This post may contain affiliate links. I only recommend excursions, products and tours that I have personally used and purchased myself. If you click on a link and make a purchase, I may receive a very small commission at no extra cost to you. All proceeds go to running this blog and your support is truly appreciated! All opinions are my own. Across the world in upper Egypt, you’ll find a mysterious place. A place filled with ancient temples and alabaster and onyx pottery. Meanwhile, wild animals graze along the Nile river. Besides that, you can see awe inspiring hieroglyphics with your own eyes. Surely, Luxor is a history book come to life. Luxor is a much smaller city than Cairo. While Cairo is home to more than ten million people, Luxor is home to just a bit over a million. Certainly, there are accommodation options, but I wouldn’t say there are tons. One of the standout properties is Djorff Palace. We really need to talk about this hotel, so let’s begin. Djorff Place is a dream that came to life in 2010. Egypt native, Mohamed Fawy in partnership with a British woman named Dr. Marina and her late husband, David Speak ideated and built Djorff Palace. Mr. Speak passed away before the Palace was finished. It is my understanding that Mr. Fawy is the architectural visionary behind Djorff Palace and Dr. Marina, among other things, has decorated the property. She traveled near and far and scoured Cairo for the perfect pieces to bring their inspiration to life. The idea was to create a place that felt like a distinguished, old Egyptian Palace. Everything from the artwork, to the area carpets to the pottery are regional pieces to engulf their guests in palatial charm. I’d say that they accomplished what they set out to do. Djorff palace is a masterpiece. Luxor is comprised of two parts – the East and West Bank. Basically, the Nile River runs right smack dab in the middle of the city. Djorff Palace is located on the West Bank. Surprisingly, the hotel is nestled in a rural setting. If you are seeking an accommodation that feels worlds apart from the ‘usual,’ then the location of Djorff Palace might be right for you. Surrounded by greenery, wild animals grazing alongside the Nile River, lots of trees, you’ll likely feel a sense of ease and calm that is sincerely welcomed. Generally, you likely won’t be taking to foot to meander Luxor. Especially if the weather is extremely hot, it’s best to have a guide take you to all the sites you want to go to in an air conditioned vehicle. However, if you are looking for a hotel right smack in the midst of it all, surrounded by many food options and shops, this would not be the accommodation selection for you. You should consider what kind of environment you’d like to be in after a busy day of sight seeing! The hotel has as large pool and lounging area. Although the sun is intense and there really isn’t any shade while in the pool, there are lots of shade umbrellas available on the deck. The property has an on-site restaurant, (alcohol-free) bar and coffee shop. Breakfast is included daily with your stay and you can opt to have breakfast in your room! In fact, you can have any meal you wish in your room or balcony by ordering room service. Djorff Palace provides one water bottle per guest, per day. Additionally, if you need to get across the Nile to the East bank, Djorff Palace provides its guests with complimentary motorboat services. When you select your guest room, please keep in mind some allow smoking. Out of the 18 guest rooms, 9 are smoking and 9 are non smoking. Out of the rooms available, I chose the Sapphire room. It was found at the end of a quiet corridor in the Palace and had a distant view of the Nile from the balcony. The en suite bathroom is small to average sized. However, sufficiently appointed with toiletries and has fairly good water pressure. Like the rest of the room and palace, the bathroom is very tastefully decorated. The living room has a sitting area, mini refrigerator (always lovely to have one of these), and a closet armoire to hang your clothing. There is an old style rotary phone in the room that actually works, which you can use to contact the front desk. Sigh. When it comes to hotels, here is something disheartening I’ve encountered: an aesthetically ravishing property doesn’t seem to get the service portion quite right. The service at Djorff palace is hard to place, as its a story of polarity. Occasionally, I encounter this. It’s not by any means common, but the irony is that it’s usually the most beautiful, ornate custom built hotels that have the most disjointed service experience. Most of the staff at Djorff Palace is absolutely lovely and kind. However, the gentleman at the front desk seemed to be very curt and at times, a bit rude. There was another person working in the restaurant that seemed to be a bit… passive aggressive at times. Regardless, those incidents are minor in comparison to the chain smoking, frazzled, often cantankerous Dr. Marina. She can be a bit aloof and told us we looked like hell one day (to be fair, we were quite tired that day). Moreover, when we were leaving the hotel, we bid her adieu and she snapped at us while smoking a cigarette. To be fair, aside from her, rather… prickly personality she did seem like she does care about the welfare of her guests and did set us up with a private car to take us from Luxor to Marsa Alam. The hotel and entire property feels very safe. The main entrance to the check in desk of the hotel has twenty four hour guards. There are also guards at every entry point