{{Short description|Hotel in Egypt}} {{Infobox hotel | name = Cairo Marriott Hotel | image = Cairo_Marriott_Hotel.jpg | caption = The front entrance of the Cairo Marriott Hotel | location = Cairo, Egypt | coordinates = | opening_date = 1982 | closing_date = | developer = | architect = | operator = Legacy Hotels | cost = | owner = Legacy Hotels<ref>{{Cite web|website=State Information Service|title=Egyptian leading developer TMG finalizes $882 mln deal to acquire seven state-owned historic hotels|url=https://www.sis.gov.eg/Story/190705/Egyptian-leading-developer-TMG-finalizes-%24882-mln-deal-to-acquire-seven-state-owned-historic-hotels|date= 20 December 2023|access-date= 24 December 2023|language=English}}</ref> | number_of_restaurants = | number_of_rooms = 1,087 | floor_area = | floor_count = 19 | parking = | website = [http://www.cairomarriotthotel.com www.cairomarriotthotel.com] | footnotes = }} The '''Cairo Marriott Hotel''' is a large hotel located in the Zamalek district of Gezira Island in Egypt and is just west of Downtown Cairo. It is one of the tallest buildings in Cairo. The Marriott opened in 1982, but its central wing was built as the Gezirah Palace for the Khedive Isma'il Pasha in 1869 and converted to a luxury hotel in 1894.
==Hotel== thumb|left|upright|Zamelek Tower and the open-air theatre from Gezira Tower
The hotel consists of 1,087 rooms, making it one of the largest hotels in the Middle East. The rooms are located in two identical twenty-story buildings—the Gezira and Zamelek Towers. Situated between them on ground level is the palace and main entrance to the hotel, which—after reconstruction—now contains the reception and administration areas. On the roof of the palace is an open-air theatre which faces the Nile and central Cairo. The hotel is also used for meetings and events; it has 19 meeting rooms and event venues that total more than 28,000 sq ft of space. The hotel also features a casino.<ref>[https://www.travelweekly.com/Hotels/Cairo/Cairo-Marriott-Htl-Omar-Khayyam-Casino-p51574361 Cairo Marriott Htl & Omar Khayyam Casino]</ref>
== History == thumb|left|upright|The Ghezireh Palace Hotel - 1906 The Gezirah Palace was commissioned by Khedive Ismail and designed by Carl von Diebitsch to host French Emperor Napoleon III and his wife Empress Eugénie during the celebration of the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869.<ref name="marriott">{{Cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121007170547/http://www.marriott.com/hotelwebsites/us/c/caieg/caieg_pdf/History%20of%20the%20palace.pdf|website=marriott.com |title= Gezirah Palace history| archive-date= October 7, 2012 |url= http://www.marriott.com/hotelwebsites/us/c/caieg/caieg_pdf/History%20of%20the%20palace.pdf}}</ref> Ismail asked the architect to make it resemble the Palace of Versailles.<ref name="marriott"/> In 1880, the palace was seized by Ismail's creditors. It was eventually leased to the Compagnie Internationale des Grands Hotels, who opened it as The Ghezireh Palace Hotel in October 1894.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://grandhotelsegypt.com/?p=2017|title=Gezira Palace c.1900|date=January 1, 2017}}</ref> During World War I, the hotel served as the No.2 Australian General Hospital, after the Mena House was unable to cope with the huge number of casualties from the Battle of Gallipoli. In 1919, The Ghezireh Palace Hotel was sold to Syrian businessman Habib Lotfallah and converted back to a private residence.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://historichotels.com.eg/en/cairo-marriott-hotel/history-of-the-hotel.html|title=History Of The Hotel - Historic Hotels of Egypt|website=historichotels.com.eg|access-date=2018-02-13|archive-date=2019-04-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190430152309/http://historichotels.com.eg/en/cairo-marriott-hotel/history-of-the-hotel.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> The palace was nationalized by Gamal Abdel Nasser in 1952<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://famoushotels.org/hotels/cairo-marriott-ghezireh-palace|title=Ghezireh Palace (Cairo Marriott) | Famoushotels.org|website=famoushotels.org}}</ref> and eventually converted back to a hotel, reopening in 1962 as the Omar Khayyam Hotel.<ref name="auto"/> In the late 1970s, the two large towers were added and the entire hotel was completely rebuilt.<ref name="auto"/> President Hosni Mubarak presided over the grand reopening in 1982<ref>{{cite web | url=https://hotel-development.marriott.com/middle-east-and-africa/ | title=Marriott International Hotel Development Global Locations }}</ref> as the Cairo Marriott Hotel.<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J_iKDQAAQBAJ&q=marriott+cairo+1983&pg=PA254 | title=The Nile: Travelling Downriver Through Egypt's Past and Present| isbn=9780804168908| last1=Wilkinson| first1=Toby| year=2015}}</ref> In 20 December 2023, Icon Company, a subsidiary of Talaat Moustafa Group, acquired 51% of Legacy Hotels Company, which owns the hotel.<ref>{{Cite web|website=Egypt today|title=ICON acquires majority stake in 7 hotels as part of Egypt’s privatization program|url=https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/3/129289/ICON-acquires-majority-stake-in-7-hotels-as-part-of|date= 20 December 2023|access-date= 24 December 2023|language=English}}</ref>
== See also == * List of tallest buildings in Cairo * List of largest hotels in the world
==References== {{Reflist}}
== External links == {{commons category}} * [https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/caieg-cairo-marriott-hotel/overview/ Cairo Marriott Hotel official website] * [https://www.egoth.com.eg/ EGOTH - company owning the Cairo Marriott Hotel] {{coord|30|03|25|N|31|13|29|E|type:landmark|display=title}}
Category:Hotels in Cairo Category:Gezira Island Category:Houses completed in 1869 Category:Hotels established in 1894 Category:Hotels established in 1982 Category:1869 establishments in Egypt Category:19th-century architecture in Egypt Category:Casino hotels in Cairo