This 5 star hotel is reputed to be one of the best in Luxor. Its ambience reflects its 5 stars.

Its location is not quite as convenient to the historic sites as some hotels, such as the Old and New Winter Palaces. Nevertheless, it is only a few minutes from local restaurants and shops, and 15 minutes walk from the centre of town, so it is much closer to the places you need to go to than the Sofitel or the Maritim Jolie Ville (previously the Mövenpick) and slightly closer than the Sheraton. On the other hand, the main road passes by the front so from many parts of the building there is some road and traffic noise, which is not a problem at the Jolie Ville or Sheraton.

The hotel is right on the bank of the Nile. Part of its outdoor seating area is on a pontoon floating on the Nile itself. Being so close to the Nile you expect excellent views from most of the rooms but the reality is a little disappointing. At one end of the building a few rooms have an excellent Nile view in both directions, but these rooms come at a high price supplement. At the other end, some rooms face the busy road at the front.

Most rooms have what is described as a 'side Nile view'. Odd-numbered rooms look towards central Luxor, but over the top of the local utility works, which are not attractive and their machinery is noisy. Not conducive to relaxing on the balcony, especially if you are on one of the lower floors. From the even-numbered rooms you see over the top of the swimming pool used by local people - which is fine, but your view of the the Nile is partly blocked by the Nile Palace (previously called the Meridien) and Lotus hotels. Room numbering follows the normal pattern - the first digit being the floor and the other two digits being the room number on that floor. Lower room numbers place you nearer the Nile. The nearer you are the less of your view is blocked. So a high floor number (where there is less noise from things happening below) but low room number is best. But see the box for a temporary problem with this general rule.

The service from reception and management is courteous but in a way that feels manufactured rather than natural. We have tried the arrangements for changing rooms in each of the hotels reviewed. By and large, reception staff and management are cooperative. Clearly there are limitations, especially if the hotel is full, but with guests coming and going most days, a change to an alternative same-value room can usually be arranged within a day or so, if not straight away.

The Sonesta was an exception. There were plenty of guests checking out, but although staff did not say that a room change was not possible, no arrangements were made - we were just asked to come back again and again until we gave up. Either the computer systems were not flexible enough to enable staff to make changes in advance or the staff were not willing. Of course this is one incident and not of great significance in itself. It is, however, symptomatic of the apparent attitude of management staff that is slightly aloof, in contrast to the management of some other hotels who will make great efforts to please.

Service staff are much more amenable. The pool staff are very attentive and, although a little slow by western standards, the waiting staff are friendly and efficient enough.

There are plenty of the kind of amenities you would expect in a hotel of this class, including a health and fitness centre, massage and hairdressing. You have to pay extra for most of these including the health club, but a gym with a treadmill, rowing machine and a bench is free for residents. There are also a few shops, a bank, travel agency and ATMs inside and outside.

The main indoor bar, Nobles, is smart rather than cozy. It has extensive views to the Nile over the hotel's swimming pool and grounds and rather leisurely waiter service.

Breakfast and half-board dinners are taken in the main restaurant, the Seraphis. Breakfast is self-service, which is quite normal even for 5 star hotels. Unusually, breakfast includes Japanese options as well as the more usual British and continental choices. Breakfast food variety and quantity are both plentiful and standards are excellent.

As well as the main international restaurant there are Japanese, Italian and Middle Eastern restaurants, the Miyako, Beban and Aladdin respectively. There is also a cafe / snack bar, the Lotus, in the reception area. The restaurants are quite pricey by Luxor standards, but you get the surroundings and service you are paying for. The food itself is nothing special, but if you want to eat Japanese, this is reputed to be the best in the town. If you do want to eat Japanese and don't mind eating early, you could take advantage of their 30% discount between 5pm and 6.30 pm. If you want to stay in the hotel and enjoy some food variety you will be happy enough with the restaurants but they are not special enough to draw you in if you are staying elsewhere.