of the property. At night, the hotel is very quiet and serene. Furthermore, it’s important no matter where you travel or when staying anywhere, that common sense leads the way. In this situation, not going out onto the pastures or near the Nile River at night, because, there’s, you know… wild animals everywhere. That sorta thing. There is an on-site restaurant at Djorff Palace that serves thoughtful, high quality local fare. Besides having indoor and outdoor seating, there is also a hotel bar. The bar does not serve alcohol. However, it serves a wide range of non-alcoholic drinks, fresh fruit juice, coffee, teas and light snacks that can be ordered all day. As mentioned earlier, you can have all your meals in your room if you wish. You can have them on your balcony or in the restaurant. You can also have beverages and light snacks brought to you by the pool. The grounds of Djorff Palace have countless places to sit and have coffee or tea. I loved that you can have coffee brought to you at one of the tables overlooking the wildlife and greenery. While the palace is magnificent and impressive both in its design and ambiance, I would say the absolute highlight of our stay was going on a felucca cruise. I’d expressed to the owner, Mohamed Fawy, that I’d really wanted to take a Felucca down the Nile before I left Luxor but had yet to book a tour. Despite having looked into many, I couldn’t quite settle on one to book. As fate would have it, Mr. Fawy offered to set us up with a sunset Felucca boat ride that would pick us up right at Djorff Palace’s dock. It was magnificent. Not only was our felucca captain very kind, competent and calm, but he was extremely generous with time. At a certain point, he anchored the Felucca so we could watch the unforgettable sunset on the Nile. He encouraged us to get comfortable and enjoy our time in this magical moment. The Felucca was quite large for three people, so we each had our own entire area to lay out in. Our sunset felucca cruise was over two hours and we were able to bring beverages from the hotel restaurant on the cruise with us. This amazing experience was only 200 Egyptian pounds or $12.00 USD. Worth every penny is an understatement. Would I stay at Djorff Palace again? This is a tough question. On the one hand, half the staff and the owner Mohamed Fawy is absolutely delightful, doting and kind. On the other hand, there were a few odd or questionable encounters with the other owner and some of the staff members. We also had light stomach issues the whole time we stayed there and mainly consumed food and beverage from the property. That being said, it could’ve been a case of mild travelers belly more than anything else. The atmosphere, rooms, amenities and food are all great. The palace is truly a masterpiece and all of the decorative touches are beautiful. Djorff Palace is truly one of the most unique hotels I’ve stayed in – have yet to stay in anything quite like it. If I found myself in Luxor again, I might give them another chance, because the property is so beautiful. Do you have any questions about staying at Djorff Palace? If so, drop them in the comments below! Check these out! Want to know how I travel so frequently? By booking jaw-dropping flight deals that are often so low you’d have to see ’em to believe it. The best part? They’re sent right to my inbox. You can try it out for free: here. I exclusively use this site to book all my stays. I get 20% off on all my stays plus additional perks from their loyalty program. Check it out! Get reliable travel medical insurance for your trip, for just $2 a day – here Looking for a flight on a specific date? Use this search engine and start earning rewards! Need to book your excursions and tours? This company is my favorite. This is another marketplace for tours, that is especially great for Europe. Renting a car for your adventure? Discover the right car for your journey: here. Do you love train travel as much as I do? Get your train tickets here! Want to travel in comfort and have lounge access around the world? Get that right here. You know what I love to do when I visit a new city? This!Here is the truth about glamorous Djorff Palace in Luxor
Lodging Type: ★★★ Luxury Boutique Hotel, Palace Hotel
A bit of history about Djorff Palace
Djorff Palace, established in 2010
Where is Djorff Palace located?
The magical Egyptian City, split in two banks
Amenities
Pool area, Food and Beverage options, Motorboat Service and More
The Guest Room
The palace has 18 guest rooms
Sapphire Room
Service
Safety and Security
What’s to eat?
Zeitoun Restaurant
Sunset Felucca Cruise on the Nile River
A truly bucket list worthy moment
Know before you go
Headed to Egypt?
What no one tells you about Egypt – Tips for first timers
7 Spectacular Things to do in Alexandria Egypt
Discover Amazing Things to Do in EGYPT – Cairo Edition
The Fairmont Nile City Hotel Cairo – a GREAT Place to Stay
How to See Magical Luxor in One Day
Here is the truth about Glamorous Djorff Palace in Luxor
Glamping at Marsa Nakari – a unique, unforgettable Experience
Travel resources for YOU to plan an epic trip!
Great review – thank you for honesty.
We can put up with cantankerous but the rooms don’t have aircon. Was this a problem in the bedrooms?
Thanks
Mark
Thank you Mark! You will only find honesty, here. During the fall months – specifically October – it was absolutely no problem that the rooms did not have air conditioning. The weather was tepid, very pleasant, not too cool or warm, with a light breeze outside. What month will you be visiting?