The Luxury Hotel in Aswan
Hand-picked in Aswan: the 5-star hotel Old Cataract. Anyone booking through suitespot also receives breakfast for two, a room upgrade subject to availability, hotel credit and VIP service – a package of more than €500.
Your guide to the best luxury hotel in Aswan
Old Cataract Aswan · Sheyakhah OulaFor this guide we reviewed the best hotels in Aswan and chose one: a luxury hotel that has precisely that terrace – with eight categories all called “Palace”, and a change of operator one should know about before booking. What that means for booking is below.At no extra cost: booking through suitespot costs the same as booking direct with the hotel – the benefits come on top, free of charge.
One luxury hotel in Aswan – and who it suits
Our choice for Aswan is the Old Cataract Aswan on Abtal El Tahrir Street, on the pink granite rock above the Nile. In our ranking it stands at 4.6 out of 5, and a night starts at 440 euros. According to our sources the hotel has been managed by Mandarin Oriental since 1 May 2026; the Nile wing is being renovated until the end of 2027, the historic Palace wing stays open.
Why we recommend it: Because it is the hotel that invented the Nile journey: built by Thomas Cook & Son in 1899, opened in December of the same year, with interiors by Henri Favarger – Victorian outside, oriental inside. Agatha Christie stayed here in 1933 and wrote “Death on the Nile”; Churchill, Mitterrand and Lady Diana followed. After the restoration of 2008 to 2011 the Palace wing has its terrace above the cataract, the 1902 bar and the suites bearing the names of its guests back – and it is precisely in this wing that you stay with us. Our recommended category is called Palace Deluxe Garden View with Balcony.
Our travel advisors’ insider tip
All eight categories of this hotel are called “Palace” – and here the Nile costs the suite.
The list: 45 square metres in the Palace Room and 53 in the Palace Deluxe, both facing the garden; 64 and 70 in two Palace Suites, also facing the garden. Then the river: 90 in the Palace Cataract Suite, 138 in the Sir Winston Churchill Suite, 175 in the Agatha Christie Suite – all three with Nile view – and a Palace Suite with Nile view without a number. Four categories face the garden, four the Nile, and the border runs exactly where the room becomes the large suite.
That means: anyone wanting the cataract from the bed books at least 90 square metres. Our recommended category, the Palace Deluxe at 53, looks into the garden – with a balcony, but without the river.
Then the package: breakfast and welcome gift. The booking is binding: the category you book is the one you sleep in.
And the change: according to our sources Mandarin Oriental has run the hotel since 1 May 2026, and the Nile wing – the 1960s building – is being renovated until the end of 2027. The Palace wing, in which all eight categories lie, stays open. Our travel advisors know the current state of things.
Our advice: Decide between garden and river before you decide between room and suite. For the garden the Palace Deluxe of the recommendation will do; for the Nile the Cataract Suite at 90 is the entry point. And ask our travel advisors before booking what is closed during the renovation – the pool and the terrace belong to the Palace wing, but the situation changes.
Where to stay in Aswan: on the granite rock above the First Cataract
The Old Cataract Aswan stands on Abtal El Tahrir Street at the southern edge of Aswan, on the granite rock above the Nile – five hundred metres from the Nubian Museum, six kilometres from the landing for Philae, fifteen from the airport and 230 from Abu Simbel.
Our recommendation is therefore for anyone beginning or ending the Nile journey at its southern end – and for anyone wanting to see the river from a terrace built for it since 1899.
What lies within reach: Elephantine, the island opposite with the Nilometer and the village, by felucca in ten minutes; Philae, the temple of Isis moved stone by stone to a higher island in the 1970s, by boat from the landing; and the Nubian Museum with the finds from the drowned land behind the dam, on foot.
For orientation: Aswan airport is half an hour away, Abu Simbel three hours by the desert road or forty minutes by plane. The cruise ships moor below the hotel; to Luxor they sail three nights.
Eight categories: the best hotel in Aswan from the inside
The Old Cataract Aswan lists eight categories, six of them suites – all eight carry the word Palace: they lie in the historic wing.
The rooms: 45 square metres in the Palace Room and 53 in the Palace Deluxe – our recommended category –, both facing the garden.
The suites: 64 and 70 facing the garden, 90 in the Cataract Suite facing the Nile, 138 in the Churchill Suite and 175 in the Agatha Christie Suite, both facing the Nile – and a Palace Suite facing the Nile without a number.
