Djorff Palace — Hotel in Al Baairat Village

Honestly one of the most memorable stays of my life. The hotel’s beautiful with serene Nile view and the service was impeccable. Everything in this hotel is so full of character and Marina was incredibly friendly and helpful.

I doubt that the people who wrote bad reviews about the owner actually had a long enough conversation with her. My interactions with her were great! She gave me a tour of the hotel, explaining that my bed was 150 years old and was from Syria, the lamps were from the Opera House in Cairo, the paintings were from Jordan, the coffin on display was from the town’s artisan family. Dr. M (and yes she has a PhD) is originally from the north of England, travelled and lived all across the Middle East since the 80s, collected all the beautiful artefacts with unique histories and took ten years to build this palace with so much character. Given her background, it should not be astounding that she’s not the type that smiles all the time and pours you prune juice. The suggestion that she is cantankerous or treats her staff poorly is ridiculous. I voluntarily gave the staff a fair amount of tip for their friendliness and excellent service. She has a tone that people whose perceptions of the British people were formed through Love Actually might not be quite used to, but she would probably speak to you or Boris Johnson in the same manner!

She helped me so much by advising me which sites are the best and how much to pay for each taxi ride. She’s the one who’d tell you over a cigarette, ‘You can book the driver for the East Bank if you want, but I’d honestly take the boat and take the taxi. Don’t get ripped off, darling! Pay X for ride 1, Y for ride 2, and Z for ride 3!’

Speaking of juice, try the watermelon-lemon-mint juice from this hotel. It’s one of my favourite drinks of all times probably and I had twelve glasses in two days and tried every juice on the menu.

Everything you’ll book through this hotel will be excellent quality and a fair price, from balloons to drivers. I really enjoyed my drives with Tarek.

It’s not really a complaint, but the music could be quite random at the restaurant and I had my first meal while lovely Egyptian music was playing, but my second meal was over O Fortuna. I actually found it pretty apt given I did not want to leave Luxor or the hotel.

Overall, a fantastic experience. Book it without hesitation it there is an...

Really lovely and unique hotel on Luxor’s west bank. The courtesy boat across to the east bank works seamlessly to provide an easy and excellent link when needed, and landing at the hotel’s river entrance is a great way to arrive. Djorff Palace itself is beautifully designed and decorated and in a quiet village. The hotel is a tranquil place for a dip in the pool late in the afternoon or to watch feluccas glide by at sunset. All the main West Bank sights are within cycling distance of the hotel. Our room was large with a river view terrace and fantastic roman style bath/shower. The staff were incredibly friendly and couldn’t do enough to ensure we felt very well looked after. Marina is very friendly and welcoming, ensures the hotel runs smoothly and professionally and is a mine of information about Luxor and travelling in Egypt in general. Thanks to her recommendation, we made a point of visiting the Gayer-Anderson museum when we returned to Cairo and were very glad that we didn’t miss that highlight. An easy choice in our view, great value and it would definitely be our first choice if (when) we go back to Luxor. Thanks Marina and to all your staff for a wonderful stay, we hope to stay again some day!

Follow up: I’ve just read one of the reviews below about tips being forbidden. That was not our experience. We asked about tipping and were informed that the tips are pooled among the staff to ensure that those staff with less guest contact also receive tips in recognition of their contribution to the overall service. We were also informed that tips are distributed among the staff mid month so that staff receive some money in between their monthly paychecks. Our experience/view of the owners ‘oversight’ (or ‘management’ 🤔?) also differed. Closely managing a luxury hotel to provide a high level of service is hardly a fault when the slightest thing causes people to leave poor review. We found the owners (one if whom is local and the architect/builder) very much had their staff’s interests at heart. Sorry for the long addendum but I felt compelled having read...

When I'm researching hotels, i always look at the 1 star reviews, and tbh, i actually booked this place because of them. One said 'there are no curtains in the rooms, so sunlight came streaming in in the morning'...another 'the sound of birds and animals was annoying', 'the roads round the hotel are just mud' despite being listed as 'unnamed road', and lets not forget 'the call to prayer started at 5am!!'. So if any of these things are going to be red flags for you, just dont book this place. If, however, you fancy a really authentic, but cool, traditional but comfortable, and well, just beautiful place to spend a day or two on the West bank away from all the hustle and bustle of Luxor, i think you would love this place. Its like a dream palace from a Disney movie, with beautiful rooms, all different, tile floors, huge beds, lovely balconies, staircases, towers, and...oh, the pool area. AH! The pool is really cold...what a tonic on a hot day, and is actually big enough to swim in. happy day. Beyond that is the free ferry stop over the other bank, and to the left is the pool bar, and breakfast area. The staff are just lovely, and the hotel is really, really secure, if that is one of your worries. I left at 4am to go down to Abu Simbel and there were staff at hand to help and make sure everything was fine. A lot of the single star reviews also found the English woman who co-owns the hotel rude. To me she was nothing but welcoming, but being a 63 year old woman who spontaneously went to Egypt alone for my birthday for 3 days to visit temples, i think you could probably describe us both as 'quirky'. I had such a great time here...its just beautiful.||My only thing that i think the hotel should advertise more is that they dont serve alcohol. No bother at all, but when i came back from a day driving horrendous road to Abydos i was really looking forward to a cold beer by the pool. Fanta just does not hit the spot. and there are no sugar free drinks either. small things...