Arrived on Nov 15th to unbroken sunshine, which stayed at about 27 degrees for the week we were there, not a cloud in the sky. The new winter palace looks like an office block attached to the super splendid old winter palace. The rooms were fine, even with the dodgy pink paint on the skirting boards. However, i go on holiday for the sun and to relax, i only use my room to sleep and for this, it managed perfectly! Proper wooden sun loungers and big thick mattresses by the pool, with towel service. nice.

For those not accustomed to africa, there is a fair amount of hassle when you hit the streets, boys asking if you want to a boat ride, horse and carriage, taxi, newspaper, shoe shine etc etc, a firm NO, repeated about 5 times whilst walking away and you are fine. Show any sign of weakness and they will pounce.

Never ate at night in the hotel at all, much cheaper to head to one of the few restaurants there are in Luxur. Most expensive main course i found was 60 egyptian punds which is about 6 british. super cheap. Ate a few times at the restaurant across the road from the hotel in the Nile shopping centre. This was also a perfect spot for post-sunbathing beers at 4:30 to watch the sun go down. Also ate at the restaurant tied to the Royal Oak pub (taxi ride away) Now, according to the Lonely Planet, this was a little britain truck stop cafe, but it is now under new management, so we tried it. Had the local tagen, superb, would thoroughly recommend it.

Booked our own guide and taxi to take us to the Valley of the Kings rather than on a big coach trip. Worked out cheaper and had the undivided attention of the guide. Booked that at a little travel shop just in front of the Old Winter Palace.

This is Africa, so everything is up for negotiation, just work out what you would like and ask

Really nice hotel with beautiful old decor and it has recently been repainted and refurbished. Curtains and bed spread colours and design were a bit scary though. We originally booked at the new Winter Palace but that was terrible. The Old Winter Palace links with the new but it is a totally different experience. We had one of the very large rooms and it had a fantastic view over the gardens which was great to relax in after a day seeing the sights. The staff were excellent except for a mini bar arguement as we were checking out and the bar is a great place to get a drink. The food was good - particularly at the pool restaurant. Hotels in Egypt don't seem to understand the mini bar concept. We stayed at 5 hotels in Egypt and not one of them checked and re-filled the mini bar. At this hotel we specifically asked them to check the day before and checked out the night before as we were leaving at 4am to catch a plane. There was quite a bit of commotion as they delayed us to check the mini bar - then the man didn't come back all while our transfer vehicle was being held up.

My boyfriend, I and three other friends stayed at this hotel in Dec 05 for 2 days. Have to say it was a pretty good experience. The hotel itself is very beautiful, very nice garden and pool area. We had a nice view from our balcony. Thought the elevator was a bit small tho. Breakfast was very good and the food from pool bar was great too, one of the the best hotel food we had during our trip in Egypt. The only thing we would not recommend is the massage. The only reason we tried it was because the masseuses were walking around asking people to sign up for massage deals.

Oh my word...

My wife and I stayed in the Royal Suite in the Old Winter Palace for three days as part of our honeymoon tour of Egypt. It is without doubt the best hotel experience of our lives.

The Royal Suite is just superb, especially having breakfast on the balcony. The staff made us feel like royalty and could not be more helpful.

The resteraunts and bar are staffed by lovely people who are friendly but professional. The quality of the food was great , and not too expensive.

If you want the ultimate in romantic luxury then this is the hotel room to book.