I’ve finally gathered reviews and comments about Mara House and our Salahadeen Restaurant here on my own website. There aren’t many for Salahadeen, as it’s been open only to Mara House guests for years and TripAdvisor has since removed those reviews. These come from TripAdvisor, Google Maps, guest blogs, letters, and other kind words shared over time. Some are missing, as I hadn’t realized TripAdvisor began deleting reviews from tour guests who did their tours with us but who didn’t stay at Mara House. I hope these words give you a true sense of who we are and what Mara House is all about. Enjoy, Mara
471 entries.
Fantastic Guest House
My wife and I, both in our 70's, stayed here for 5 days in Luxor with tour arrangements handled by Mara and her team for Aswan and Cairo. I was surprised by some recent negative reviews but understand that some people might have unrealistic expectations of a guest house in the third world. We feel the tradeoffs in exchange for the benefits surpassed our expectation, even without considering the low price for our stay. We have travelled extensively in Asia over the years and plan our trips far in advance in order to achieve the best possible experience. Mara was willing to put up with my frequent emails full of questions.
The suite was huge with a separate sitting room and bedroom, both full of antiques. Our wifi worked perfectly. We had a frig in the room. The bathroom is typical for a guest house and is as described on the web site. We had plenty of hot water and the shower drained onto the perfectly sloped floor and was dry and clean within 3-5 minutes. We always bring our own soap, shampoo, and tissues on trips which we have found needed at guest houses even in Europe.
Food was excellent. Breakfasts were enough for two meals. We expressed interest in local foods so Amr prepared different foul and soft Egyptian cheeses for us daily. Each day we had a sampling of local pastries, fresh bread and in season fruits. A vegetarian feast was served at our request one evening, and we had the best koshary of our trip one day for lunch. Most of our dinners were taken in local restaurants. Transportation was arranged for us which came on time and was always ready for us when we were ready to depart. Amr even accompanied us shopping, to places we chose, without being dragged to the large group tour stores with their inflated prices and commissions as is typical of Egypt. He also went with us on a caleche tour as well as a felucca trip to make sure everything went smoothly.
We felt that we had been welcomed into a private home, with children interacting with us and avoided the sterile atmosphere of a hotel.
We chose Mara specifically because we felt that her relationships with local guides and transport would be vastly superior to random guides arranged by a large hotel. We were not disappointed. We spent two days on the west bank, one on the east, and another on a trip to Abydos and Dendera, all accompanied by her inhouse guide Mo.
Mo accompanied us to Aswan stopping at Esna, Edfu and Kom Ombo on the way. We spent three additional days with him in Aswan. He even called us twice to check on us after we got to Cairo.
Tours in Cairo were arranged through Mara as well. She even set up an expeditor to get us through the airport in Cairo on arrival and departure smoothly, much faster than we could have managed on our own-also typical of third world travel.
I think that those with negative reviews might have had unrealistic expectations. We felt that we had a great experience at a low price.
Travelled as couple in May 2023. Reviewed on TripAdvisor
My wife and I, both in our 70's, stayed here for 5 days in Luxor with tour arrangements handled by Mara and her team for Aswan and Cairo. I was surprised by some recent negative reviews but understand that some people might have unrealistic expectations of a guest house in the third world. We feel the tradeoffs in exchange for the benefits surpassed our expectation, even without considering the low price for our stay. We have travelled extensively in Asia over the years and plan our trips far in advance in order to achieve the best possible experience. Mara was willing to put up with my frequent emails full of questions.
The suite was huge with a separate sitting room and bedroom, both full of antiques. Our wifi worked perfectly. We had a frig in the room. The bathroom is typical for a guest house and is as described on the web site. We had plenty of hot water and the shower drained onto the perfectly sloped floor and was dry and clean within 3-5 minutes. We always bring our own soap, shampoo, and tissues on trips which we have found needed at guest houses even in Europe.
Food was excellent. Breakfasts were enough for two meals. We expressed interest in local foods so Amr prepared different foul and soft Egyptian cheeses for us daily. Each day we had a sampling of local pastries, fresh bread and in season fruits. A vegetarian feast was served at our request one evening, and we had the best koshary of our trip one day for lunch. Most of our dinners were taken in local restaurants. Transportation was arranged for us which came on time and was always ready for us when we were ready to depart. Amr even accompanied us shopping, to places we chose, without being dragged to the large group tour stores with their inflated prices and commissions as is typical of Egypt. He also went with us on a caleche tour as well as a felucca trip to make sure everything went smoothly.
