Getway and relax in Luxor (Jolie Ville Luxor Resort)

Member Name: Ducky78

Product:	Jolie Ville Luxor Resort
Date:	01/08/09 (22 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Beautiful outside areas; great staff; far enough away from the hustle and bustle of Luxor

Disadvantages: The rooms really let this place down

Jolie Ville Luxor
My other half and I stayed at the Jolie Ville the second half of our trip to Egypt in January 2009. The overall holiday was wonderful and has been a highlight of my life - I got engaged while we were here!

The Hotel itself:
Jolie Ville has recently changed ownership to Maritim from Moevenpick. The hotel is located along the Nile on the outskirts of the city of Luxor. It is on its own island known locally as Crocodile Island. It has excellent security - the hotel has it's own security barrier to get on and off the island (the Egyptian's value the tourist industry and have a very pro-active attitude to security). The hotel has two pools - an adults-only pool and an infinity pool overlooking the Nile. It was great to watch all the Nile cruise liners arriving and departing.

The main entrance area has a check in area, shops, a money exchange, seating as well as a display of the upcoming work that is planned. There are also two areas to eat - the bar and the buffet restaurant. The latter is also used as the main spot for breakfast. As you leave the entrance area there is a outdoor area where you can eat, an outdoor bar, a quiet spot for you to watch the sunset, a formal restaurant and an ice-cream booth.
To get to and from the hotel to Luxor there are taxis (which can be more convenient for you); a complimentary shuttle service by bus and by boat - you have to book those at the lobby.

Bedrooms:
I do have to say that we were disappointed with the hotel's bedroom when we first arrived. For such a nice site the rooms are dated. We also didn't have a room with a view. The rooms were clean but it was hard for it to look so nice when everything was so dated (especially the bathroom). Outside each room there was a lounging chair and table for you to use. We spent most of our time at the hotel by the pools. There was an issue with mosquitoes at the hotel and in the rooms. Not sure if it was an issue with the time of year that we were there.

Food and drink:
We were on a bed and breakfast only package. Evening meals could be had in the buffet restaurant, the formal restaurant, the bar or through room service. We didn't eat in the restaurants as I am vegetarian and it wouldn't have been worth it to pay all the money for not very much. We did use room service and the menu was fine.

Alcohol and drinks were very expensive. A glass of wine was the equivalent of £8 so there was no chance of getting drunk!

Wi-fi:
We were told that there was wi-fi at the hotel but the best place to get a signal was the hotel lobby.

Other useful information:
The staff at the hotel were incredibly helpful. Nothing was too much trouble.

There is a stock of books in the lobby area where you can borrow a book or two.

The masseurs come by regularly touting for business which can be annoying but I can thoroughly recommend a full body massage. I was soooo relaxed after mine.

If you want to take on excursions go to the travel agents in Luxor's centre. The trips were far more reasonably priced.

I can highly recommend a balloon ride - we went with Viking and had an excellent trip (it's also when my fiancé proposed). We saw a Sinbad balloon brush against the trees which didn't look too comfortable.

Luxor centre can be hard work - you get approached alot by people wanting you to go on their boat/horse drawn carriage etc. Just don't believe them when they say that the market is only there on the day that you are there! OH did and we only found the market was there on our last day!

Luxor museum is great - it really is well designed and thought through.

In summary, I would recommend staying at the Jolie Ville - while we were disappointed at first it really did grow on us and we had a fantastic time. I would definitely go back.

Summary: A wonderful getaway in Luxor