Sheraton Luxor Resort: Don’t Leave the 4th Floor

The Sheraton Luxor Resort Hotel Review is part of the Trip Report Athens Marathon: The Original Course which includes the following cities:

• Toronto, Canada
• Detroit, Michigan 
• London, England
• Athens, Greece
• Giza, Egypt
• Cairo, Egypt
• Luxor, Egypt
• Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt
• Abu Dhabi, UAE

Click here for the picture preview.

Getting There: A taxi is the only way to get to the airport. I paid 30 EGP but the rate should be 20 EGP. The police price is 90 but that means nothing. On the way back I paid a little bit more since it was the middle of the night.

If you’re going to the Sheraton Luxor Resort I hope you stay in room 408 which is the best room in the hotel. The club level is the only way to go as the service is absolutely terrible everywhere else. I’m going to go in reverse order and start with the ugly, proceed to the bad, and end up with the good.

Before I begin, I would like to point out that overall I didn’t enjoy my time in Luxor (see the Luxor Travel Guide after this post) because I was bamboozled, swindled, and preyed upon from the moment I landed till the moment I left.

The Ugly 

The staff at the front desk is ugly. Physically, they look fine but their attitude and lack of professionalism make them unattractive. Upon arrival, I presented our passports to the woman working the front desk. Forget the customary, “Welcome to the Sheraton Mr. Bachuwa, we appreciate your loyalty as a platinum guest.” I didn’t even receive a hello. Instead, while avoiding eye contact, the woman said that my reservation was for one person not two and that Ms TPOL would have to get her own room.

A little angry and insulted, I told her that I had booked a room that could accommodate three people. I’m not sure if she was inferring that I was living in sin and that I couldn’t have an unwed woman stay with me or if she was just oblivious to the fact that adding people to a reservation ahead of time is not an SPG policy. Either way Ms TPOL was not happy with her disapproving eyes.

Showing restraint, I had a seat and a few minutes later another buffoon showed up. He tried to tell me that I didn’t book my reservation through SPG so they were having trouble locating it. I took out my phone and pulled up the SPG app. Then I handed him my phone. Bewildered, he stared at my phone and unexpectedly took off into the back with it.

“George is getting upset!” I mumbled to myself as I waited for him to return. Finally, he did and said that my reservation was now ready and the confusion came from the fact that I had used the SPG Best Rate Guarantee to book my room. After that misunderstanding, he graciously escorted me to the fourth floor and gave me a tour of my room. I’m guessing that he nor anyone else had been in the room for quite a while as he didn’t know his way around e.g., he opened the closet and explained it was the bathroom. Sensing he was nervous, I told him to relax and that everything was fine. The room was beautiful, the view of the Nile was good (nothing can compare to the Le Meridien Pyramids at this point), and the balcony was enormous.

Later that morning, Mr. Anxious called and asked me how my room was. I told him it was great and thanked him for checking. Before hanging up the phone, he frantically asked me if I was going to pay for the room. At this point, I was even more annoyed. I said of course I am going to pay for the room. Sounding relieved, he told me to enjoy my stay. To be clear, the hotel had my credit card on file and I don’t know what gave him the impression that I could stay there for a couple of nights and expect to leave without paying.

My last interaction with Mr. Anxious was when I called to ask about the cost of a hot air balloon ride. He quoted me something outlandish and that was the last time I ever spoke to him or anyone else at the front desk, apart from when I reluctantly paid my bill. (said tongue-in-cheek)

Even as I write this review, I am trying to figure out why the staff was acting so strangely. Maybe they hadn’t seen a tourist in so long they forgot how to interact appropriately.

The Bad 

Since the hotel is isolated, it is a bit far from the city center. Taking a taxi is necessary. Don’t bother asking the front desk to call one for you, they’ll charge quadruple the price. Instead, walk out of the hotel, past the security, and wait to be harassed by the idle drivers. The prices will still be outrageous until you say you’d rather walk. Then the price will drop to the 5 to 10 EGP that locals pay.

The Good

The Hotel Grounds 

The hotel is very nice. It has multiple pools, a hot tub, and is located right on the Nile but far enough away from all the scam artists of Luxor. The price is ridiculously cheap because tourism is at an all time low in Egypt. I paid $30 a night using the BRG.

The Room 

The room was huge and the balcony provided a nice getaway from the con men I encountered throughout the city. The prices from the mini bar were worth the slight premium of not venturing out to the liquor store where somehow I still had to haggle to get the ‘friend price’ for beer.

The Club Lounge 

The Sheraton Club Lounge was the best. First and foremost, I can’t say enough about the two employees who staffed the lounge. They treated me like royalty.

“Iskender, the city is yours. Go enjoy it,” one of them told me, referring to the historical legend Alexander the Great. Feeling like Tony Montana, I walked around with an extra bounce in my step that day.

The lounge serves breakfast consisting of anything you would like. We had fresh orange juice, espresso, tea, an omelette, falafel, fruit salad, an assortment of bread, and an Egyptian style pico. It was perfect.

Dinner is also served in the lounge. I had the chicken, she had the fish. It was delicious as well. As a cautionary measure, I would advise against drinking the free wine. I used to think that The Great Wall red wine of China was the worst in the world until I tried these Egyptian reds.

I became friends with the employees and we discussed how tourism was virtually nonexistent in Luxor. Even with the frustration of a dying economy, they remained positive and hopeful. It was a refreshing to hear someone with a positive outlook compared to the bloodhounds I had encountered outside the gate.

Overall 

If you go to Luxor, be sure that you have platinum SPG status or the SPG business card that gives you access to the club lounge. On the fourth floor you will feel at home and you won’t want to leave. Everywhere else, you will feel under siege and overwhelmed.

<==Back to Cairo Travel Guide – Onto Luxor Travel Guide==>