On the view: this hotel’s motif is the First Cataract with Elephantine – the four categories with Nile view look out on it. The four garden categories look out on the garden.
What applies equally to every category: breakfast for two and a welcome gift.
What a night at the luxury hotel in Aswan costs
A night at the luxury hotel in Aswan starts at 440 euros.
A single night can be booked. Breakfast for two and a welcome gift are included.
When it is loveliest: from October to April. Aswan then has 25 to 30 degrees by day, the feluccas sail in the wind, and at five in the afternoon the terrace is the place the hotel was built for.
What belongs to Upper Egypt: the summer. From May to September it rises above 40 degrees, on some days above 45 – Aswan is one of the driest cities on earth. That is not a warning but the calendar: anyone coming in summer comes for the prices and lives by the pool. And the renovation of the Nile wing until the end of 2027 – ask our travel advisors for the state of things before booking.
When to ask early: at Christmas and New Year, at Easter and in February, when the Nile cruises are full and the passengers spend their last night here.
How long to stay: two nights for Philae, Elephantine and the terrace – three if Abu Simbel is added.
And whatever the date: you get the suitespot benefits in the quietest week of the year just as you do in the busiest.
The Palace wing of 1899, Agatha Christie and exclusive services in a 5-star hotel
Upper Egypt is the part of the country where the Nile is still the whole country: a green strip, desert to left and right, and the temples where the river has allowed them. Aswan is its end and its beginning – behind the dam Nubia lies under water, and what was saved of it stands today on islands and rises.
Personal luxury travel adviceOur travel advisors personally accompany your booking – 365 days a year, from the first offer to late check-out. Reach the suitespot VIP service via email or WhatsApp.Phone: +49 30 81452346 · hotel@suitespot.comThree things belong to it. First Philae: the temple of Isis that UNESCO dismantled between 1972 and 1980 and rebuilt on the island of Agilkia, because the old site was sinking in the reservoir. Second Abu Simbel: the two rock temples of Ramesses II, moved 65 metres higher, in which the sun reaches the innermost chamber twice a year. Third the felucca: the sailing boat in which one rounds Elephantine, past the botanical garden on Kitchener’s Island, until the sun stands behind the dunes.
The package at this hotel is breakfast and gift.
What our travel advisors arrange most often: the flight to Abu Simbel, because the desert road is six hours there and back, the felucca at the blue hour and the question about the renovation – for the reason stated above.
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Frequently asked questions about luxury hotels in Aswan
How many luxury hotels in Aswan does suitespot offer?
We reviewed the best hotels in Aswan and chose one: the Old Cataract on the granite rock above the First Cataract.
How much does a luxury hotel in Aswan cost per night?
A night starts at 440 euros. Since it is our only hotel in town there is no price range, just this starting point.
How big are the rooms at the luxury hotel in Aswan?
45 and 53 square metres in the two rooms facing the garden, 64 to 175 in the suites with a number – the three largest, from 90, with Nile view. All eight categories lie in the historic Palace wing.
Which is the best hotel in Aswan?
The Old Cataract. In our ranking it stands at 4.6 out of 5: built by Thomas Cook in 1899, Agatha Christie’s hotel, managed by Mandarin Oriental since May 2026 according to our sources, with the Palace wing and the terrace above the Nile.
Which rooms in Aswan have a Nile view?
Four categories, all suites: the Cataract Suite at 90 square metres, the Churchill Suite at 138, the Agatha Christie Suite at 175 and a Palace Suite without a number. The two rooms and two smaller suites face the garden.
Is there a minimum stay in Aswan?
No, expressly not. A single night can be booked. What matters is the renovation of the Nile wing until the end of 2027 – our travel advisors give the state of things.
How far is the hotel in Aswan from the airport?
Fifteen kilometres – half an hour. The Nubian Museum is five hundred metres away, the landing for Philae six kilometres, Abu Simbel 230 kilometres or forty minutes by air.
When is the best time to visit Aswan?
From October to April: 25 to 30 degrees, feluccas in the wind, the terrace at five. From May to September it rises above 40 degrees; at Christmas, Easter and in February the Nile cruises are full.
Can I earn hotel loyalty points in Aswan?
No. Old Cataract Aswan does not belong to a hotel loyalty programme. You still receive all the suitespot benefits there in full.
