Guest Book

An oasis in Luxor

"What a relief to step off the overnight train from Cairo (worth doing even if 5 hrs late) and be met by Mara and her driver. After traveling on our own for 2 weeks in Lebanon, Syria, and now Egypt, it was a delight to be welcomed to Mara House. It's a boutique hotel/B&B (breakfast is included) with "rooms" the size of flats. Yes, Mara House is on the "wrong" side of the tracks, but it feels "right" to be staying in a true Luxor neighborhood with children playing in the side streets and to be away from the buskers and tourist shops. We felt safe walking from the Nile River area to Mara House, even at night.

We stayed 3 nights, took 2-1/2 days of tours (Mara even sent us off with great bag lunches for one of our tours), and really enjoyed dinner (and the company of a couple from Switzerland) at Mara House's restaurant. The common areas were comfortable; it was relaxing to have a drink from the well-stocked bar while checking email with the free wi-fi (also worked in our rooms). We even took advantage of the very reasonable and super prompt laundry service; they do it there.

Without a doubt, I would return to Mara House again--we are so happy we decided to skip the cruise ships and see the sights from our base in Luxor. After reading Mara's extensive website before our trip, I felt well prepared thanks to her practical advice. Mara loves to solve problems or concerns a traveler may have; she got us on our way to Aswan via the morning train (it even left on time!) and helped us plan travel arrangements to Abu Simbel."