Nile Palace hotel from the Nile

The Steigenberger Nile Palace, formerly just known as the Nile Palace and before that the Meridien, is sometimes given awards as one of the best hotels not only in Luxor but in Egypt or even in the whole of Africa. Yet in Luxor it is usually considered fourth or maybe fifth best, jostling for position with the Old Winter Palace, the Sonesta St George, the Jolie Ville (formerly the Mövenpick) and the Sofitel Karnak.

Two of these challengers, the Jolie Ville and the Sofitel are out of town, and so will probably attract customers looking for a quieter holiday. The Old Winter Palace is rarely a realistic alternative for cost reasons. In practice, therefore, the competition for the preference of tourists looking for the best hotel close to town is usually between the Nile Palace and the neighbouring Sonesta.

At 304 rooms, the Nile Palace is quite a large hotel by Luxor stands. From the Nile side it is obvious that it dwarfs its neighbours but it does not look so large from the front, either outside or when you first enter. There have been a few modifications since the hotel was the Meridien, but a central courtyard remains and retains a slightly french feel. The courtyard or patio is home to a the Cafe des Delices selling snacks, pastries and ice creams and Casa di Napoli, an Italian restaurant. This is also where you can enjoy singers and other in-house entertainment.

The main restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating is called the Nubian. It's name describes its decor rather than its menu, which offers traditional local and international breakfast, lunch and dinner. Other restaurants are El Tarboush, serving a Lebanese lunch and dinner menu, the Tropicana poolside snack bar and the tented Arabesque with pasties, grills and shisha. Throughout the hotel's restaurants the food is fine for those who prefer to dine in, but unsurprisingly expensive compared with similar meals outside and not special enough to keep you in or bring you in from outside, unless you want to take advantage of a rare opportunity to try Lebanese food in Luxor. There are plenty of restaurants within a few minutes walk - a chinese restaurant is right next door and the excellent value Sinuohe is almost opposite - so if you are prepared to tolerate the attention of the taxi, caleche and other touts the moment you emerge from the hotel, we think it is better to stay on a bed and breakfast basis and to eat out.

As well as a good choice of restaurants to look after your appetite, there are several opportunities to look after your body, with a well-equipped gym, sauna and steam room as well as the outdoor heated clover-shaped pool. A tennis court is planned for the roof in case you a feeling really energetic.

The rooms themselves are smart, light and still reasonably fresh. Most of them are standard rooms with views to the city (cheapest rooms), or the courtyard (next cheapest) or, for a bit more, to the Nile. Most Nile view rooms have a view of the Nile at an angle from the balcony and from areas within the room, or are set back in the central part of the hotel so that the panorama is limited. A full Nile view from the Nile frontage of the hotel is available for an additional supplement. For a great deal more you can choose one of 29 'superior' rooms and 19 suites. The best suite costs around £4,000 for a week! If you are buying a package holiday and do want any of the upgrades, it is worth getting a quote from the hotel direct (see the contact information above) as this is often cheaper than buying the upgrade through a package tour company. If you are booking through hotel agent (see the list in the column in the right) the hotel will be less likely to beat the agency price but it can't hurt to try.

The Nile Palace is generally less acclaimed than the neighbouring Sonesta, especially amongst English-speaking visitors. This may be due in some part to its past association with the Meridien group and its french ambience. We think the hotel and the hands-on staff are just as good and the management staff much less pretentious. If you can get a room with some kind of Nile view for the same price, we think the Nile Palace is well worth considering as an alternative to the Sonesta and it is certainly a better alternative to the Isis or Iberotel.