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Winter Palace Luxor is Fit For A French President

Where: CORNISH EL NILE ST, Luxor

Many presidents and prime ministers seem to take the downtime of the Christmas vacation as a chance to get away from their responsibilities and actually have their own vacation--who can begrudge them that?--and the French President Nicholas Sarkozy is no exception. But combine his exotic destination with his new top-model-and-singer girlfriend and the story gets a bit more media attention.

Apparently Sarkozy and his girlfriend Carla Bruni--their relationship was only made public this month, and she's previously been linked to Mick Jagger, Donald Trump and Eric Clapton--have checked into the fit-for-a-president Sofitel Winter Palace Luxor for a few days of vacation in Egypt. It's situated on the east bank of the Nile and perfectly located for touring those incredible sightseeing spots like the Valley of the Kings and Karnak Temple.

The presidential couple are also planning to spend a few days at Sharm El Sheikh, but will be using a private villa for accommodation there. Back at the Winter Palace Luxor, we're not sure how much the kind of room and service expected by a French president will be putting them back, but if us humble people want a room there next week (this week is fully booked), the rates start at a relatively reasonable €345 (almost US$500) for a deluxe room with a view over the Nile.

[Photo: sarahvb]

Related Stories:
· President Sarkozy Takes Carla Bruni to Egypt [IHT]
· Hotels in Luxor [HotelChatter]
· Political Hotel coverage [HotelChatter]

Tags: Egypt Hotel Reviews / Hotel Heaven / → All Tags

Hotel Heaven in Egypt...If You Can Get There

Where: Khaled Ben El Walid Street, Luxor, Egypt

With review titles like "Heaven," Brilliant," and "Wonderful Staff, Wonderful Hotel," it's safe to say the Le Meridien in Luxor is worth a stay. With 228 rooms, some overlook the Nile and others the courtyard, amenities run rampant, and hotel staff is touted as excellent again and again.

Guests can swim in the pool while peering over the ledge at the sailors on the Nile. Jet up into the sky on a hot air balloon or dine in a "sailing felucca." So there is plenty to do and the property is great but we are always interested to read up on the staff:

What a fantastic holiday we had. We can not fault the hotel and all of the staff.  All of the staff were helpful and so friendly. it they appeared more like a family of staff. Rooms were cleaned daily. We requested extra pillows at reception one day and ten minutes after returning to our rooms there was a knock on the door- pillows had arrived.

Voila! A little hotel heaven in Eygpt. Le Meridien and Luxor have done their part in providing a top hotel with superb service. Now if only the political climate would clear up maybe we'd have the guts to jaunt to Egypt without considering a Vegas substitute instead.

Related Stories:
· Le Meridien Luxor Reviews [TripAdvisor]

Tags: Miscellaneous / → All Tags

Amazing Race 5 Hotel Update: Crocidile Island in Luxor Egypt

Where: Crocodile Island, Luxor, Egypt

Ok, Ok, we know, you think we have been slacking on the whole “Amazing Race 5 Hotel Update” chronicles. Truth be told, before last night there had been 5 shows, only two of which featured hotels, so when the show didn’t feature a hotel, we didn’t write about it. Made sense.

However, after a couple of readers asked us where the Amazing Race stories were, and when last nights episode aired and still no hotels were featured, we decided it was time to change things up.

From now on we will attempt to find an Amazing Race hotel to feature, whether or not the contestants interact with the property we feature. Only rule from now on? Hotel we talk about must be located near the pit stop. Our thinking? These folks have to stay somewhere, so we will take a guess at where they might stay.

With that in mind, let’s look at last night’s pit stop: Crocodile Island in Luxor, Egypt.

It just so happens that Crocodile Island has a swank Movenpick resort smack dab in the middle of it. We are venturing a guess that Phil and the gang probably holed up here for their twelve hours between race legs.

Jolie Ville Moevenpick Luxor is a bungalow style resort, where each bungalow has its own private terrace. This resort is packed with pampering and plenty of sports options, all in the middle of the Nile river.

Looks like this resort has a couple cool terrace bars, and be sure to check out the fellahs tent, where the peasants go to get their party on while watching the Egyptian women shake it like a polaroid picture.

Nice to know these pit stops come with a bit of pampering.

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