Blissful Sofitel Old Cataract in Aswan, Egypt

This must be the best hotel I've ever stayed at. We want to go back to Aswan just to enjoy this hotel a while longer as we were only there for 2 nights and it isn't enough to enjoy this enchanting hotel & city.

A small traditional coffee shop by the port

We went to Aswan this last November as part of our family trip to Egypt to visit my husband's family there- it is our first time since we got married and it's Farida's first time home in Egypt. I have been to many Egyptian cities before but this was my first time in Aswan and boy is it going to be the first of many.

A view of Philea Temple from the boat in Aswan, Egypt

It all started when we were planning the trip and I found a voucher in our entertainer travel book for a "pay for 1 night get 1 night free" for Sofitel Old Cataract in Aswan, Egypt. I went online to check the website and its reviews and I was astonished of how I didn't know about this hotel already as it is BEAUTIFUL.

The hotel was built around a 112 years ago and was the place where King Fouad & King Farouq stayed while in Aswan and it's indeed one regal place. It's a place you'd go to, to be absolutely isolated and spoiled in the at most luxury.

Sofitel Old Cataract's old building in Aswan, Egypt 

The landscaping of the hotel fades gradually into the beautiful natural landscape of the Nile in Aswan with the rocky hills covered in ancient ruins behind and the old sail boats in the water moving about. We were blessed to be able to watch the sunrises above that scene from our suite's balcony.

For breakfast the hotel serves a set menu of breakfast basic staples of cheeses  fruit, cold cuts, and a bread basket with your hot and cold drink choice. You can also add to that from their big menu. 

Breakfast Area

Hotel's Terrace

The hotel itself in terms of exterior and interior design is very colonial looking with parts of the public areas within the hotel having an African hunt lodge kind of feel with a very old world charm luxurious look.

Our room was in the new extension added to the hotel which isn't that new really as it was added in the 60's. The design of this extension was recently done to have a very modern luxurious look and that is where our room was situated. We had a luxury suit with a Nile river view and that's what I recommend. The amenities of the rooms are impeccable and the staff are so friendly and helpful, we got a nice welcoming drink on arrival and lots of tips from the staff + we got an upgrade from a regular room to a suite upon arrival! My understanding is that the rooms in the older building of the hotel- the main building- are done in an old world charm luxury sort of way but I didn't get to go into any of the rooms or suites within the old building.

Our beautiful suite

I seriously can't wait until my next stay at Sofitel Old Cataract.and next time I'm bringing more people along!

Classical Powder Room & Wash Area, Designed by Me

في الصور تصميمي لحمام ضيوف و منطقة المغاسل الملاصقة لغرفة الطعام لأحد زبائني بتصميم كلاسيكي و أنيق بدرجات البيج و الأخضر

الثري دي من عمل الرائعة دعاء أحمد

This is my design work for a client who wanted a formal wash area/ powder room, adjacent to her formal dining & Majlis (salon) The design is formal, classic, and elegant yet still cost effective and different (for Qataries at least)

The brilliant 3d work was done by a 3d artist named Do'aa Ahmad here in Doha.

Le Riad Hotel de Charme

We stayed in Le Riad Hotel De Charme in Cairo recently and I was going over with super high hopes as I've looked at the reviews available online and the website and loved the design of this beautiful boutique hotel.

Farida loved the steps at the hotel purple lobby

For starter, I had wanted to stay at Le Riad because of it's unique design. The facade of the hotel was renovated to look traditional with Mashrabya lattice work covered balconies (in their tea lounge they have an album documenting the renovation work) The design of the hotel is heavily inspired by Egyptian, Moroccan, African, and Syrian traditional designs paired with strong colours. The hotel presents a different design theme in each suite -there are Delux & Superior Suites-; Beduin, Iznik, Bellydance, Pharaonic, Cinema, Coptic, Syrian, Mamluk, and many others.

The suite itself was very nice, we had the Iznik room- shown in photos above- the bathroom was big and fully done in marble, the shower was big with a rain fall shower head fixed to the ceiling which was AMAZING. The room was designed nicely to reflect the Iznik style- my brother in law had the beduin suit and it was very different but equally beautiful-, the room was kept very clean, bed was so comfortable, we also had a study area with a laptop to use which happened to be too slow though, the wifi connection also wasn't the greatest. They do not have cribs or cots and my toddler had to sleep in the middle of our bed which wasn't the greatest arrangement but it worked for the couple of nights that we were there.

The Hotel has no restaurant, they do have a breakfast area and a tea lounge- Also a roof top restaurant but my understanding is that it's now closed- and it seems like the hotel outsources the food per room per day which is a little bit of a hassle if you need to dine in/etc as that is impossible. My husband did however want foul from the kart on the street outside which wasn't part of the international breakfast already big set menu and the guy serving us was gentle enough to go buy the foul from the street and bring it to us and sure enough the next morning he had that ready before we even ask for it which was very nice.

If you are a light sleeper you might need ear plugs because the street is very busy and stays loud until late in the evening. We are heavy sleepers and by the time we were going to bed we were too tired to think of the noises, but this is Cairo after all.

