We didn't really like this hotel. We arrived in the early afternoon to the Sara Hotel. After the taxi ride, we realized that it was really too far from town to walk anywhere. I had expected this, so it wasn't too much of a problem, especially because the hotel has a shuttle. The shuttle runs every hour, except between 12 and 3. We arrived around 12, so we had to wait until the evening to go into town. The hotel is not very attractive. There is something odd about the decor. The colors do not complement each other at all and seem reminiscent of the 70s. The staff was okay, but about five minutes after checking in, they wanted to arrange tours for us, which was a bit annoying. We then went up to our room, which was okay...again, ugly decor. There was a bathtub which was nice, but it's about half the size of an American tub. The door was difficult to manage. I have no idea if it was ever locked when we left the room. We tried the restaurant and we were very disappointed. The staff were friendly, but very very slow and the food wasn't good at all. There is no menu, but there is supposed to be a buffet. We never saw a buffet...you have a choice between chicken, kofta, or meat. My mother had the chicken and I had the kofta...it was probably the worst meal we had in Egypt. We wanted to change money at the hotel and they would only do it at a very bad rate, so we had to wait until we went into town. The price of using the Internet at the hotel is quite expensive, even for Aswan, and the computers didn't work very well. I don't know how to explain it, but there was just something odd about the hotel. We almost never saw any other guests. We took the shuttle into town and almost immediately found another hotel to stay in. We met someone else who was staying at the Sara, and they were doing the same thing. We all ended up changing to the Isis. The next day, when we checked out, we saw another family doing the same thing. We all agreed there was just something strange and uncomfortable about the place. I feel bad because the manager does seem to be a very nice man and probably would have tried to accommodate us, but there really wasn't any way for him to change all the things we disliked about the hotel. The disappointing thing was that while it isn't expensive, it was the most expensive hotel we stayed at while in Egypt (our treat for staying at cheaper hotels the rest of the trip) and we felt less comfortable there than at any of our other hotels. Maybe others would like it, but my mother and I both felt uncomfortable at this hotel.

My friend and I made reservations with the Sara Hotel directly through email after reading some favorable reviews. I was not satisfied with our experience though, and especially for the price. The staff was decently helpful enough, but the lodging experience was problematic. First impression: simple, somewhat shabby room, but serviceable. If you're used to hostels, this will be an upgrade; a Hilton or wester chain hotel this is not though. I have no problem with simple, as long as it is clean-- which is why I had somewhat of a problem with the place:
There was trash of some sort in our bathtub, hairs on the toilet and toilet seat, and crust on the towels provided in the bathroom. I used the other towel, and threw both on the floor after our first night, assuming they would be changed out for new towels, as is I thought normal practice in any hotel. The next night, I checked the 'new' towels hanging on the rack and they were the same ones (identified by the same peice of crusty thing embedded in the one).
The bed appeared clean. However, after midnight on our first night, and 8 or 9pm on our second night (when we were trying to go to sleep in preparation for waking up at 3:30am for a trip to Abu Simbel), super loud music started pouring in from outside--I think it was the hotel's bar or restaurant. It was so loud it couldn't be helped even with earplugs. Kept us awake for ages both night.
Location-wise, its a hike up on a mountain in a really undeveloped, dirt road area. It does have a nice view of the river and a pretty pool, but I would have avoided it based on location alone had I known then what I do now. Shuttles into the city are once and hour, and they gave us a hassle about arranging taxis at any other time. I would most definitely recommend staying on the main strip-- we stopped for dinner at the Isis hotel (the pickup point for the Sara's shuttle), and I don't know what the prices are like, but it looked a heck of a lot better (At least more affordable than the Old Cataract hotel, which looked AMAZING). Anyway, based on the incessant noise, lack of cleanliness, and inconvenient location, I would advise: Skip the Sara.

I agree that when you drive up to the hotel it seems really odd being in a low income neighborhood. But we found the hotel really peaceful, the nile view was amazing and the manger and staff were great, they even packed a breakfast for us for our morning excursion to Abu Simbel. We saw no bugs, felt very safe, taxis back from the city center only cost 10 LE and the free shuttle was very helpful. Yes, the decor of the hotel was not amazing, but you don't come to Egypt to study paint colors and we would stay here again.

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.