Hotels in Luxor - quality overview
The best
Reputedly the best hotel is the opulent Old Winter Palace. This is where
film stars and presidents stay. It is good for a special night but not many
tourists spend a whole holiday there because of the cost.
The next best
The Sonesta St George, Nile Palace and Maritim Jolie Ville (previously the Mövenpick) are usually reckoned to be the best of the
rest. Visiting dignitaries who don't make the Old Winter Palace usually
stay at the Sonesta. The Sonesta is a traditional modern hotel under one
roof with all the usual facilities, chandeliers and plenty of shiny marble.
The Nile Palace is bigger with more amenities, less glitzy but at least as smart. They are both on the main road, surrounded by restaurants and tourist shops,
so there is a certain amount of bustle as soon as you step outside. The
Jolie Ville is further out, much quieter, but made up from individual bungalows
in extensive grounds - only the reception, bank, main restaurant and shopping
are in a central building.
And also
In terms of quality, the Mercure Hotel, Lotus, New Winter Palace, Isis, Iberotel and Sheraton
all have their fans and their detractors but it is hard objectively to
rank them. They all have reasonably good restaurants, some shops and outside
areas. They all have good and less favourable points which reviews
on this site and others try to identify.
The Sofitel Karnak was once regarded
as on a par with the Sonesta, but more recently it has slipped
to be grouped with the bulk of 4 and 5 star hotels listed above.
It is a relatively new hotel and we will have to see where its
reputation settles.
Budget hotels
More basic hotels include the rather old
but friendly St Joseph, the newer and cheaper New Pola, the
Gaddis, Tutotel, Emilio and Phillipe. These hotels are typically a stack
of rooms with a reception and restaurant underneath and a patio, usually
with pool, on top. These hotels will suit those who don't want galleries,
lounge areas, restaurant variety etc but just somewhere safe and inexpensive
to stay.
Cheaper still
There are plenty of backpacker hotels and hostels, mostly around the railway station and in the built-up area of town. Here you can get a night's accommodation for a very few pounds. |
Summary
If money is absolutely no object, you will be spoilt in the Old Winter
Palace. If you get a good deal and want quality reasonably close
to things, choose the Nile Palace or the Sonesta. For a quiet life with access to
town, but where you can stay away from it as well: the Maritim Jolie Ville.
Your choice of the bulk of 4 and 5 star hotels will depend on whether you
want to be in town or amongst the tourist restaurants and shops.
On balance the New Winter Palace is probably the
best bet in town, because of its central location and
extensive grounds but it is a little tired and about to be demolished as part of the town centre improvements.
In the south we think the Lotus is better than the
Isis. The Sheraton is the quietest of this group but
some of the rooms are outside the main building, the food doesn't
have the best reputation and the approach via bazaars at the end
of a cul-de-sac is not very handsome.
From the economy group, St Joseph is usually favoured because of it's friendly
management and excellent evening restaurant, but the New Pola
is much more up-to-date, is usually cheaper and has the best views
from the roof pool area. Unless you have children (see the review) the New Pola takes our vote as long
as you don't want to eat in the hotel much - it is let
down by its restaurant. |