We felt that we had been welcomed into a private home, with children interacting with us and avoided the sterile atmosphere of a hotel.
We chose Mara specifically because we felt that her relationships with local guides and transport would be vastly superior to random guides arranged by a large hotel. We were not disappointed. We spent two days on the west bank, one on the east, and another on a trip to Abydos and Dendera, all accompanied by her inhouse guide Mo.
Mo accompanied us to Aswan stopping at Esna, Edfu and Kom Ombo on the way. We spent three additional days with him in Aswan. He even called us twice to check on us after we got to Cairo.
Tours in Cairo were arranged through Mara as well. She even set up an expeditor to get us through the airport in Cairo on arrival and departure smoothly, much faster than we could have managed on our own-also typical of third world travel.
I think that those with negative reviews might have had unrealistic expectations. We felt that we had a great experience at a low price.
Travelled as couple in May 2023. Reviewed on TripAdvisor
We only stayed 1 night, they welcomed us fantastically having arrived at 7 in the morning, we rested a bit from the trip and they prepared a typical breakfast for us there. Then we went to see the Valley of the Kings, the Temple of Karnak and that of Luxor and Amr provided us with a taxi that was with us all day, also very kind M'Hammad we laughed a lot with him, and at the end of the day, they prepared an exquisite dinner for us. Very kind and friendly people, of course if I return to Egypt and stop in Luxor they will be my number 1 option.
Amir is fantastic!
Hiiiii! Home away from Home in Luxor!
It was a pleasant surprise, fun, and the food was delicious! If you want to have an experience not in city center with an Egyptian family. This place is perfect. And it’s immaculate too!
Amir and his family became our friends. Every single thing we needed or wanted was there for because of Amir! He was the best!!!!! We even went shopping with him in town.
However, if you want to spend time with Mara bc you are interested in the mystical, mysterious part of Om Setty make sure she is there. She is not often there. That was my one disappointment.
Travelled as couple Feb 2023 Reviewed on TripAdvisor
Hiiiii! Home away from Home in Luxor!
It was a pleasant surprise, fun, and the food was delicious! If you want to have an experience not in city center with an Egyptian family. This place is perfect. And it’s immaculate too!
Amir and his family became our friends. Every single thing we needed or wanted was there for because of Amir! He was the best!!!!! We even went shopping with him in town.
However, if you want to spend time with Mara bc you are interested in the mystical, mysterious part of Om Setty make sure she is there. She is not often there. That was my one disappointment.
Travelled as couple Feb 2023 Reviewed on TripAdvisor
10 out of 10
by Caleb on
Hotels.com
Very comfortable with extra hospitality
Posted Apr 30, 2023
My family and I stayed at Mara House for 4 nights. The property is very comfortable and homey in the best way. Amr is a wonderful host, always available to assist in every way and went above and beyond to make us feel comfortable. The neighborhood has no restaurants or really any amenities. I highly recommend asking Amr to cook you dinner. His meals were better than most dining options we discovered in Luxor.
by Caleb on
Hotels.com
Very comfortable with extra hospitality
Posted Apr 30, 2023
My family and I stayed at Mara House for 4 nights. The property is very comfortable and homey in the best way. Amr is a wonderful host, always available to assist in every way and went above and beyond to make us feel comfortable. The neighborhood has no restaurants or really any amenities. I highly recommend asking Amr to cook you dinner. His meals were better than most dining options we discovered in Luxor.
5 out of 5
by Reinhard on
Expedia
Posted Apr 16, 2023
Das Mara House hat sich stark von allen anderen Unterkünften, die wir in Ägypten hatten unterschieden. Dort gibt es kein Plastik und alles ist sehr sauber. Wir können es jedem nur empfehlen.
by Reinhard on
Expedia
Posted Apr 16, 2023
Das Mara House hat sich stark von allen anderen Unterkünften, die wir in Ägypten hatten unterschieden. Dort gibt es kein Plastik und alles ist sehr sauber. Wir können es jedem nur empfehlen.
Good place to stay
Mara house is a well maintained property with spacious rooms. Our unit was a two bedroom with a hall and a pantry . The house was neat and tidy with comfortable beds and furniture with a great artistic mind.
A well maintained terrace is available for all.
Breakfast was provided. The support staff is very good.
