Marsam Hotel

a genuinely interesting place to stay

Marsam Hotel is an historic and relatively simple accommodation option in the Luxor area.

If your prime areas of interest are the fabulous archaeological sites of the West Bank (Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens etc.), then staying in this vicinity makes an enormous amount of sense.

Originally a base for archaeological expeditions in the early 1900s, Marsam was converted into an hotel in 1936, making it by far the oldest property in this area.

Although this place is essentially very simple, its historic roots, the lovely courtyard restaurant and the friendly staff make it feel like more than a sum of its parts.

The fact that the restaurant here is a renowned lunch stop for people visiting the local sites means that the place can get a bit busy during the day, but also that the food is reliably good.

Guest accommodation is in a total of 36 rooms, far more than we have ever managed to find, it feels much smaller and more intimate than that number implies. We tend to recommend the three larger suites and the two junior suites, although the other rooms that also have private bathrooms are also serviceable. The simplest rooms with shared bathrooms are incredibly good value, if that’s your thing.

We usually recommend a three night stay, which gives you two full days in this rural area, preferably including lesser-visited sites like Medinet Habu temple, usually only venturing into the busy city to see Karnak temple on the day of departure. If you add a fourth night, then you can add the fascinating and much more remote archaeological sites at Dendera and Abydos.

Clearly, Marsam Hotel is not for everyone, but we are big fans. The historic credentials here are so much more authentic and impressive than the much-vaunted Winter Palace Hotel. The place has real personality. It attracts a really interesting group of guests, who tend to be well-travelled and fascinated by the historic excavations in this area.

If you prefer something more opulent, then Al Moudira Hotel is the stand-out option.

We usually recommend deploying at least three nights in Luxor, since the handful of hotels on the west bank are both unusually high quality and very relaxing.

The more time you spend here, the more likely you are to get under the surface of the place, avoid the crowds and get out to some of the lesser-known sites.

Seasonality

Luxor experiences a conventional northern hemisphere climate, with a pleasantly warm dry winter Nov-Mar and an uncomfortably hot dry summer centred on May-Sep.

During the Nov-Mar winter season the daytime temperatures typically reach a balmy 25C, with night-time temperatures plunging to a chilly 8C. These warm (rather than hot) conditions have led to winter being the most popular time to visit, meaning that visitor numbers reach their peak, especially around Dec-Jan. We therefore recommend November to mid-December and mid-January to March (excluding a week either side of Easter), although even then you probably need to deploy traffic avoidance measures when visiting the key sites.

The month of April represents a transition between winter and summer conditions and, in many ways, offers the best of both worlds, with visitor traffic also being relatively low (except for a week either side of Easter).

During the May-Sep summer season the daytime temperatures typically reach 41C, with nighttime temperatures holding up around 23C. These conditions are generally considered to be too hot and visitor numbers are much reduced.

The month of October represents a transition between summer and winter conditions and, in many ways, offers the best of both worlds, with visitor traffic also being relatively low.

Most trips spend 12-16 nights exploring the Nile Valley in a north to south direction. Luxor usually comes second, after the pyramids in Cairo and before a boat trip down to Aswan.

Getting there

Luxor is usually the second stop on an Egypt trip, after Cairo.

Guests returning to Egypt on subsequent trips may choose to avoid Cairo completely and fly directly into Luxor. Notably there are direct flights from London.

Most of our guests fly from Cairo to Luxor, but it is also possible for more intrepid travellers to take the overnight train.

The most popular way to leave is on a cruise boat, four to five nights south down the river to Aswan. This leg can easily be done in a few hours by train, or can be done by road if you want to visit the various sites along the way.

usually 3-4 nights between Giza and Aswan