Windsor Palace

By Mohsen Allam

Sir Windsor was an English merchant who resided in Alexandria during the late 1800s. His palace was transformed into a hotel in 1906 then sold to an Egyptian company after the 1952 revolt). At the time Alexandria was at the peak of its cosmopolitan glory and was considered Egypt’s getaway to the world’s atest fashion, culture and technology.

Elegance was all the rage: people liked to dress up and be noticed and the Windsor Palace was Alexandria’s most popular spot to do just that. The palace hosted a number of famous artists such as dancer Badia Massabni and Taheya Karioka who performed regularly at the hotel’s casino and club, which was later transformed into a ballroom.

Theatrical performances and classical music were regularly played at the hotel. Quaint and built in an English style, the spectacularly molded ceilings and floors are decorated with expensive Turkish and Persian carpets.

The Windsor Palace does not quite give its visitors the sense of being a hotel, it is more like being welcomed into a real palace. One cannot enter the hotel’s lobby without craning their neck to take in the splendid view of the breathtaking antique portraits and sculptures including an ancient statue of Alexander the Great.

The elevator, similar to the one at the Metropole, displays a gold three-star flag from King Farouk’s era. Fathi, one of the hotel’s oldest employees, explains there used to be another elevator designed especially for royal visitors who would step out into vast corridors to reach their spacious rooms.

The restaurant located on the roof has always been one of hotel’s most attractive spots, and “many outsiders come visit the hotel just to have breakfast in front with the beautiful view,” Fathi adds. Windsor Sky roof provides a panoramic view of Alexandria’s corniche, spanning Qaitbay fortress on the left side to the other side of the city’s downtown areas as far as the eye can see.