Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Hurrah we now have 91 reviews - Flats in Luxor, Luxor, Egypt - TripAdvisor

A great stay in Luxor - Review of Flats in Luxor, Luxor, Egypt - TripAdvisor: “A great stay in Luxor”
5 of 5 stars Reviewed April 18, 2012 NEW

It was a pleasure to stay with Jane in her Flats in Luxor at Al Gezera for 5 nights in March. It is the perfect location, quiet, a short walk to the ferry to take you across to the East Bank and plenty of local shops to purchase food, internet etc. Jane's helper, Mahomed, prepared 2 beautiful lunches for us and we had a great dinner with Mahmoud at his impressive Tahrir Villa. Watching the hot air balloons drifting across the valley while we ate breakfast was a delight. Jane organised sightseeing trips for us during our stay and provided our driver Ahmed who was very friendly and efficient and always available whenever we needed him, as well as our wonderful guide Hussein who we found to be very knowledgeable. Jane also organised a fascinating trip for us through Middle Egypt with a very competent driver, Rageeb. We would recommend Jane and her Flats in Luxor to anyone considering a stay in Luxor.

Great location, great food and great service – Highly recommended - Review of Flats in Luxor, Luxor, Egypt - TripAdvisor: “Great location, great food and great service – Highly recommended”
5 of 5 stars Reviewed April 13, 2012 NEW

We stayed 10 days in the top-floor Bastet flat at Goubli - with lovely views over the fields towards the Nile - from 2nd to 11th April 2012. This was our second time at the Goubli flats, although we had also used Jane’s guiding services on earlier visits to Egypt.

Our party consisted of two couples and two teenagers, and with three spacious bedrooms, two bathrooms, a large kitchen, and good-sized lounge/dining room we never felt cramped. The balconies provided extra spaces for relaxing, and of course there was always the cool downstairs reception area, rooftop or poolside terrace to escape to.

The apartment was comfortable, good-sized and clean, with bedding and towels provided. Last time we stayed we suggested that it would be good if basic cleaning materials were easily available (i.e. dustpan/mop & bucket) and it was great to find these in the flat. It shows that they really do listen and act upon customer feedback and illustrates how much they care about their guests.

We found all the staff to be very friendly and approachable, and any request was met with smiles and prompt action; great service all round.

We had intended to prepare our own breakfasts, but after trying what was on offer we allowed the staff to prepare and provide breakfast for us each day in the rooftop restaurant with its breathtaking views of the Theban hill; you can even seen Hatshepsut’s temple at Deir el Bahri. They have a new cook on the staff, and the meals were truly excellent; as usual we visited the good local restaurants such as Fayrouz and Africa – but in our opinion the meals at the flat surpassed these in quality, flavour and quantity, and were very reasonably priced as well – so we ended up eating at the flats more often than we had originally anticipated!

Although we are ancient-egyptophiles, this was the first visit to Egypt for the other couple and their two teenage sons, so we asked Jane & Mahmoud if they could arrange some typical tourist activities; we enjoyed a balloon ride at dawn, a donkey & cart tour around the local village, a sunset trip down the Nile with dinner, a trip to Banana Island and Quad biking in the desert. The large swimming pool was also very much appreciated by the boys.

Although the flat is a little way from the main road and ferry this was never a problem as we could easily arrange for a courtesy car to drop us off. It was also easy to arrange taxis for our own day trips so that we could visit the sites at our own pace. A big “Thank you” must go to Captain Ali for his excellent services; a true gentleman. Local shopping is easy too.

There are still fewer tourists in Luxor at the moment, but we felt quite comfortable walking around on both the East and West banks. My sister-in-law remarked that she felt safer than walking in London during the evening.

Thank you to Mahmoud, Jane and the Goubli staff for making our stay so pleasant and memorable. We will definitely be back as soon as we can, although we may stay in the new Villa next to Medinet Habu next time – we had a quick peak at this new development, and the high standard of finish is very impressive. Can’t wait until next time.

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