Shepheard's Hotel, Luxury hotel building in Garden City, Cairo, Egypt
Shepheard's Hotel is a historic hotel building in Garden City, Cairo, that rises along the Corniche el Nile. The classical European-style facade frames high ceilings and wide marble staircases inside.
The property opened in 1840 as Hotel des Anglais and received its current name in 1860 after the English entrepreneur Samuel Shepheard. The original building fell victim to the 1952 Cairo Fire riots, after which a new structure arose about half a mile away.
The entrance hall was always a place where travelers and locals met for tea, and the building was long considered a social center in British-influenced Cairo. Many famous writers sat in the lounge to work on their accounts of Egypt.
The building went through several renovation phases and changed operators. Access is from the riverside promenade, and visitors should note the local traffic conditions along the Nile.
The Mandarin Oriental group took over management in 2022 and plans to reopen with 188 rooms and 88 suites. During World War I, the building served as the headquarters for British forces in the Middle East.
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