I have used TripAdvisor for many trips and I have found it invaluable. Nothing could have prepared me after reading the positive reviews for what the Sara Hotel was like. I knew it was not in the town, and their shuttle service works fine. However, the first night the drive up to the Sara was somewhat disconcerting, as the area looked somewhat dilapidated and "dodgy", and the hotel itself was right next to a vacant lot strewn with refuse. The hotel is in a state of disrepair, in need of painting, outdoor furniture was stained, ripped, the pool was being drained because it was an ominous green color. The worst was seeing two cockroaches outside our room (fortunately dead!) which was appalling. I tried to see something positive and I will say that the staff was extremely pleasant and helpful. We had a corner room and the view of the NIle was lovely (as long as you didn't look to the vacant lot). But there is just no way I could recommend this hotel.

We arrived hot, exhausted, and filthy, after several days bush camping in the Sudanese desert and a dreadful night on the Lake Nasser ferry. We were stressed out because we had to leave our car in the port for three days to await documentation. Our first 5 hours in Egypt had been miserable, but the welcome we received at Sara Hotel completely revived our spirits. Ismail El-Shall, the General Manager, who is absolutely charming, welcomed us and lent us the money to pay the taxi as we had no Egyptian cash. The rooms were clean and comfortable, the showers were hot, the views of the Nile were great, and an enormous pile of dirty washing was returned clean within 6 hours. Over two days the hotel's minibus driver kindly steered us through the bureaucratic nightmare of obtaining the necessary documentation for the cars. Without him we would still be standing in the Traffic Police office now! All the staff were friendly and helpful, and Ismail made a hotel booking for our next stop in Luxor. Although the hotel is out of town, there is a free hourly minibus to the centre. The Sara was a real home from home, and we highly recommend it.

After searching for a reasonably priced hotel for quite a while, we decided to stay at the Sara Hotel based on the reviews on TripAdvisor. We could not have been happier with our decision. The rooms were confortable, the views were fantastic, but the best part of all was the service! The hotel manager is one of the nicest people you will ever meet, and the entire staff is extremely accomodating. There is also a free shuttle that leaves every 15 mins to take you from the hotel to the city center and back.

All in all, we loved the Sara hotel where we truly received a warm welcome. We will definetely stay there again!

We decided to try the Sara after reading the good comments about it. The other hotels in Aswan were expensive and the reviews were very unfavorable.

It turned out to be a very good choice. We emailed the hotel, got the quote & confirmation, and didn't have to pay anything upfront like the internet hotel booking sites.

When my wife & I arrived at the Sara, the general manager (Mr. Shall) personally came out to welcome us, served us tea, took us around the hotel, and asked if we needed any transportation or tour arrangement. The hotel was not very crowded and Mr. Shall gave us a suite facing the Nile. The room was very large, clean, and quiet with a sitting area. The staff were very friendly & we didn't face the constant request for baksheesh like we did in Luxor & Cairo.

Our plan was to fly to Abu Simbel, stay overnight at the Seti (expensive but very nice & well worth the money), fly back to Aswan in the morning, tour around Aswan & do some shopping (best souk in Egypt), then fly onto Cairo. The Sara was nice enough to store our luggage so we only needed an overnight bag for Abu Simbel. When we went back to the Sara to retrieve our luggage at night, Mr. Shall was there again, served us tea, and gave us one of the room (without charge) to rest, take a shower, etc. for a few hours until our midnight flight to Cairo. That was a pleasant surprise.

The Sara hotel is about 3 miles south of Aswan--about half way between Aswan & the dam. They have a complimentary shuttle once per hour that goes into town, stopping in front of the Egypt Air Office & hotel Osiris. So the fact it was not in town was not a problem to get around Aswan.

BTW if you ever want to have a Boeing 737 all to yourself, take the 11:59pm Egypt Air flight from Aswan to Cairo. It was quite an interesting experience.