Royal House Hotel

I should close the hotel is in total abandonment unhealthy full of flies dirty bed linen no basic installation, I wanted to let everything go but I arrived at the hotel 11pm total disappointment the breakfast only powder coffee and bread, the staff who work there are friendly because they only wait for the tip I insist Trip.com should remove from your customer list it is a scam the hotel or hostel

An absolute charmer of a guest house in central Luxor, Maras presents a level of sophistication and style that’s usually well above my pay grade. Our suite (yes, suite - not just a room but an apartment) is a wall to wall mini museum of tapestry, carpets, classic furniture and local art, tastefully pulled together in a manner that makes you feel like a very honoured guest. And that feeling continues when you engage with Mara, Amr and the team - the most genuinely helpful and supportive people I have met on any holiday, and always willing to go the extra mile for your happiness. If you are reading this while planning a holiday - book it now. Suite 4 is a charmer, say yes when Mar offers you tea (the handmade biscuits were astounding), sign up for the feast and visit Abyssinian and Dendara too!

Wow! An oasis! A charming little hotel more like a bend and breakfast. Spacious and comfortable rooms like a step back in time. Amr and Aylie take great care of you tending to your every need. The Salahadeen feast has to be experienced. So delicious! Mo is an amazing tour guide. Very knowledgeable, keeps you away from the crowds. Mara has great recommendations for tours. Highly recommend!!

For an authentic experience, leave the modern hotels behind and enjoy the charm of an Ottoman-styled, private house with rich brocades and oriental furnishings. Modern plumbing and a/c, fridge, kettle and sink keep one in the 21st century (CE!). Manager Amr is a great chef and attentive to culinary tastes. Enjoy the roof deck in the cooler months. Mara and Amr arranged great tours for me. All must be paid for up front and in cash. Bring lots! I had a great stay in Mara House.

Amazing experience at Mara house! Everyone was so friendly, the rooms were beautiful, and the food was amazing! Would absolutely stay again! It’s only about a 15 min walk from the center of the city, and felt very safe the whole time. We loved the hospitality from Amr and Mara was very communicative and helpful!

Just got back from a fabulous stay at Mara House. Our two bedroom suite was spacious and comfortable. The loaded bar was a pleasant surprise, especially with the reasonable prices’ So you really at home, if you want see the real Egypt and experience the local

We had a very mixed experience at Mara House and ultimately would not recommend it to other travelers. On the one hand, the staff were incredibly helpful whenever we asked for something. Some of our family were sick with the Egyptian stomach bacteria and unable to eat anything but bland food. When we brought them eggs to boil and watermelon to cut up, they obliged us happily. They even made us a special tea. And when Mara learned that we were ill, she told us about the bacteria and made sure we had the medicine we needed to get well. The dining room is very elegant and the room was spacious, with neat old furniture. All that said, the hotel was run-down. The bathroom was functional but oddly set up, with the toilet and shower in the same space. And there was no hot water and often the water tap in the shower didn't work. At one point, we went to shower and realized there was no water at all. So we had to walk down several flights of stairs to have them turn it on. We were never provided with a way to reach any staff for help. So we always ran up and down the stairs when we needed them--as did they. Also, there was a giant kitchen, which excited us until we realized that it had no plates, mugs, or utensils--just a few wine glasses. Also they didn't provide the basic things one would expect. E.g., there was no shampoo (we had to ask for it, and a staff member kindly ran to the store at 10 PM at night to get us shampoo, which was too late for us to use that night). They didn't provide even a couple of free bottles of water as every hotel in Egypt does, no matter the price of the hotel. We each got one tiny, thin towel, and there wasn't even a box of tissues anywhere. These are small things, but they make a guest feel welcome and cared for. To us, all of this was reflective of the various ways Mara is cutting corners to cut costs. For instance, when we came into our room (and this was true of the breakfast room, too), the air conditioner had not been started in advance--Luxor is incredibly hot this time of year (like 108 F), and so we were drenched in sweat by the time we settled our bags down or ate our breakfast. When we would leave for a few hours, someone would come in and turn off the A/C if we left it on. We got used to calling in advance to ask them to start it up for us. These cost-cutting measures were in evidence during the booking process, too. We booked on a third party booking website and paid our deposit via Paypal, as she asked, but she wanted the rest of the bill paid in cash when we arrived. We have never been asked to do this during our travels, in and beyond Egypt; we don't like traveling with a lot of cash on us. In sum: the staff was wonderful but the experience was not one we wished to repeat.

My wife and I, both in our 70's, stayed here for 5 days in Luxor with tour arrangements handled by Mara and her team for Aswan and Cairo. I was surprised by some recent negative reviews but understand that some people might have unrealistic expectations of a guest house in the third world. We feel the tradeoffs in exchange for the benefits surpassed our expectation, even without considering the low price for our stay. We have travelled extensively in Asia over the years and plan our trips far in advance in order to achieve the best possible experience. Mara was willing to put up with my frequent emails full of questions. The suite was huge with a separate sitting room and bedroom, both full of antiques. Our wifi worked perfectly. We had a frig in the room. The bathroom is typical for a guest house and is as described on the web site. We had plenty of hot water and the shower drained onto the perfectly sloped floor and was dry and clean within 3-5 minutes. We always bring our own soap, shampoo, and tissues on trips which we have found needed at guest houses even in Europe. Food was excellent. Breakfasts were enough for two meals. We expressed interest in local foods so Amr prepared different foul and soft Egyptian cheeses for us daily. Each day we had a sampling of local pastries, fresh bread and in season fruits. A vegetarian feast was served at our request one evening, and we had the best koshary of our trip one day for lunch. Most of our dinners were taken in local restaurants. Transportation was arranged for us which came on time and was always ready for us when we were ready to depart. Amr even accompanied us shopping, to places we chose, without being dragged to the large group tour stores with their inflated prices and commissions as is typical of Egypt. He also went with us on a caleche tour as well as a felucca trip to make sure everything went smoothly. We felt that we had been welcomed into a private home, with children interacting with us and avoided the sterile atmosphere of a hotel. We chose Mara specifically because we felt that her relationships with local guides and transport would be vastly superior to random guides arranged by a large hotel. We were not disappointed. We spent two days on the west bank, one on the east, and another on a trip to Abydos and Dendera, all accompanied by her inhouse guide Mo. Mo accompanied us to Aswan stopping at Esna, Edfu and Kom Ombo on the way. We spent three additional days with him in Aswan. He even called us twice to check on us after we got to Cairo. Tours in Cairo were arranged through Mara as well. She even set up an expeditor to get us through the airport in Cairo on arrival and departure smoothly, much faster than we could have managed on our own-also typical of third world travel. I think that those with negative reviews might have had unrealistic expectations. We felt that we had a great experience at a low price.