Trapped in the city with your kids this summer and unable to travel with them? Don't worry as Cairo hotels and resorts could now provide your kids with all the fun and entertainment they need on their holiday. Here is a guide to what the hotels have to offer during the summer. Pyramids Park Intercontinental Resort (+202) 383 8666, on the Cairo- Alexandria Desert Road, has a petting zoo -- the Scoo-Bi-Zoo -- located in a haven of shade. While parents relax by the pool or have a cup of tea in the garden, the children have fun with the monkeys, deer, a camel, a pony, flamingoes and ducks. No need to worry about safety -- there are keepers to take care of the animals, introduce the children to them, and keep the children amused at feeding time. There is also a children's garden with toys, swings, a trampoline and a safe junior pool. Special arrangements can be made for birthday parties. Is there a catch? The facilities are available for guests who are staying at the hotel for the weekend and also those who have lunch or dinner in the hotel. There is also a rate for day-use. Rates are LE375 for single rooms on a bed and breakfast basis and LE325 for doubles. Rates for foreigners are $90 for singles and $80 for doubles. Children aged under 12 years go free, with a 50 per cent discount on food. A cabana is available for daily use for LE275 for four Egyptian persons and for LE375 for two foreigners. Le Meridien Pyramids (+202) 383 0383, has a play area for children with pint- sized chairs and tables. It includes swings, houses and other toys. There is also a children's paddling pool, a special menu with the kind of food that goes down well with your youngsters, and colouring books and crayons. The hotel sometimes brings in a magician and an aragoz -- a kind of a puppet show -- on Fridays and public holidays. Weekend rates for an overnight stay is LE330 for a single room per night on a bed and breakfast basis including service charge and taxes, and LE380 for doubles. There are rooms available for daily use for LE280 for a maximum of three persons. The offer is valid until the end of September. JW Mariott Mirage Hotel (+202) 412 5041/3, in New Cairo City, in Qattamiya, southeast of Cairo, is a marvellous place for adults and children alike. Here you can enjoy a day at the beach without having to drive to the Red Sea or Alexandria. "The beach", in a desert environment, is the Marriott's latest innovation. In this vast area there are four swimming pools. The one called Cleopatra Bay has waves and a stretch of sandy beach where children can play with their buckets and spades. Here you can have the "sea", sand and sun without leaving Cairo. "The lagoon" is another swimming area with a large central island and water slides to delight junior. A shallow pool is also available for four to eight-year- olds. Water guns, hoses, and tunnels are there to explore -- all are safe, and lots of fun. For the youngest guests, the hotel has a paddling pool for the under four-year-olds. The beach is available to members of JW Marriott Mirage Club House and also to those who stay an overnight. A lucrative package is offered by JW Marriott Mirage City, where two adults and two children can stay for two nights for LE850 in a double room on a bed and breakfast basis including service charge and taxes. At weekends, a supplement of LE100 is added.
