Sofitel Karnak Reviews

The staff at the Sofitel Karnak were the friendliest I have ever encountered. They could not do enough for me and made my holiday extremely enjoyable. My room was cleaned impecably, the waiters were charming and helpful, the chefs were very attentive and helpful with my nut allergy. The reception staff knowledgeable and informative, the pool staff and animation team welcoming and amusing. I will certainly return to this hotel and thoroughly recommend it.

two familys & grandad - ages - 60, 39, 38, 37, 35, 18, 15, 15, 12, 11. hotel was fantastic, just a little more entertainment needed, disco's excellent when done, mixed bag of nationality's which is nice. hotel staff cant do enough for you. breakfast ace, O'Nile restuarant great, Sandowner bar ok, Big hello to Nagem, Hasem, and Mohmaud. pool clean, only a 1 day of egyption tummy, which some people say is because you eat the same as at home, but because it was between 42 - 46 most days, it affects your stomach. best thing to do, is eat big breakfast, just water and beer in day, then a good dinner. Luxor looks a little scary with tourist police every where, but makes u feel safe. all Egyptian people are on the make, want to make a profit, but just say NO. and they listen and go away. read all the details here and for other hotels for the way to conduct your selves and you will be fine. goto satays opposite maxin's for your watchs & souvenirs, well just out of maxims, turn left and walk 100yards over the other side of the road. gold shop next to maxims a pleasure too, no hassle. free boat is ace from hotel, you can ride it for free up to winter garden and back. taxi's outside hotel sound as a pound, get a price in egypt pounds, or get free taxi from hotel just dont be taken in by them, or let them take you to alabaster factory or their cousins uncles mate restuarant or coffee shop, they just take the mick. as long as you are straight with them and say no, they are really nice, they will explain some stuff of egypt for free which is nice.

At the beginning of our stay at the SOFITEL KARNAK HOTEL LUXOR we were amazed at the beautiful reception area and how well mannered the staff were, passing through the beautiful grounds, then the downfall, our room, it was thick with dust all over, the television had something poured on it and it had ran down the TV, the fridge was filled with sweets, juice, water and beer (great) but when we went to take a tin of juice out they were all sticking to the fridge due to spillage all over it(an orange coloured substance) then we looked at the bathroom well oh my god it was filthy dirty, the grout on the wall and floor tiles was black, the shower curtain was dirty cream and red with dirt and the shower curtain was all torn and frayed The brochure states the �rooms are richly furnished� well ours certainly was not, we had to wait to the following day to see our rep and informed him of this and we asked for a move of hotel as it was very far out of the centre of Luxor, again the brochure states �close to historic sites of Luxor� IT WAS 20 MINUTES BY COURTESY BUS. The rep did say he would try his best to have some thing arranged to move us, The rep did leave us a note in the very late evening saying that he could get us in to the hotel Sonesta but it would be at a cost to us maybe and that we should contact yourselves in Britain to tell you of our upset at the filthy dirty room, I was not prepared to do this as surely this is up to the rep in resort. Plus I was not paying any further money to have a clean room no matter where it was. There was also no notice board in the hotel for Hays and Jarvis customers� information.

The dining areas in the hotel were very well maintained and staff were all fantastic we could not fault any one of them from the cleaners right up to the management who were always on hand. This hotel 5* yes it certainly was until it came to our room I am sorry but I would not have even given it 2*.

Sofitel Karnak is a fantastic hotel a short distance away from the centre of Luxor.

Although not a walking distance, the hotel provides free air conditioned buses to and from the town dropping you where-ever you like along the way, around about a 5min journey. If this isn't suitable taxi's are available at around £2.50 and nearly all drivers speak very good English.

The hotel itself is very clean and ALL staff are incredibly polite and will do anything they can to ensure your holiday is special. Tips are not expected or asked for, it is entirely your decision and in many cases we were unsure whether giving tips would insult them or not. However in town they are very much welcomed.

We were initially placed in a twin room over-looking the walkway around the outskirts of the hotel. After a polite request to be placed in a kingsize room with a pool view we were quickly re-located and began to enjoy our holiday.

The air-conditioning in the room was a god-send. Each day the temperature was over 45 and many guests stayed in the shade throughout the day. Entertainment is not provided throughout the week which left some guests disappointed, however, after a short trip to a local supermarket for some wine and lager, we were content relaxing in our room with some excellent films on TV.

Drinks are expensive and it is well worth buying from outside the hotel. If you ask the housekeeper to remove all itmes from your mini bar and not to re-fill, this is granted.

Trips are very expensive with the tour operators. Jolly's outside the winter palace is great, cheap prices and excellent service. We did a hot air balloon ride with them which was fantastic, and we were looked after every step of the way. We visited both museums, and both Karnak and Luxor temples without a tour guide. They work on commission and the prices are very much different. The majority of the time you can listen in on the other guides anyway.

Trips to the west bank where the tombs are should be explored only by the strong. We didn't go but many english in the hotel said that the guides do not tell you that it reaches 65 on most days, many were ill from the heat.

Overall, a fantastic holiday!Great people, fantastic culture and an exciting first trip to Egypt.

Hello,
We are just back from Sofitel Hotel Luxor. First of all this is not a 5* hotel it is more like a 3*. It is only 3 years old and showing signs of wear already, ie. mould around the bath and cracked floor tiles in the bathroom. They are re-decorating a section at a time and if you are allocated one of those rooms then it would be ok. The hotel is badly designed with only 4 rooms overlooking the Nile. You would expect many more rooms overlooking and taking advantage of the views. All rooms had balconies but most overlooked a patch of grass although a few did look onto the pool area. I would say that 80% had a poor outlook. That said we never spent any time on the balcony as there were ample sun-beds looking over the Nile or at the swimming pool. If you tip the pool attendant he will place towels on sun-beds for you each day.

I was disappointed no chocolates and only once were our towels or bedding arranged in a pleasant way.(with our Nile cruise on Ms. SUNRAY we were treated to this every day/night).

Food at the hotel was good, we were only bandb and had a few meals and eat in the ONILE at the rear of the hotel overlooking the Nile. If you eat at the pool you will be annoyed by the flies they never stop.

Regarding Excursions. I read on here about Abdel. I was a bit unsure but met him in his shop (a supermarket in Karnak AL OLA MARKET if you ask the bus driver to stop outside his shop he will do so). Don't be put off because it is a supermarket I have no complaints about him at all and he gave wonderful prices. Our day trip to Cairo pick-up, flights, pick up there with a guide (ours was an Egyptian history teacher) lunch and any sights we wanted to see and back to the airport, finally returned to the hotel for £125 each. Hot air Balloon trip £35 each (a fantastic experience). Horse riding £10 each but later found it only cost £5 from the hotel.
His transports are all new and fully covered by insurance etc.. He can arrange anything ie. Accommodation / cruises / trips / airport uplifts etc.

There is a small supermarket at the entrance to the drive leading up to the hotel where you can buy water for E£ 1.5 and cans of drinks for E£ 5 (E£ 10 and E£11 at the hotel). If you want to buy Gold then Yorkshire Bob was the best we found. His shop is on the same side as Maximes but a 100m further away from Karnak. A taxi from the hotel is only E£ 25 if you combine a bit of shopping with a meal at one of the many great places to eat around that area then well worth the £5.00 return taxi fare. Or you can get the free hotel bus to the Winter Palace and walk the rest this would take you about 15-20 mins. Try and count the number of times you will be honked at by a taxi or asked if you want a carriage. (After 50 or so it gets a bit annoying)