Budget
Mayfair Hotel
An upper budget location - the people are nice, rooms clean, prices reasonable, and atmosphere peaceful. Free wi-fi, according to the website of the hotel.
Pension Zamalek
Run-down and a bit basic, but not without charm, run by an Egyptian family, in a quiet and very safe embassy neighbourhood. A basic breakfast is provided. Discounts on longer stays, unmarried couples might face problems at this location and teenagers tend to get harassed by the manager's wife.
Midrange
Golden Tulip Flamenco Hotel
This hotel is more notable for its location than its service - rooms can be small, but comfortable. The service is good, and most room rates include breakfast - ask for a Nile view when booking. Free-of-charge wireless internet service is available.
Horus House Hotel
In the same building as the Hotel Longchamps with a equally friendly staff. Clean, serviceable rooms and a buffet breakfast.
Hotel Longchamps
A spotless and well-appointed 3-star hotel situated on the top two floors of an apartment building on a beautiful tree-lined street, run by Mrs Hebba Bakri. Garden terrace upstairs. Room rates include a buffet breakfast. Laundry service available. Optional airport pickup and delivery LE 50 flat fee.
Top end
Cairo Marriott
Housed in a former royal palace originally built to host Napoleon III and Empress Eugenie for the occasion of the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. The old palace is still there, but the guest rooms all 1069 of them are housed in a modern tower block next to it. Still, the six-acre Omar Khayyam gardens are beautiful and it's a great place to have a drink or puff on a shisha. If you can afford the price tag, a stay at the Marriott is a wonderful way to begin to acclimate to Cairo.