Malkata House - boutique hotel & restaurant — Hotel in Al Baairat Village

The Malkata House was easily my favorite bnb in my month of travels in Turkey and Egypt. The view of the Valley of the Queen's from the third floor is one of the most surreal spots I've stayed in all of my travels -- it's a beautiful shaded rooftop terrace with strong desert winds coupling the outstanding view. I am extraordinarily grateful we chose to stay here rather than a hotel in the downtown area which is nowhere near as desirable.

I must start with Chef Hasan. I've eaten all over the world, and Chef Hasan's cooking blew me away by the very first meal; it became evident that it would be an unwise use of my time to try to find a meal anywhere from else in Luxor. The meals he prepares with love and care were the best meals I ate during my trip to both Turkey and Egypt by a wide margin, and they are unbelievably affordable.

The host Mohamed is extremely welcoming and accommodating. He is very interesting and served as an incredible resource informing us how to navigate the city and properly see the incredible sights. He gave us several free ferry's across the Nile to get to town when we wanted to go, and showed us his wonderful antique shop. This was not at all like a normal host taking guests to their shop to try and sell them things -- there was no pressure to go whatsoever, we asked to see the shop. And I'm very grateful that we did, because it was the best shop we found in all of Egypt! His shop has genuine antiques of all types from 1800s Egypt -- beautiful handmade goods that have aged over a couple of centuries into truly unique crafts. Much better gifts and treasures to take home than all of the Chinese-made gift shop items.

The property also offers tours -- Hamdi is the most informed Egyptologist I have ever met. He is a walking encyclopedia of knowledge of Luxor and sorrounding areas, and gave us an extremely dense wealth of knowledge of all the sites to see.

If you want the perfect spot to stay in Luxor, do yourself a favor and plan it around the dates available at Malkata House to gift yourself a one-of-a-kind experience that you cannot find...

*OVERALL: amazing. well worth it. trust me. I do not even know what to start with.

*VIEW/ATMOSPHERE: -marvelous; you get to wake up to a spectacular mountain view and birds chirping in the morning, with an amazing view of the sunset and sunrise. -The top floor/roof is decorated w couches and tables and an excellent place to just sit and relax and enjoy the scenery play your favorite game with friends or family or even have breakfast or just sip on tea or enjoy a cup of coffee.

*DECORATION/CLEANLINESS: -very nice and clean decor that matches with theme of the city and the surrounding area. -every room is very spacious, whether the bathroom, the bedrooms, living room, or kitchen, even the roof.

*HOSPITALITY/FRIENDLINESS: -The staff are all super nice and friendly. Very helpful and accommodating to any of your needs, and they do everything with a genuine smile.

*THE CHEF/ FOOD: -I highly recommend that you try the chefs (his name: HASSAN) food. he is an excellent cook and all food tastes really really good. the presentation of the food is also great. and he also accommodates for vegetarians or any other diets. COOKS EVERYTHING FROM THE HEART, YOU CAN TELL HE LOVES WHAT HE DOES. I wanted to try different foods when I first got to luxor during my 4 day stay, and did not want to eat at the same place (chefs food) everyday. I ate at one restaurant that had good reviews on the first night, and I was extremely disappointed. the food was horrible and too expensive for what we ordered. so then I tried breakfast with chef (hassan) and I was extremely satisfied with the variety of options he gives, the quantity of food will definitely fill you up, the presentation, and the cleanliness. and afterwards I didn't even eat out and try different restaurants no more. I ate from chef (hassan) the rest of my meals during the rest of my days in luxor. HIGHLY RECOMMEND. MUST TRY HIS FOOD, TRUST ME, YOU...

Now I never write long reviews but this villa merits every word. Staying at the Malkata house was everything we hoped for and much much more. It was truly amazing and our whole experience was nothing but incredible. Starting with our host Mohamed he was very accommodating and helped all throughout experience making sure we were comfortable and provided anything we needed. His home is truly iconic well worth every dime from the decor to the natural scenery of the mountain in the background.Simply magical. Staying on the West Bank was the best thing we could have done, keeping us near the temples and waking up to an incredible view every morning. Though we may have come for the temples, we enjoyed our stay at the villa much much more. Will would like to thank Mahmoud the villa keeper for helping us and making us very comfortable and meeting all of our needs. Now the real highlight of this entire trip besides the amazing backyard view was the most amazing Chef Hassan. Not only is he professional and very nice man but his cooking was amazing, he truly cooks with his heart. We looked forward to every meal and he did not disappoint. We stuffed our faces with his exquisite food and looked forward to every meal. We made the mistake of eating out the first night in a restaurant but chef Hassan made us forget the tasteless food we tried. If you stay here just have the chef cook your meals and avoid the disappointment. Everything about this place was wonderful and highly recommend everyone to stay here instead of a hotel. We spent majority of the time in the villa just because it was so wonderful. Trust me you won’t be...