If we ever return to Cairo, there's a good chance we will also return to the Talisman. Everybody was really friendly, the rooms were spacious and lovingly decorated, and there were several rooms to relax and get a moment of quiet amidst the Cairo chaos. Location is good, too - it's not too far away from the Egyptian museum, and as long as your room isn't facing the main street, it will be quiet enough to sleep.

Downtown location,hidden in an alley, this hotel is hard to find. It's close to shops, restaurants, museum. Quirky decor but charming and cozy . Staff is friendly & helpful.
The room is small, old and to top it up, the dark paint makes the room even smaller. A few mosquitoes in the room are a real bonus. Wifi is really flaky.
The antique elevator might be charming to some but it doesn’t always work.There is no kettle for hot water, no tea or coffee bags, no bottled water. It still has tube TV in the room.
The bathroom is small. Hot water is extremely hot so watch out if you don’t want to burn yourself.
Breakfast is average. There are limited choices given this is a small hotel.
All room services are quoted in Euro which make things more expensive. Are they thinking they are operating in Europe?

Before we share our experience. We consider ourselves to be pretty adventurous travelers and think out of the when we plan Our trips. This place was off the beaten path and seemed different. However from the beginning we should have been weary. We were due to arrive around 8am, so we emailed twice if we could check early if not just drop off ou rbags. Never answered! That's ok this is Egypt...right Despite the fact that all other contacts we made to plan Our trip were so very professional and responded appropriately.
Our taxi driver could not find the place, so he tried calling. they never answed! Finally we discovered the entrance to a dilapidated bourgeois building that had seen better days a 100 years ago. The entrance is on a seedy side alley littered with garbage. No sign for the hotel on ground floor and were directed by people where to find it. This not a hotel but an old apartment this in my more a hostel.
Yes as described others the elevator is very much so an antique so much so that it did not work and we got stuck inside. (The doors would not open) Thankfully a person opened the door from outside. On the way up We saw a central court yard littered with garbage broken, glass panes, hanging windows frames, layers upon layers of Egyptian
very thick dust. The whole building is completely run down and disrepair. Our taxi driver told it may not safe as their is no security. The same original owners if they saw the Finally safe sound and feeling that had made the wrong choice, we make it to the 5th floor to the entrance around 8:30am. We had to bang on the door and a Lady that should retired many years ago that spoke only French (which is ok with me cuz I am fluent) was surprised to see us. She was frantically calling somebody to find out what to do about us. (Yes somebody was answering a phone). It seems they had no record of our reservation The place seemed deserted and no sign of preparing any breakfast for any other guests.FYI We look for "boutique" small hotels quaint places to stay but this place lost any charm decades ago. We really did not want to go hunting at the last minute for another hotel after a 24hr trip. We were exhausted! But under the circumstances the hard decision was made not to check in. And rightfully so because when we made it back to our taxi we were itchy everywhere and we were there only 10 minutes or so. I consider ourselves to be pretty hardy travelers but One really needs a "Talisman" to stay there. Trust us this is not a place of "Charm"" . We found a very nice hotel down the road with all amenities and more attractive price.