Luxor - King's Island

I like a winter holiday to escape the cold and find a bit of sun. I went late this year, in March, and  I returned to somewhere I had been before, namely Luxor in Egypt. I had even been to the resort before, so I knew what I was letting myself in for.

So let me start with the hotel. It is the Maritim Jollie King's Island, sat on its own island in the Nile. It has a lot going for it. Being on an island it is isolated from the hawkers etc outside (more about that  later). The accommodation is based on chalets. Imagine hexagonal chalets with  6 rooms in each which are obviously wider at the front and narrow towards the bathroom at the back.

It has three beautiful pools. Two are infinity pools which have a kids area at the back of them. The other is adults only, which sounds slightly dodgy but just means no kids. As it happens none of this mattered as while I was there there were hardly any kids anyway, certainly not enough to cause any annoyance to grown ups. And here was the problem (which may be largely a matter of the time of year), but although clearly established as a family hotel, this was like the Exotic Marigold Hotel. The residents were at the very elderly end of the scale. There is a huge fitness centre too, but what need is there for state of the art treadmills when your guests can barely walk without a stick?

The grounds are well maintained and so it is just a very nice place to be and wile away one's days.

Views across the Nile are spectacular.

And it is never long before a Nile cruise ship passes by.

This is the "Horizon Pool"

Below is the adults only pool, called the "Relaxing Pool."

Outside reception as you drive into the hotel.

Am not a chess player, but if one had to play anywhere....

And this is the Infinity Pool - my favourite of the three

Yes my feet

A hooded crow popped in for a drink. There are hundreds of hooded crows about the place (and thousands of sparrows)

The West Bank, where the Valley of the Kings is, in the distance across the Nile