Maritim Jolie Ville Luxor Island Resort

What can I say about the hotel that has not already been said! Fantastic, helpful, smiling staff who at times are run off their feet pleasing our every whim. Often in temperatures reaching 50c!!
Food is the best in Luxor. Staff are magnificent. Surroundings are tranquil, only broken by the sounds of abundant birdlife (feed & water the birds).
The bungalow style rooms are in need of modernisation and I understand this is on the cards. However they are of a good size, comfortable, cleaned daily and each has a small shaded terrace with table chairs and sunlounger.
Towels and sheets are replaced everyday if you wish and there is a card in each room to let staff know if you want them changed (surely it is unnecessary to change sheets everyday) as they are looking after the environment A/C is in every room - an essential (don't leave it on when not in the room, again think environment)
The hotel is well away from the honking of car horns, street traders etc. We have stayed here for the last 10 years. Tried others but cannot match the surroundings, peace and most importantly the friendly staff.
There is a daily programme of events for adults and children as well as relaxing beautiful walks and a running track round the island and along the Nile. Fruit, vegetables and even honey (at certain times) is produced on the island by staff gardeners and used in the kitchens. A regular shuttle bus takes guests (free of charge) to and from Luxor town. There is also a free shuttle boat (3 times daily) if you wish a more picturesque journey. Reception has a large guest library in many languages - no need to take a book!
The scorer who gave 1/10 has, in my opinion, exaggerated the situation; clean towels daily is your choice. Bathroom notice advises you of this option. Bathroom only big enough for one person, I have to rubbish that one. Tipping is a way of life and supplements their £30 monthly salary. However, you tip for good service, staff are not beggars - they work extremely hard to ensure that you enjoy your holiday. As far as bird excrement on sun loungers - sorry but staff cannot be around all the time and the birds are very abundant and not such a problem. Large, thick, freshly laundered towels are provided by the pool attendant to put over the mattress.
This hotel has a large proportion of regular guests who travel from all over Europe. In fact, about 5 years ago the hotel celebrated their 20th anniversary. All regular guests were invited from far and wide and it was amazing to see the amount of guests who had managed to travel at the same time to join the management and staff in their three day celebrations. Surely this would not be the case if the hotel was as bad as portrayed in these guests’ comments.

I have just read review giving this paradise on earth 1/10. I cannot understand this as we were there again for our 4th visit also in May this year and usual we could not fault the service.
Even down to complementary fruit on our arrival and our usual invite to the regular guest’s party. I see that the movenpick is leaving the movenpick chain, lets hope the standards remain at this very high level.
From Mr. Tawfiq, guests services manager to our favourite bell boy hamoud all of the staff are magnificent.
Thanks also must go to Okasha who has worked as a waiter at this hotel for as long as he can remember.

This hotel was superb in our opinion, so much so we have booked and off back this month.
Our two week stay was made easy by a hotel full of friendly staff and a location, well, fit for a King and Queen.
On the hotel: Very well presented and clean/well maintained. Pools 10/10
On the rooms: Ok not totally modern but ours was cleaned every couple of days all over, sheets changed too, air con is free and needed, TV, hair dryer and on request iron board etc. So in full at the end of the day for somewhere to sleep etc very very comfortable. As for room to move, again we had loads of room so don’t know where the small space syndrome comes from.
Food: Great and such a choice, the breakfast is great and as your meant to eat like a king to start your day you’ll have no problems here.
Bar: Great, you can go to the bar yourself but they just prefer to serve you hand and foot which to be honest in my opinion is just fine by me.
Location: We toured all over Egypt when there and found this hotel a great place to base as your close to all the Luxor trips obviously but only an hour to Cairo by plane.
To sum up, we all know that you make your own holiday but if you want to visit Egypt and want a great hotel to stay at then look no further than the Movenpick Luxor, it is simply superb... So much so we are going back this year in a few weeks August07 to tour the other side and we didn’t hesitate booking back here...10/10.

