After arriving at Luxor Airport, we arranged a taxi to our hotel, dropped off our bags and then headed directly to lunch at the Marsam Hotel. Long famous as the preferred location for visiting archeologists (due to its proximity to the Valley of the Kings), the hotel features an on-site organic garden where much of the menu’s produce is sourced. The food was excellent (clay pot chicken, clay pot sweet potatoes for Tate, crispy fries, a fresh salad and glasses of cool Egyptian hibiscus tea).

The Al Moudira is a stunning hotel on the west side of Luxor. We met the owner, Madame Zeina, and learned it took her three years to build it mainly due to the intricacy of the hand painting that adorns much of the property. To me, it’s like stepping back in time to the 1930’s; everything in the lobby, formal bar, lounges, etc. harkens back to a time of glamour. You wouldn’t feel out of place wearing furs and jewels; I broke out my favorite patterned caftan to wear to one of our two dinners in the main courtyard. The hotel grounds are extensive, you can walk for 5-10 minutes without seeing anyone. The colors are so vivid and you can see where Madame Zeina took inspiration for the wall colors from pieces of furniture or flowering plants. The staff are top notch: kind, helpful and solicitous of our comfort at all times. You can book the onsite hammam for a restful soak and steam but we ended up not finding time to squeeze that in. Next visit!

Because we requested a two bed suite, we were given Room 2 which is officially my favorite in the entire hotel (Madame Zeina graciously arranged a tour so I could see some of the other rooms – each was exquisite in its own way but I still loved ours the best). The night before our guided tour of the Necropolis (City of the Dead), we watched “Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark” for inspiration to enter the cramped quarters of some of the sub-terranean tombs.