as one of your top picks because of how ridiculously cheap it is, gives you all the benefits of being close to the Pyramids, and arguably has one of the best rooftops.

3. Pyramids Valley Boutique Hotel

If you’re looking for a property with a private balcony that also has views of the pyramids, this one might be for you.  Right in the shadows of this Ancient Wonder, you’ll be placed 50 metres from the entrance which means you’ll have one of the best seats in the house for the Sound and Light show.

The Pyramids Valley Boutique Hotel will feel like a proper Western hotel with rooms equipped with a TVs, modern bathrooms, free toiletries, and mini-fridges.  The lobby is also quite proper as well for the check-in process.

The rooftop is quite magnificent as well, located just slightly to the right of the Sphinx.  It’s not necessarily that high up but because of how close you are, you’ll be able to see and hear everything.

Wifi is of course available throughout and the included breakfast is quite the feast.  There’s quite the variety of food available every day and you can eat it from the comfort of the patio furniture on the roof.

While the prices are only a tad higher than the others, you’ll get awesome service here and the comforts you expect in a proper hotel.

4. Pyramids Guest House

Another excellent hotel near the pyramids of Giza with rooftop views is Pyramids Guest House.  Located towards the Great Pyramid of Giza (Khufu’s Pyramid), you’ll get up-close views and one of the best seats in the house for the Sound and Light Show.

This hotel is a narrow and tall building.  The modest check-in desk leads to a spiralling staircase.  Something that’s good to know is that there are no elevators here which may be a con for some but you’ll certainly get a lot of steps in for a great work out.

The rooms are basic and small but renovated in a modern style with a clean bathroom with glass shower.  Each room is also outfitted with a mini-fridge and wardrobe.

The best feature is the rooftop at the very top of the building where you’ll be having your included halal breakfast and hanging out to watch the pyramids.  Thanks to the height and proximity to the plateau, you’ll be able to see the Sound and Light show very well.

Aside from the lack of elevator, the only other downside to think of for this hotel is the fact that it’s a little bit deeper in the local neighbourhood.  You’ll need to walk the smaller alleyways to get there which honestly isn’t bad having walked through the area myself but obviously it isn’t as convenient as say one of the properties closer to the main street.

Here’s what Audreynaline had to say about the property:

We chose this hotel because of its location: very close to the Giza Plateau entrance and about 30 km to the more ancient pyramids (Sakkara and Dashur). The pyramids were more important for us, as for Cairo – you can always take a taxi. The village around the hotel looks a little scary but in the hotel everything is OK! The hotel is clean and cosy, there is a pleasant friendly atmosphere, surprisingly good caring for guests, delicious food. Many thanks to manager Mohammed for the warm welcome and help with all our excursions. The driver Ibrahim (“Schumacher”) helped us a lot in our trips, he is a very good driver, and he knows a lot of interesting things. A special thanks to rooftop cafe in the hotel. The roof is high, may be a little difficult to climb, but the view from there is perfect: you can see all three pyramids and a sphinx. The breakfast on the roof in very nice, and in the evening you can sit here, have delicious dinner and watch the light show on the pyramids. And you can always get good tea with mint here. Thanks a lot to all the hotel staff, we wish your well-being!

5. Atlantis Pyramids Inn

The final property in this round up of hotels near the pyramids with rooftop views is the Atlantis Pyramids Inn.  This particular one will feel like it has a very similar position as another on the list and is in fact an adjacent building to Pyramids Valley Boutique Hotel.

You’ll be amazed at just how close this is to the southern entrance to the pyramids and the Sphinx as to the property’s left is literally the official area of the ancient site and you can see the parking lot as well.

Overall the property has a much more homely vibe than the others which means it doesn’t quite have that formal hotel feeling and instead it feels like you’re staying closer to a B&B.

Tastefully decorated, the rooms are small but is comfortable and clean.  In some units, there is only a shower and in others the rooms are equipped with a tub.  For those that only have a shower, it may be a little awkward since it doesn’t have any curtains.

The rooftop isn’t the largest but with high tables, a few tables for eating, bean bags, and carpets, you’ll find a nice place to cozy up and watch either the sunrise, sunset or the Sound and Light show.  The continental breakfast is also served here.

From a view perspective, it will be one of the closest but because of the lack of the height, you’ll notice that in front are other local buildings and a few slightly obstructed trees.

Additional amenities they offer here are hot tub and bicycle rental which is unique to the area.

---

If these properties don’t suit your fancy, definitely check out these other great hotels in the Giza neighbourhood.