"A hotel fit for royalty" Pavillon Winter Luxor Tip by Tijavi

OK, I couldn't possibly afford to stay here, but this hotel is worth featuring for its historical signficance. Completed in 1886 on the east bank of the Nile amidst lovingly-landscaped gardens, the Winter Palace Hotel exudes a romantic Victorian aura that has captivated celebrities and royalty alike. It is told that the hotel's first new year's eve party, a masked costume ball, was attended by crown princes and princesses from Europe and Far East.

The hotel's august guest list includes:
ing Farouk and King Fouad of Egypt, the Agha Khan, Empress Eugenie of France, the Tsar and Tsarina of Russia, King Juan Carlos of Spain and Prince Charles. Sir Winston Churchill, Field Marshal Montgomery, President Giscard d'Estaing, President Gamal Abd el Nasser, President Anwar El Sadat and President Hosny Moubarak. President Jimmy Carter and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Margaret Tatcher and Chancellor Helmut Kohl, Agatha Christie and archeologist Howard Carter (of Tatankhamun's tomb fame), veteran Egyptian actor Omar El Sherif, etc.

The hotel is now ran by the Sofitel hotel group. There is a new wing, flatly called New Winter Palace Hotel, that does not even possess an ounce of the old wing's grandeur (and history, needless to say).

So if you have a fat bank account and want to be pampered like royalty, this is the hotel for you. Just be kind enough to share your experience with us.

Address: Corniche el-Nil, Luxor East Bank
Comparison: most expensive
Price: US$180 and up
Theme: Hotel