Cairo - A Cairo luxury hotel confirmed Saturday that it was back selling alcohol after Egyptian government action against a Saudi investor who had banned its sale.

An employee at the Grand Hyatt confirmed that wine, beer and spirits were available in the rooms and in one restaurant at the five-star hotel situated on the banks of the Nile.

The Egyptian government had threatened the hotel owner, a relative of Saudi King Abdullah, that the luxury hotel would lose two of its five stars if the pious Muslim insisted on his alcohol ban.

The US-based Hyatt International company was also unhappy about the ban by the new owner, who had ordered hotel employees last spring to destroy 2,500 bottles of alcohol. (dpa)