It's in Downtown Cairo, so that's a plus. The hotel and the building is old and has not been renovated. The lobby and registration area are not what one would expect- they are dingy and not well organized. The atmosphere is of old, antiquated, quaint hotel that has seen better days and is pulling along these days. However, I'm sure other similar category Cairo hotels might be in the same boat. They are not of the same level as in developed countries.
The elevator creaks and makes weird sounds as it moves. The telephone system is the old console with wires and the handset is the old style with no dial ring - you lift and it connects to the reception. The lights in the room are dim, but reasonably adequate. The beds are old, patched up, and creaky. We had to call twice to fix the flush in the bathroom. It takes 10 minutes of running the water in the tub to get hot water.
On the positive side, miraculously, it all seems to work. The rooms are big, ceilings high and one gets the feeling of spaciousness. Same for the bathroom. The furniture is old, heavy, and nicely quaint. Mattresses were nice, linen very clean. We spent time in the Lounge, and again, old, dimly lit, but charming when one gets used to it all. The best part are the people - everyone from check-in to room service to lounge to ordering food- was exceptionally nice, as are most Egyptians.
Overall, expect surprises, and some shock at first, if travelling from US. By the time we left, we had mixed feelings.