I have only visited or stayed in a very small handful of iconic hotels such as the Baron in Aleppo, Hotel Lisboa in Macao, Hotel Nacional in Havana, Raffles in Singapore, La Mamounia in Marrakesh or the Hotel de Paris in Monte Carlo. The Old Cataract is up there with them.

I didn’t stay at the hotel built in 1899 by Thomas Cook to house European travellers, unlike famous guests such as guests have included Tsar Nicholas II, Winston Churchill, Howard Carter, Margaret Thatcher, Jimmy Carter, Princess Diana, and Agatha Christie, who set portions of her novel Death on the Nile at the hotel.

In the 1978 film version, the likes of David Niven, Peter Ustinov, Bette Davis & Maggie Smith drank cocktails as the younger stars danced in the famous bar/restaurant.

I may not of been a guest, however a couple of gin & tonics sat on the terrace watching the feluccas flitting along the Nile was still a lovely experience.