Marsam Hotel

Luxor

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The oldest hotel on the west bank, the Marsam was originally built in the 1920s as a house for archaeologists from the University of Chicago, but was later turned into a hotel by Sheikh Ali of the local Abd El Rasoul family. The family have run it ever since. Work in 2013 left the hotel looking its best.

Twenty of the 36 rooms have en-suite bathrooms and air-con, while the others have fans, but all retain the simple mud-brick design and bare furnishings. The courtyard, open to fields and the excavations of the Temple of Amenhotep III, is a lovely, shaded place to sit – a delicious breakfast with home-baked bread is served here. Atmospheric and quiet, and close to almost all the west bank sights, it remains popular with archaeologists, so you need to book ahead, particularly during the dig season (roughly from October to March). If you can't get a room, stop by for lunch or a cold beer at the end of a hot day seeing the tombs.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

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