| Hotel Rating: |  | | Satisfaction: |   | | Reviews: 3 | Photos: 4 | | Corniche el Nile St |
 | Luxor Sofitel Winter Palace Luxor Reviews | 1 - 3 of 3 |  |
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 | Sofitel Winter Palace Luxor: Step Back In Time
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 Old Winter Palace Luxor by gatekeeperdi
The palace wing of the hotel is so beautiful. It`s nice just to sit in the grand foyer and take in the atmosphere of the place. There is a lovely lounge where "afternoon tea" is served with a wonderful selction of sandwiches and pasteries, each afternoon. The "Royal Bar" is opposite the Victoria Lounge and you can treat yourself to no end of wonderful drinks, in a lovely setting served by friendly and attentive staff.
It`s a great base to go visiting the local attractions. Luxor temple is literally next door! I hired a wonderful taxi driver, Hamdi, for the trips we went on, which was not only a lot cheaper than booking the same trips through the tour operator, but you have control on how long you stay in a place, so you don`t get a short stop in a place you want to explore and spend most of the trip at a bazzar, papyrus or perfume shop! Hamdi arranged for a professional guide to accompany us on some of the trips when we requested one, which was wonderful. You have their whole attention so you`re not just one in a massive group.
I`d whole heartedly reccomend anyone goes to stay at this hotel at least once in their life time!
I have got details of the taxi driver on my personal website if anyone is interested at http://www.gatewaytoancientegypt.co.uk
Hope you get chance to go yourselves!
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The legendary Winter Palace Hotel was built in 1886 shortly after the British occupation of Egypt. The colonial-style hotel intended to capitalise on Egyptomania by attracting wealthy European tourists of the time. It was 'the' place to stay and its long list of famous guests included Agatha Christie herself (more recently while I was in Luxor, the notorious couple, Président Sarkozy & Mademoiselle Carla Bruni stayed at this hotel!). The construction of the Winter Palace, along with Cataract Hotel in Aswan helped to pave the way for modern tourism in the following century. With the influx of tourists into this area, the small village of Luxor grew around the new tourist industry. Today, the Winter Palace continues to function as a luxury hotel, run by the Sofitel chain.
I did not stay at the Winter Palace nor was I able to visit it due to time constraints. However, I managed to take these distant photos while crossing the Nile. I've included this tip mainly for historical value. However, this hotel is a possible option for a luxury trip to Luxor, though if I were return, I would only stay at Winter Palace if al-Moudira Hotel was fully booked.
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