Excellent base for touring the historical sites of Luxor, Valley of the Kings - and a day to the Pyramids if you're prepared to get up early (4.30) for the flight and pickup.
The temple of Karnac is a must. If we had stayed longer than 7 days we would have taken in a short cruise to Abu Simbel and the had hod hot air balloon trip.
The Hotel is excellent and peaceful and the staff are charming. Excellent views over the Nile on a peaceful afternoon in the sun. The food in the Hotel is very good with a different theme every night. A separate a la carte restaurant on site is also worth visiting.

My parents and family friends had visited the Movenpick 3 times and always came home with the most lovely stories and photos.
I always said I would love to join them but never seemed to have the money. In 2004 I was off work for sometime very ill and my parents paid for me to join them on holiday and it was the most amazing time.
The staff were so helpful and polite and always remembered our names and even the drinks we liked. The Island was so beautiful, relaxing and the staff couldn't do enough for us. That was three years and every year since I’ve always managed to save enough money to go back.
The sites in Luxor stunned me pictures didn't do them justice. Walking down town in an evening watching all the hustle and bustle was just fantastic. Once you learn a few words in Arabic it's so much fun locals are always impressed and like to teach you more and they love to learn from you.
Many a night my dad, Dave and I have sat with Hanny or Ramadam having English and Arabic lessons however not always remembered too much in the morning having enjoyed a little too much of the local wine!
When I returned for the second time the minute I walked in to reception I felt I was at home again being greeted by all staff who still remembered all our names from the year before!
We have made many good friends in Luxor and continue to return each year and never get bored there is always more to explore be it camping in the desert, boat trips, visiting temples or visiting friends in their village to see how life really is there is always something new to explore.
Every year our group of friends and family seems to get bigger as everyone who joins always wants to share this most amazing experience with someone else.
Both my family and friends all say when they visit somewhere else on holiday it's always a bit of a letdown as it's just does not match the Movenpick and their lovely staff.

Loved this holiday! The staff at the hotel were all great and the food was excellent at very reasonable prices.
The A La Carte restaurant on site was really excellent. Pools were lovely and clean and not too crowded, the infinity pool was the best.
The hotel is a 5 minute taxi ride outside of Luxor which is quite a relief after experiencing the hustle of the city and not being left alone by the traders.
Very relaxing holiday, I would definitely go back to this hotel.

Having been six times to Luxor, we have stayed in most places, but found none to be like this island retreat. We spent a week here with our 3 kids and we would have stayed longer.
I was taken by surprise to read a recent entry, giving this paradise only one star, which is rather strange. The bungalows are comfortable and very clean and have a/c which is pretty effective.
The new, second pool area is spectacular, having fantastic position next to the Nile and views to the West Bank. The children loved it and we could just bask in the sun/shade.
The food is excellent, prepared by a French chef, with variety and heavily geared to a Western palate and lots of it and all clean and well cooked. Staff are very friendly and obviously take pride in the hotel and its surroundings.
We took trips to the temples and Hatshepsut's temple all by local taxi (cheaper than tours and better for the local economy). We enjoyed talking to the local people and the town is cleaning up now. Luxor is a better place for all.

Stayed for 1 week and it was a terrible. We had to change rooms 3 times to get a cleanish room.
There were stains on the carpet in the first room. The bathroom was so small 1 person in it was a tight squeeze. It was so dirty, there were stains on the walls, on the toilet seat, in the bath.
Our third room was a suite that we had to pay for. Our sheets weren't changed all week and the reason we know this is because the sheets were torn when we first arrived in the room. We had a towel change once that week. The bathroom floor was never vacumed or washed. Sunloungers come with the room and the cushions were torn and covered in bird excrement.
When ordering food from the menu at any of the restaurants it took on average 40mins for the food to be served to us. On one day we ordered a pizza. You can see the chefs cooking the food. We watched our pizza sitting on a counter under a hot lamp for 20mins.
It took about 20mins to get a drink. The staff refuse to let you collect your own drinks from the bar yourself.
No matter what the staff do for you even if they don't do anything for you they have their hands out looking for tips.
Be wary of the staff trying to get you to pay for food & drinks you didn't have. One day by the adult pool one of the waiters insisted that we had food the previous day. When I explained we were on a tour and it couldn't have been us he then tried to tell me that it was 2 days previous.
The whole week was awful. In my opinion this is not a 5star hotel. I would not recommend any person to stay in this hotel.