The hotel is located on Al Muiz Li Din Allah Street in Old Cairo and is surrounded by many Fatimid architectural monuments which are a must visit- it's referred to as Islamic Cairo- and has many small schools, hamams, palaces, the works, some of which have had better days but some of which were renovated to reflect the stunners they were in their time. The hotel is also very close to Al Hussain & Khan Al Khalili which are full of cafes, restaurants, monuments, and shops that sell traditional Egyptian artefacts (walking distance)

Farida loved exploring historic site of her country for the first time

I asked to take professional photos for my design blog and to add to my review on trip advisor of the other rooms available but for some reason I kept being referred to managers and so many people made so many different calls over two days and I got no answer during this time which to me was weird and uncalled for and I ended up not taking professional photos of the rest of the hotel (the ones I took were by phone). 

There is no pool, no gym, and the hotel is a boutique small expensive hotel so if you are into staying at a place with restaurants, and lots of traffic within the hotel itself etc, this place isn't for you.
If you are into old architecture, old charm and glamor however and mixing with the locals and the busy street outside while staying in a quiet tranquil nice place than this is definitely the place for you

Make sure to go to the hotel's website  to check their photos of the beautiful hotel.

Ask to see the rooms available when you arrive at the hotel before you make your pick as each room is different

My Structured Bohemian Bedroom, Room Tour

I finally bring to you a well over due room tour, my own bedroom's that is since I've promised a while back that I will be sharing before and after's from my own home and that I'll share the overall design of the apartment 1 room tour at a time, I've already shared Farida's nursery, my 15 months old daughter, and this is the second room tour that I share.

My husband and I started looking at the design of the bedroom before our wedding, more than two years ago, We first worked on the layout, we had a great big niche in the bedroom that we decided to close off completely as a custom closet and we got it fitted, wall to wall and floor to ceiling and that was the best thing we did as our room is small as is our apartment and we try to make use of every single inch in it. The bed is actually bigger in reality than on the plan, and we ended up putting two dressers side by side instead of one because we needed the extra storage.

Then we started looking at colors, texture, and styles. We wanted something dreamy, has a little glamour chicness to it, not too pretentious, and has something grounding. Our wedding accent color was purple but it isn't why we chose purple for this room and it wasn't my sole choice, in fact my husband asked for lavender to be our paint color and that's where we started with our color scheme 

 Then we looked online and at different stores for furniture, hardware, finishes, and furnishings and we've put it all together to achieve this dream- what I would call "structured bohemian"- bedroom that we call ours.

And here is a more detailed photo tour of our bedroom

the closet was custom made to fit into the existing niche

I ordered designer brass pulls for the closets from Lewis Dolin, they shipped them to Doha directly

The beautiful hooks shabby wooden carved plate is from Zara Home 

The wallpaper was a limited edition online only purchase that was available at Anthropologie, I purchased the last few rolls they had left and they shipped them over to Doha. The bed was custom made with no headboard or foot board at a local shop in Doha. The beautiful bed cover that adds amazing texture and color to the room is a purchase we got on our honeymoon in Morocco. We love adding pieces to our home that we've purchased on trips, they add character to our home and remind us of the beautiful time we had there.  

The glass coasters and photo frame are wedding gifts from my cousin

The night stands are also from the Ikea Malm collection, I added these brass and mother of pearl handles from Anthropologie to customize them. The table lamps are from Ikea as well.

These two Malm dressers and makeup table are from Ikea but are customized by me be adding one of the pulls I purchased for the closet to the table and hand painting the gaps between the drawers in antique gold. You can check out the tutorial here. We added this piece of tapestry to temporary cover up where the old window style AC was fixed after we've replaced it with a split unit AC. I will have to revisit this part of the room as I'm not 100% happy with the current look of the tapestry in the room. 

The curtains were custom made in synthetic silk with an antique weave texture. They have a french pleat and are hung right under the crown molding and are 15cm longer than the wall in height so that they break nicely at the floor as they do. The mirror is from Life Style and it's a cheap replica of the famous Venetian mirrors

I have a few memorabilia from our wedding setup in nice vignettes on top of the dressers

I love to mix and match not only furniture in a room but also textures and in this case bedding, don't be afraid of mixing different colors and patterns within a room, they enrich it and add depth to a room

 Your bedroom, or apartment, or home for that matter do not need to be big and/or cost a ton for them to be beautiful. All they need is to reflect your personality and what you'd like to feel in them.

I hope you liked this room tour and the before & after's. I'd love to hear what you think and answer any questions you might have in the comments below.

Residential Villa Concept Design, a project by me

تصميمي لمكتب هيرتج للأثاث و الديكور لفيلا سكنية في قطر. تصميم الفيلا في غالبه كان بالطراز الكلاسيكي المطور بينما كان طراز تصميم جناح النوم مزيجا ما بين الكلاسيكي و طراز هوليوود في العشرينات

My design work for Heritage furniture and decoration office in Doha of a residential villa in Qatar. The design style was mainly neoclassical in the villa and more of a fusion of retro design and neo-classical in the master bedroom suite.

The photos are of part of the master bedroom suite and the daily living

Master bedroom suit partial plan

Master bedroom

Master bedroom

Master bedroom suit siting area

Master bedroom suit siting area

Master suit bathroom 1

Ground Floor Daily Living