[citation needed] Due to political matters in 1883, Isma'il sold the lodge to Frederick and Jessie Head as a private residence.

[citation needed] The Locke Kings began construction on the hotel and opened it to the public in 1886 as The Mena House.

The hotel is named after the founding father of the first Egyptian dynasty, Mena or King Menes.

In December 1977, Egypt and Israel sat down together at Mena House in a quest for a peace settlement (also attending were American and United Nations representatives).

The results of this Mena House Conference were to lead to the Camp David Agreement, which restored Egypt's sovereignty over the Sinai peninsula.

It was opened by general manager Kaval Nain Oberoi, a relative of the chain's owner.

[8] Other notable people such as Agatha Christie, Ivan Trush (1912), Roger Moore, Cecil B. DeMille, Charlton Heston, Frank Sinatra, The Grateful Dead,[9] David Lean, Evelyn Waugh and Charlie Chaplin have all stayed at Mena House Oberoi.