Al Moudira Hotel — Hotel in Luxor

We stayed here and the Winter Palace and personally thought the Winter Palace was hands down a far superior hotel with much cheaper rates. Overall the room was 'gilded', beautiful when you walk in and take a picture, but really falling apart once you try to enjoy the shower, rest in the bed, sit on the cushions etc. We booked in the Luxury suite for one night (which we were told was the nicest room in the hotel No.3, although we were given a room different to what we booked and instead of a majestic pictured bathtub given a small fountain and an old shower) as there was a big event in Luxor the day before and most of the hotels were sold out. Staying here felt like we were transported back in time, both in a special and terrible way. On the good end, the room décor was quite beautiful with arches, designs, a nice fountain in the center and a unique step-down shower in the room with high ceilings. But on the bad side, the charm ends with the general décor and isolated location, as the room features really need to be updated and the appliances are very old, such as the blow dryer that looked straight out of the 1950s, a very small old TV, very old AC units that were quite dusty, old telephones etc. The wifi was incredibly slow and unreliable and didn't work for us at all, even after they put a unit outside our door (as other reviewers noted, do not recommend staying here if you have a job that requires you to regularly check email or be responsive). There were so many other issues that were surprising given the highest prices in Luxor: the shower head had significant limescale/staining build-up, wouldn’t spray water normally and only the handheld part worked, the towels were over washed and stiff, the toiletries were really bad and a generic brand (they had left only 1 soap for ourselves and our son when we checked-in), the bed was pretty hard and uncomfortable and the mosquito net above the bed was filed with dead mosquitos and so dusty we had to just leave it up as a decoration. The pool also left much to be desired as it was so cold and dirty when we tried to go. The front staff was friendly and helpful with sorting out a taxi into Luxor etc. and the breakfast staff was nice, but the restaurant staff around dinner our first day was oddly condescending when we tried to order some sharing plates after checking-in hungry from our long drive. The food we had was bad, undercooked chicken skewers and margarita pizza which was somehow terrible (the smoked salmon was fine). The location and overall feel is quite peaceful and our bedroom was very unique looking for photos. The breakfast was also pleasant and the morning staff very nice. However, given these are some of the highest prices in Luxor (if not the highest) for hotels, I cannot really see why someone would opt for this over the Winter Palace (where we did not have any of these issues and paid much less for a much more comfortable room) or any of the other cheaper, yet higher ranking 5-star, options. The remote location also means there are sooo many mosquitos, like a complete infestation. I have never been so badly bit in my life, as was our son, even with repellent (and I will add, we stayed on the Nile in Aswan and did not have this...

This property was a gamble for me because I did not know if we would like it as tourists who tend to like full-service hotels and were concerned that we might not like something in Egypt that was not familiar. It was recommended to me by an Egyptian travel agent who suggested we try it, so we extended our visit in Luxor to stay here for 2 nights (followed by a night at the Winter Palace which turned out to be rather lame in comparison). We stayed in a 3 bedroom villa. We didn't see the regular rooms. We thoroughly enjoyed the place and would come back, even if we didn't particularly need to revisit the sites of Luxor. This place is about 25 minutes from city center or about half an hour from the airport and not near anything. There are 2 restaurants on property and another adjacent. We ate at both on property and enjoyed our two dinners. Breakfasts were also very good and they bake their own pita bread daily. They also use many ingredients that they farm.|The villa had a really cool vibe to it; somebody took great care to design and decorate it with such features as blue-colored circular skylights. it was very spacious throughout and everything worked. There are small swimming pools in the back and a large one on property for common use; the water in all their pools is a bit cool but OK. There is a small gym which had the essentials, there are sauna and steam rooms, and you can get a massage on property. There is a large garden that permeates the property and several overlooks where you can see the surrounding area. An especially impressive part of our stay was the butler service that came with our villa. Robert was our butler; i hardly ever mention names on this site but he was outstanding in terms of hanging around and anticipating things we would want and being extremely responsive all day long till midnight. He really loves his job and said he wouldn't trade it even if he got a million dollars. I actually believe him. We stayed in several other 5-star hotels that offered butler service but it was not nearly the same.|My wife celebrated her 60th birthday on property and the hotel helped me stage a small family party for her with musicians, dancers, a beautiful dinner in a lovely room and a birthday cake. They did it for a very small fee and no doubt it was an evening we will never forget. Hotel management was very responsive pre-arrival making arrangements.|The resort is trying to create a concept involving animals, farming and more outdoor activities. Whether or not it will work remains to be seen. But if it does, it will create a compelling property to visit whether or not someone has already seen the sites of Luxor. The place offers good value for money, good food at the Relais Chateau level at very reasonable prices, a lovely peaceful place to relax outside of Luxor, and warm hospitality. We felt very looked after here by a super friendly staff and attentive management. A final tip: Make sure to get some of their chocolate hazelnut gelato; some of the best I've had anywhere...

I had read some good reviews about this hotel before booking and was pleasantly surprised upon arrival to realise it is a Relais Chateau.

The hotel is located in the west bank, far from the touristic hustle of Luxor city and the incessant vendors that chase tourists on the streets; its location, in my opinion, is a plus. We were happy to switch off for a couple of days before embarking on our cruise. However, if you want quick and easy access to town, this is not the place to go. The hotel offers only two, free shuttles to/fro town per day and for us, it was at inconvenient times; for example to go to the sound and light at night, we would have had to arrange our own transportation. Also, because of its location in the west bank, this hotel misses out on the wonderful sunset views that Luxor has; still it makes up for it in other ways and we were going to enjoy 4 days of sunsets on our cruise.

Moudira is set on spacious and lush grounds, which we truly enjoyed. It has a nice pool with a nice surrounding area. The pool side staff is very welcoming and the chef/maitre d´very accommodating.

We had junior suite 37, which was very spacious, but felt at times like a luxurious prison. It only had small windows to keep the heat out and, I suspect like most rooms, did not have a private outdoor area; this we particularly missed. The furniture in the room, like in the rest of the hotel is Egyptian country style, which is wonderful to look at, but uncomfortable.

The breakfast offered a good selection from the buffet and a la carte. Mainly we opted for the Egyptian a la carte. It was tasty. We had our two lunches by the pool and for dinner, we alternated one night in the oriental, quieter restaurant and the other night in the Ottoman restaurant, which is more international.

The food is average and expensive for Egypt. Prices were only quoted in dollars; very odd. Also, the menu stated that 22% (if not 24%) were added in taxes and other charges. Half of the surcharge, 10-12% is the service charge, which was not stated, was misleading as the bill offered to add a gratuity and, in my opinion, unfair to guests who were already paying a significant and hidden percentage of their expensive meals on tips. I did not register or think of this until I moved to the next hotel where the extra charges were explicit and split out.

Would I stay in this hotel again? May be, although I saw a new top notch hotel being built on the East bank closer to town. Moudira will be in for some serious...