Downtown DistrictAlexandria Governorate
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Squares & streetsThe Cecil Hotel

Squares & streetsThe cosmopolitan city

The Cecil Hotel

Opened in 1929 on Saad Zaghloul Square, the Cecil connects the Eastern Harbour with Alexandria’s place in literature.

The cosmopolitan city
1929
Opening hours
A working hotel, open at all hours; lobby and café open to visitors
Tickets
No entry fee
Administrative section
El Attarin — Mahatet El Raml
Open in maps(External link)Its place in time

Image credits

What sets it apart

A white seafront façade on Saad Zaghloul Square with Oriental touches at its balconies; the Monty Bar, named after Montgomery

8 documented memories

Its place in time

The cosmopolitan city · 1860 – 1950

The district at the height of its plurality: Greek, Italian, French, Levantine, Jewish and Armenian communities; the tram, theatres, hotels and cafés; classical, Art Nouveau and Art Deco buildings.

  1. Fouad Street — the Canopic Way331 BC — the Canopic Way
  2. Roman Theatre at Kom El DikkaRoman era, most likely 4th century — uncovered in 1964
  3. Shallalat GardensOn the line of the 9th-century wall, under Ibn Tulun
  4. Remains of the Alexandria City Wall9th century — under Ibn Tulun
  5. Misr Railway StationThe railway from the 1850s — present building 1927
  6. Mahatet El Raml & Saad Zaghloul SquareFrom 1863 — the Ramleh line’s terminus
  7. The Alexandria Tram1863
  8. Eliyahu Hanavi SynagogueRebuilt in the 19th century — foundation plaque dated 1881
  9. Graeco-Roman Museum1892
  10. The Statue of Nubar PashaUnveiled in 1904, according to a museum record
  11. The Windsor Palace Hotel1906, by the hotel’s own account
  12. Cavafy MuseumCavafy’s home from 1907 to 1933
  13. The Lycée Al-Horreya1909–1910 — the Shatby building from 1913
  14. Sayed Darwish Theatre — Alexandria Opera House1921 — the Mohamed Ali Theatre
  15. Alexandria National MuseumLate-1920s palace — museum since 2003
  16. The Cecil Hotel1929
  17. Museum of Fine Arts1954
  18. Bibliotheca Alexandrina2002
  • Ancient Alexandria331 BC – 7th century AD
  • The Islamic centuries7th century – 1805
  • The Mohamed Ali revival1805 – 1860
  • The cosmopolitan city1860 – 1950
  • Contemporary Alexandria1950 – today
The white façade and double staircase of the Alexandria National Museum on Tariq El Horreya
Before it in timeAlexandria National MuseumLate-1920s palace — museum since 2003
The Museum of Fine Arts building in the Moharram Bey quarter
After it in timeMuseum of Fine Arts1954

Highlights

  • 1The façade onto the square and the sea
  • 2Its old wooden lifts
  • 3The café looking onto Saad Zaghloul
  • 4Its place in the Alexandria Quartet

The story

  1. Built in 1929 on the waterfront at Saad Zaghloul Square for the Metzger family, to designs by the architect Alessandro Loria, the Cecil became part of the architectural image of early twentieth-century Alexandria. Its owners describe the building as Florentine in style, with Oriental touches at the balconies.

  2. The hotel counts Somerset Maugham and Winston Churchill among its guests, and General Bernard Montgomery was billeted here during the Second World War; British intelligence is said to have run operations from a suite in the hotel. Lawrence Durrell immortalised it in The Alexandria Quartet.

  3. The building remains a working hotel, run by Steigenberger since October 2014. It is one of seven historic hotels held by Legacy Hotels, in which Talaat Moustafa Group’s ICON took a 39% stake in December 2023 and a 51% majority in February 2024. Its façade can be viewed on a walk around the square, with respect for guests’ privacy and the hotel’s access rules.

Memories of the place

Every memory is taken from a published, documented source.

  1. 1929Sources differ on this date

    The Cecil was built by the Metzger family, a French-Egyptian Jewish family. A Greek-community history column dates its opening to 1 January 1930.

  2. 1929

    The hotel was designed by the architect Alessandro Loria, born in Mansoura to Italian parents, who had settled in Alexandria in 1914.

  3. Second World War

    General Bernard Montgomery was billeted at the hotel, and British intelligence is said to have run operations from a suite there.

  4. The 1950sSources differ on this date

    The Egyptian state took over the hotel; sources date the seizure to 1952 or to 1956.

  5. 1957

    The Metzger family was expelled from Egypt; Albert Metzger left with only two suitcases.

  6. 2007

    After a long legal battle, the Metzger heirs signed a settlement with the state tourism holding company HOTAC: the hotel was returned to the family, which sold it back to Egypt for an undisclosed sum.

  7. October 2014

    Steigenberger took over the management of the Cecil; the owning company was then the Egyptian General Company for Tourism and Hotels (EGOTH).

  8. 2023–2024

    In December 2023 Talaat Moustafa Group’s ICON took a 39% stake in Legacy Hotels, the state company holding seven historic hotels including the Cecil; in February 2024 it completed a 51% majority with full management rights.

Around it

© OpenStreetMap

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