The location is very close to Luxor temple, railway station, Gobus station etc.Also Ms. Mara has arranged our Luxor tours at a competitive price.
The only disappointment was the price charged for dinner was exorbitantly high- on a comparable terms the value for the dinner was significantly higher than a Tier 1 Cairo restaurant; not sure an indirect way of charging .
Apart from this all positive for Mara house
Travelled Feb 2022. Reviewed on TripAdvisor
Mara house is a well maintained property with spacious rooms. Our unit was a two bedroom with a hall and a pantry . The house was neat and tidy with comfortable beds and furniture with a great artistic mind.
A well maintained terrace is available for all.
Breakfast was provided. The support staff is very good.
The location is very close to Luxor temple, railway station, Gobus station etc.Also Ms. Mara has arranged our Luxor tours at a competitive price.
The only disappointment was the price charged for dinner was exorbitantly high- on a comparable terms the value for the dinner was significantly higher than a Tier 1 Cairo restaurant; not sure an indirect way of charging .
Apart from this all positive for Mara house
Travelled Feb 2022. Reviewed on TripAdvisor
5 out of 5
by Thomas on
Expedia
Posted Mar 22, 2023
Great place to stay! Amr was amazing and took the time to show us some amazing sites around town and great information to navigate through your trip to Egypt. Would absolutely stay here again. Room was very large and clean. Food was great, I would recommend having dinner there for a homemade local feel. 5/5 for the experience. Thank you!
by Thomas on
Expedia
Posted Mar 22, 2023
Great place to stay! Amr was amazing and took the time to show us some amazing sites around town and great information to navigate through your trip to Egypt. Would absolutely stay here again. Room was very large and clean. Food was great, I would recommend having dinner there for a homemade local feel. 5/5 for the experience. Thank you!
A Lovely Stay
We were looking forward to our visit to Luxor and Mara House ever since we first contacted Mara by email in September 2022 and it did not disappoint. Despite booking international hotels in Cairo, our experience with Mara was much more personalized and that was reassuring. Mara was not only wonderfully responsive and very generous with tips and advice, her website is also packed with great information which was of immense help during our entire Egypt trip.
As expected, our family of 3 thoroughly enjoyed our three nights at Mara House. Amr took such good care of us, making sure my husband, who was coming down with a cold, always had a hot cup of tea on hand. Amr and his lovely wife were also such innovative and excellent cooks, we enjoyed breakfast and dinner at Mara House each day and loved all our delicious meals.
The house itself has such an original and Old World feel. One can imagine one is in old Luxor of the past and that adds to the charm. Add to that the wonderful service (last minute taxis that Amr arranged to drop us off and pick us up at Luxor Temple one night and Karnak Temple the next, packed lunches ordered the night before for our day trips, super early hot breakfasts to get us going before the 7am pick-up by our cruise operator) and you can't beat the experience!
Travelled Dec 2022. Reviewed on TripAdvisor
We were looking forward to our visit to Luxor and Mara House ever since we first contacted Mara by email in September 2022 and it did not disappoint. Despite booking international hotels in Cairo, our experience with Mara was much more personalized and that was reassuring. Mara was not only wonderfully responsive and very generous with tips and advice, her website is also packed with great information which was of immense help during our entire Egypt trip.
As expected, our family of 3 thoroughly enjoyed our three nights at Mara House. Amr took such good care of us, making sure my husband, who was coming down with a cold, always had a hot cup of tea on hand. Amr and his lovely wife were also such innovative and excellent cooks, we enjoyed breakfast and dinner at Mara House each day and loved all our delicious meals.
The house itself has such an original and Old World feel. One can imagine one is in old Luxor of the past and that adds to the charm. Add to that the wonderful service (last minute taxis that Amr arranged to drop us off and pick us up at Luxor Temple one night and Karnak Temple the next, packed lunches ordered the night before for our day trips, super early hot breakfasts to get us going before the 7am pick-up by our cruise operator) and you can't beat the experience!
Travelled Dec 2022. Reviewed on TripAdvisor
Charming hotel and great hospitality
My family and I recently stayed at Mara House and all the credit of our enjoyable stay goes to Amr. Amr, who did everything from taking our bags up three flights of stairs, made us hot tea to welcome us, ordered pizza for our lunch, arranged a taxi to take us to the sites we wanted to see, and, with his wife, made us an amazing dinner and breakfast, is really what made Mara House worth the visit.
