The Winter Palace, located in Luxor Egypt was built by the British during their occupation of Egypt in 1886. Being built on the banks of the Nile River it features a tropical garden with a mystical atmosphere. With all the comfort of a five star hotel, it has hosted celebrities and royalty for years. (the ancient Egyptians would be proud of this edifice).
Arriving by an overnight train from Giza it was a welcome sight. A breakfast on the patio was in order and from there a day of enjoying all the vast sights of Luxor and the surrounding Egyptian area. The hotel is beautiful with all the trimmings one would expect at a five star hotel, although they do have a slight problem with cleanliness. I presume living in an area where rainfall comes at a premium, it is difficult to maintain cleanliness with wind constantly blowing dust.
The original intent had been to stay the following evening at a recently constructed Sheraton, however as is so often the case with international travel, our plans changed, the Sheraton wasn’t completed yet. Due to the fact no one had informed us of this, we had no where to stay or to leave our luggage for the day.
Both our tour guide and hotel manager assured us they would find us a place to stay by evening and our luggage would be fine in the hotel lobby. Not having any other choice, everyone reluctantly left all our worldly goods in the lobby and fully expecting to never see it again, set out on a full day of sight seeing.
A trip to Egypt should never be taken without visiting this area, much of the world’s ancient history is on display here, with Karnak, the Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens, many ancient Egyptian temples and shrines are within driving distance,also not to be missed is King Tut’s tomb. It isn’t a Club Med vacation but everyone should experience this at least once in their life time.
Returning to the Winter Palace about 4 PM,we were met by one of the other members of our group who stated that we had the choice to stay the night in the hotel manager’s house across the Nile River located near the Valley of the Dead.Not sure if falling asleep in the Valley of the Dead is a good idea, but it was better than plan B.(Sleeping on the couch in the Winter Palace lobby.)
Some of our friends grew quite envious, as they were staying in the hotel’s abandoned butler’s quarters, which had been repainted that day. Our friends had to literally pick up the pieces of their bed lying in the front yard, carry them inside and make their own bed.
Mistakenly picturing chandeliers and butlers, I immediately jumped at the chance. I was to soon find out, things aren’t always as they seem on the surface, another surprise awaited me.
(At least our luggage was still in the lobby!)
Hotel Habou, here we come.