Maritim Jolie Ville Luxor Island Resort

A full service resort with beautiful grounds, views of the Nile, great pools, terrace dining, extensive breakfast buffet and helpful staff. The rooms decor was little old fashioned, but our room was spacious enough, with comfortable beds and modernized bathroom. It was a great for our first few days in Egypt, before Upper Nile tour. We used the free shuttle into town and were happy not to be staying on one of the noisy Luxor streets.

I'm not a fan of large, fancy multi-national hotels -- they just feel too impersonal. So I choose this hotel because it still had a 5-star rating but was not part of a big chain. It was lovely in every way, with a beautiful spot on the Nile, goreous swimming pools, lovely grounds, good (but not necessarily outstanding) food, and friendly service. I would probably categorize it closer to 4-star than 5-star, because the rooms, while extremely large and nice were not exactly luxurious (shower but no tub; sheets were nice but not 400 count, etc.). But that in no way diminished our enjoyment! Also worth nothing that I had booked a Nile-view room, but had to request 2 room changes before getting a room that actually had a good view (even though the hotel wasn't full and there were plenty of rooms literally hanging over the Nile that were available). But I find that is not unusual when traveling in Africa, no matter what star hotel you are in .