I will admit that I had trepidations prior to arriving at Mara House. Mara, the owner, does not come off the best during text exchanges and made me curious as to how she has managed to stay in the hospitality business. I was genuinely worried about how our stay was going to go and if we were to be treated well once we arrived.
Thankfully, Amr more than made up for any hesitation that I had and truly made us feel welcome and taken care of.
As for Mara House itself, it is a very charming place albeit not in the best location. We stayed in many different hotels during our Egypt trip, including The Fairmont in Cairo and The Four Seasons in Alexandria, however Mara House definitely stands out as a unique and wonderful memory in our travels. I would highly recommend staying there, especially for those who enjoy more intimate experiences in their travels.
Travelled with family Dec 2022 Reviewed on TripAdvisor Jan 2023
My family and I recently stayed at Mara House and all the credit of our enjoyable stay goes to Amr. Amr, who did everything from taking our bags up three flights of stairs, made us hot tea to welcome us, ordered pizza for our lunch, arranged a taxi to take us to the sites we wanted to see, and, with his wife, made us an amazing dinner and breakfast, is really what made Mara House worth the visit.
I will admit that I had trepidations prior to arriving at Mara House. Mara, the owner, does not come off the best during text exchanges and made me curious as to how she has managed to stay in the hospitality business. I was genuinely worried about how our stay was going to go and if we were to be treated well once we arrived.
Thankfully, Amr more than made up for any hesitation that I had and truly made us feel welcome and taken care of.
As for Mara House itself, it is a very charming place albeit not in the best location. We stayed in many different hotels during our Egypt trip, including The Fairmont in Cairo and The Four Seasons in Alexandria, however Mara House definitely stands out as a unique and wonderful memory in our travels. I would highly recommend staying there, especially for those who enjoy more intimate experiences in their travels.
Travelled with family Dec 2022 Reviewed on TripAdvisor Jan 2023
The most memorable and special part of Egypt for us was Mara House!
I read Mara's blog for a couple of years, always thinking "someday, when we go to Egypt, I want to stay at Mara House!" And even with all of that buildup of anticipation, she did not disappoint - in fact, our experience surpassed expectations! Mara was so kind and so helpful as we were planning our trip. She found a guide for us in Cairo when our initial plans unexpectedly fell through, and she arranged an awesome guide and driver in Luxor who took my husband and I, and a couple of other charming Mara House guests, to see as many temples and tombs as we could pack in.
But the real treat for me was coming back to Mara House each evening to a home-cooked dinner by Amr, the house manager. So delicious, so healthy - it was food for the soul. We didn't want to eat anywhere else - we were hooked! And being greeted with sweet mint tea... aaaah. Heaven!
My only wish is to meet Mara in person someday (she was out of Egypt at the time, but still so responsive to questions!) and say how much we appreciate what she does and the care with which she does it. Mara House is magical.
Also, special thanks to Amr and his family for all the little touches that make this place feel like visiting a friend's home.
Travelled as couple Dec 2022. Reviewed on TripAdvisor Dec 2022
I read Mara's blog for a couple of years, always thinking "someday, when we go to Egypt, I want to stay at Mara House!" And even with all of that buildup of anticipation, she did not disappoint - in fact, our experience surpassed expectations! Mara was so kind and so helpful as we were planning our trip. She found a guide for us in Cairo when our initial plans unexpectedly fell through, and she arranged an awesome guide and driver in Luxor who took my husband and I, and a couple of other charming Mara House guests, to see as many temples and tombs as we could pack in.
But the real treat for me was coming back to Mara House each evening to a home-cooked dinner by Amr, the house manager. So delicious, so healthy - it was food for the soul. We didn't want to eat anywhere else - we were hooked! And being greeted with sweet mint tea... aaaah. Heaven!
My only wish is to meet Mara in person someday (she was out of Egypt at the time, but still so responsive to questions!) and say how much we appreciate what she does and the care with which she does it. Mara House is magical.
Also, special thanks to Amr and his family for all the little touches that make this place feel like visiting a friend's home.
Travelled as couple Dec 2022. Reviewed on TripAdvisor Dec 2022
See More
- Mara House Luxor – your home away from home
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Photos of Our Suites – Take a look at the rooms you’ll call home.
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Mara House Guest Gallery – Faces and memories from over the years.
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Salahadeen Restaurant & Feast – The story behind our restaurant and its exclusive menu.
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(Coming Soon: Photo Journal of Mara House – from the first brick to today.)