Guest Book

Fantastic choice in Luxor

"Two friends and I traveled to Luxor at the end of May. We debated on which hotel to stay at, and asked Mara numerous questions via email. She was always very quick with her response and provided great insight on what she thought we should do with our time. We ended up choosing her room and tour combination, choosing to see the West Bank as well as Abydos and Dendera, and could not have been more pleased.

Mara arranged a driver to pick us up from the airport (thankfully, as there were some very aggressive taxi drivers there trying to get our business). From there we set off on our first tour with a very knowledgeable guide and driver. The information provided by the guide at each location was great. Due to the huge drop in tourism, we were also able to walk right into many sights that our guide says are normally very packed.

The next day we did the Abydos and Dendera tour, which exceeded expectations. I think Dendera was my favorite site in all of Luxor, so thanks for the suggestion, Mara! During each of our nights, we also saw the Luxor and Karnak temples with transportation arranged by Mara's staff.

Bottom line with the tours: I thought they provided great information and were a good value for what was included. The ability to combine the airport transfers, room, and tours into one rate was very easy and definitely the best option for us.

Mara House itself is a very clean and lovely boutique hotel, with a really nice rooftop terrace. We were the only guests at the time, and staff truly went out of their way to make sure we had everything we could think of. We stayed in a suite with two bedrooms, 1 bath, a terrace, and kitchen. The mini fridge was well stocked with water and beer, and easily the most reasonable prices I've ever seen at a hotel. Coffee and tea are also available at all times.

Mara also provides a book full of information upon arrival, including local restaurant recommendations, tipping guidelines (very helpful!), local attraction information, etc.

RE: security in Egypt at this time, I wanted to mention that we, as 3 women, felt 100% safe at all times. I believe that many times the news may sensationalize things for a great story, and I wouldn't want to understate anything going on in the country right now, but we never felt like anything happening politically affected our trip in a negative way. Obviously we stayed away from any planned protests, but other than that didn't take any other special precautions. The Egyptian people are hurting badly because of this drop in tourism, so if you've ever wanted to go to Egypt, this is definitely the time to go!

One other note...I believe Mara also has a location in Cairo that I would check out if I returned. We used hotel points for a hotel in Cairo so that it was free, but if I returned, I would definitely check out the accommodations she has to offer before looking elsewhere.

Many thanks to Mara and her staff for a trip of a lifetime!"