Salamlek Palace

The oldest of the Montazah palaces, built by Khedive Abbas Helmi II in 1892 as a summer hunting retreat — today a small hotel that keeps its royal character.

The cosmopolitan city: 1892
Opening hours: Hotel and lawn welcome guests through the day
Tickets: Entry as a guest or for a drink, without a ticket
Administrative section: Toussoun — inside the Montazah Gardens

Open in maps Its place in time

Image credits

Its place in time

The cosmopolitan city · 1860 – 1950

The city spread along its shore with the railway lines, the ruling family built its summer palaces, and communities from across the Mediterranean made it home.

Ancient Alexandria331 BC – 7th century AD
The Islamic centuries7th century – 1805
The Mohamed Ali revival1805 – 1860
The cosmopolitan city1860 – 1950
Contemporary Alexandria1950 – today

The Montazah Gardens: lawns and palms ringing the ornamental lake under a clear sky

Before it in timeThe Montazah GardensAbbas Helmi II’s summer retreat from 1892

Haramlik Palace, its ornamented façades and sea-facing tower seen from inside the Montazah Gardens

After it in timeHaramlik Palace1932

Highlights

1The oldest building at Montazah (1892)
2Domed cellars and shuttered floor
3The hotel’s seaside lawn
4Tea inside the palace

The story

Salamlek was the first structure raised at Montazah: a two-storey lodge built by Khedive Abbas Helmi II for hunting and rest, before the gardens grew around it and the other palaces followed.
It is marked by its Moorish-Islamic style — shuttered upper floor and domed cellars — and its sea-view lawn where kings and presidents have sat across a century and a half.
For years now the palace has worked as a heritage hotel; residents and visitors alike can sit on its lawn or take tea in its salon — the easiest way to step inside one of Egypt’s royal palaces.

Another corner of Salamlek Palace among the trees of the Montazah Gardens

Around it

Nearby landmarks

Distances are as the crow flies. Choose any pin to open that place.