Advice on Hotels in Luxor

I am booked to go to Egypt in June and was due to stay in Luxor for 4 days..

The hotel i am booked in is the Old Winter Palace and ive heard this is a really good hotel to stay in.. I have recently been informed by my tour operator that the pool is closed at this hotel between May and July...We have been given the option to swap hotels..one of the options being the Le Meridian....or they will bus us to the Karnak Sofitel for the use of there pool.

Has anyone got any advice on weather we should stay put in the Old Winter palace or swap to the Le Meridian?.. Does anyone know how far the Sofitel is from the Winter Palace?

Stayed there in June 1995 (yes it was a long time ago), quite simply the best address in Luxor - they even have guided tours around the hotel for non-residents!

The foyer seems to be frozen in time from the thirties, the corridors upstairs are wide like on the upper decks on some bygone ocean liner replete with antique chairs, sofa's and oils.

They have afternoon tea, cocktail parties, shorts and swimwear are not allowed to be worn inside and the pool table in the bar is only for use of guests of the old wing. The 1886 restaurant has to be booked in advance but the other eateries on site are still excellent.

When I stayed the pool was open, they are usually serviced earlier in the year and was still the case in 1998 when I returned, though then I stayed at the Hilton - not in the same league.

GO! Stay at the OWP and have a great time!

Colin. ps, Remember to tip - little and often!

All I can say is that if I had 4 days to spend in Luxor, I'd never notice if the pool were open or not.

There are pools all over the world; Karnak and the Valley of the Kings are unique.

Yes, but after spending hours touring the area, do you not think it would be a nice idea to have a pool to relax in? The sites aren't going to disappear while they are in the pool.

Actually the Winter Palace is a fairly split hotel. A few of the rooms are in the old section and are pretty much from the 1950's. Alongside and connecting there is a new Pavilion wing with far less character and far more luxury. It's a neat place to stay.

Personally I would usually recommend seedy character over modern luxury. However I'm the type who isn't sure where the Winter Palace pool is after staying there for 3 days a couple of years ago. If they are going to give you a room with AC then stay there. 40 years ago I stayed there in August without AC & it was very difficult.

I have no idea how much they have upgraded the rooms in the old part. I got some glimpses but they looked pretty original.

I might add that we are staying in the Pavillion area of the hotel.. it seems to almost have a class oriented system.. if you're staying in the Old Wing you get to eat in the old wing (and get to use the pool table like you mention) and if you're staying in the Pavillion Wing, you have to eat in another restaurant and get the scraps.. thats what it seems like to me whilst reading the reviews..

For this reason, we're seriously considering changing to Le Meridien... it seems as though we're not really staying in the Old Winter Palace anyway.. and coupled with the fact that the pool is out of order also, I think this is what we might do.. we can always go there for dinner or lunch anyway..

Has anyone stayed in the Pavillion rooms who can comment?

Thanks

No. Actually the Pavilion is the new wing of the hotel and would generally be considered the more desirable part (i.e. not run down). I don't know about eating but we did have afternoon tea in the old section. Moderate tea but interesting. I would stay there after being there. My room was nice and overlooked the Nile. You could see some of the ruins of Luxor Temple from the balcony. However my taste in hotels does not run to pools so you may disagree.

The Meridian is a bit more central although since it is shaped like a C facing the river the view will be more problematic. It is probably a bit more deluxe but not as classy.

I stayed in a very nice small hotel in Luxor, think the name was Ramses Hotel. If I remember I'll check it up and get back with more info. This hotel has a nice pool where I enjoyed many cold Stella.

writes

-Staying at The Old Winter Palace is an unforgettable experience...the rest are just hotels! Enjoy -

Sorry, I checked and Ramses Hotel was in Aswan.

In Luxor I stayed at Windsor Hotel, a very nice small place with pool and Stella beer.

I made some notes from my visit: The references to the LP guide is about the 5:th edition.