1 reader found this review helpful

I visited this hotel at Easter with my 14yr old daughter and she keeps saying she wants to go back as it’s the best hotel she has been to.
Although it is run by a Swiss chain, it retains an old-fashioned charm and there is no feeling of being in a large faceless place as with some hotels.
The decor in the bedrooms is a bit out of date and the bathroom is not 'plush 'or modernist, just clean and simple with everything you need.
The beds are comfortable with fresh white sheets and every evening a little sweet or gift is left after they turn down the beds for you. The fridge in the room is very useful and although it is kept stocked there is plenty of room for your own water etc.
Take hats and something to cover your arms and plenty of water when you visit Valley of the Kings etc as there is a fair amount of walking to do in the heat.
I think March or early April is a good time to go as the temperature is very warm but not unbearable and I am very fair skinned so cannot sunbathe to get a tan - I stay in the shade.
There is lots of shade in the hotel grounds and lovely comfy sunloungers - when you arrive one of the 'Towel boys' will find loungers for you and give you huge white fluffy towels, and there is waiter service for drinks and snacks and a lovely poolside Cafe restaurant by the infinity pool.
My daughter loved the pool and the ice cream - even I had a dip - it does feel a bit cold at first but soon warms up and you can rest by the infinity edge to watch all the boats on the Nile. The setting is fantastic and very peaceful with lots of birds and a pathway with benches all along the Nile -side so you can watch the sunset or just relax.
As we went bed and breakfast - most nights we ate at the hotel either on the terrace, which was very reasonable price wise or treated ourselves to the a la carte restaurant, which worked out cheaper than the buffet.
They also do standard or small portions of most of the dishes and my daughter only wanted the small portion - plus a pudding of course! This made it extra good value and the food was very good and the service was excellent.
If you want good service in the main restaurant make sure you give a reasonable tip the first time you eat there - the waiter will remember you and fall over himself to get you a good table next time you turn up!
We took a day cruise to Dendara Temple and that was very pleasant and interesting - if you go remember to ask reception the night before for a breakfast box and in the morning when you leave at 6am you take your breakfast with you.
There is a bit of hassle in the streets in Luxor but we had no trouble just said no thanks - sunglasses on so no eye contact and walked briskly off- we both dressed so as not to offend - no bare shoulders, low necklines or shorts.
Some women wearing shorts and skimpy t-shirts in town got lots of unwanted attention so be careful how you dress outside the hotel.
The cafe's on the corner next to the cruise boats are hassle free as people are not allowed to come up to you and there are a couple of good gift shops where the sell is not too hard - but you have to bargain - it’s part of the process, but it’s all done very politely.
Overall we had a real holiday to remember and will go back again to Luxor and the Movenpick as there were loads of things we didn't have time to do. There was a mixed age group and nationalities at the hotel - something to suit everyone.

1 reader found this review helpful

My week at Movenpick was a satisfactory experience for me. It had it's good sides like the zoo, and it's bad sides like the maggot in my mother's chicken. The Fellah's Tent is an absolute must. I suggest that you avoid buying books from the shop, as you can buy most of them in Luxor for much cheaper. And remember...FEED THE BIRDS!
The following is a list of a few of the bad sides that I noted during my stay: swimming pools are freezing, the shop has SOME overpriced items and the service for food from the menu is slow in both the restaurant and the room service.
The following is a list of the opposite: The camel rides are free, the waiters' are all friendly, the room service is excellent and the birds will eat out of your hand at breakfast.