The Winter Palace, located in Luxor, Egypt, was built by the British during the occupation of Egypt in 1886. Being built on the banks of the River Nile, it has a tropical garden with a mystical atmosphere. With all the comforts of a five-star hotel, it has played host to celebrities and royalty for years. (the ancient Egyptians would be proud of this building).

Arriving on a night train from Giza was a pleasant sight. A breakfast on the patio was in order and from there a day to enjoy all the views of Luxor and the surrounding Egyptian area. The hotel is beautiful, with all the trimmings one would expect from a five star hotel, although they have a slight problem with cleanliness. I guess living in an area where rain is scarce, it is difficult to keep clean with the wind constantly blowing dust.

The original intention had been to spend the next night in a newly built Sheraton, however, as is often the case with international travel, our plans changed, the Sheraton was not finished yet. Since no one had informed us of this, we had nowhere to stay or leave our luggage for the day.

Both our tour guide and the hotel manager assured us that they would find us a place to stay for the night and that our luggage would be fine in the hotel lobby. Having no other choice, they all reluctantly left all of our worldly goods in the lobby and, hoping never to see them again, embarked on a full day of sightseeing.

You should never take a trip to Egypt without visiting this area, much of the world’s ancient history is on display here, with Karnak, the Valley of the Kings, the Valley of the Queens, many ancient Egyptian temples and shrines are located within short drive away, also not to miss King Tut’s tomb. This is not a Club Med vacation, but everyone should experience this at least once in their lifetime.

Returning to the Winter Palace around 4pm, we were greeted by one of the other members of our group who said that we had the option to spend the night at the hotel manager’s house on the other side of the Nile River, located near the Valley. of the Dead. Yes falling asleep in the Valley of the Dead is a good idea, but it was better than plan B. (Sleeping on the sofa in the lobby of the Winter Palace).

Some of our friends were quite envious as they were staying in the hotel’s abandoned butler room, which had been repainted that day. Our friends had to literally pick up the pieces of their bed from the front yard, bring them inside, and make their own bed.

Mistakenly imagining chandeliers and butlers, I immediately jumped at the opportunity. Soon I would find out, things are not always what they seem on the surface, another surprise awaited me.

(At least our luggage was still in the lobby!)

Hotel Habou, here we go.