Best Budget Hotel in Luxor for Families: Our full honest review of Villa Belzoni

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I did a lot of research to find a budget hotel in Luxor which suited our needs. As a family of five many hotels end up being expensive as we need two and sometimes even three rooms.

I am soooooo happy that I came across Villa Belzoni as it was absolutely perfect for us. What more can you want than a large apartment with a pool (shared) and a huge roof terrace with Nile views?!

Our kids asked multiple times ‘is it a hotel or an apartment?’ and I found it difficult to answer that question clearly. Truth is, it’s an apartment with added hotel-like amenities, which was ideal for us.

We stayed for five nights and here I’ll give you the full honest review of what we loved about Villa Belzoni and things that weren’t quite perfect.

What we loved about Villa Belzoni:

• Fabulous Nile view from the large roof terrace.
• Large spacious apartment with three big bedrooms and balconies.
• Clean pool, great for cooling down after trekking round temples.
• Super helpful owner that was very responsive.
• Washing machine in the apartment with detergent provided.
• Breakfast provided every morning with a Nile view.
• Very clean
• We enjoyed the location on the quieter West Bank of Luxor.
• Restaurants and shops around the corner making it easy to find a meal.
• Very reasonable price.

Things that weren’t perfect:

• Only one bathroom for a three bedroom apartment. We actually didn’t mind this but I know for some people this would be difficult.
• Shower cubicle was quite small.
• One bedroom didn’t have much natural light, just a small high-up window. Our nine year old slept here and didn’t really mind as he was only there for sleeping.
• For some the West Bank may not be ideal if you would rather not have to cross the Nile most days (although this was very easy).
• The pool isn’t heated, which in winter may have been a problem but was fine in April.

Where is Villa Belzoni?

Villa Belzoni is on the West Bank of Luxor in Egypt, have a look at our where to stay in Luxor post if you’re still trying to work out which bank of the Nile you want to stay on.

We loved being on the West Bank due to it’s relative calm compared to the busy East Bank. As well as this we think Villa Belzoni is perfectly positioned, being almost directly opposite Luxor temple.

There are plenty of restaurants on the doorstep if you’re looking for somewhere to eat. Getting across the river is pretty easy. There are plenty of private boats that will take you across for around 150EGP (around $2.5 US).

Alternatively it is a ten minute stroll down the river to get the public ferry across which is just 25EGP per person (around $0.5 US).

Mohammed, the owner of Villa Belzoni actually walked down to the ferry with us on our first day as he was also crossing. He was able to show us where the ferry terminal was and then point us in the right direction when we got across the river.

The West Bank is also the perfect place for getting to the Valley of the Kings and doing a hot air balloon ride, which was the hightlight of our trip!

What amenities are there on the West Bank?

There is a promenade along the egde of the river which is usually lined with boats waiting to whisk you over to the other side.

Looking out over the river are mostly restaurants and small hotels as well as a few shops. There are a couple of shops aimed at tourists as well as a local (tiny) grocery store.

We were able to buy bottled water and snacks here and found prices generally cheaper than on the busier West Bank.

Closer to where the river ferry departs there is a road veering away from the river, Al Qarna road, which is were all the local life happens. I loved walking down this road and just observing life go by.

You’ll see bakeries with soft Egyptian flatbread being churned out by the side of the road, butchers with their meet hanging up and there’s even a small pastry shop full of Baklava.

Luxor stables, from where did a fantastic horseriding trip is also near Al Qarna Road. They offer camel rides too.

How to book Villa Belzoni

We booked on booking.com, which was really easy. Mohammed, the owner was very responsive to any questions prior to booking or afterwards which made it very easy.

Book Villa Belzoni here

Arriving at Villa Belzoni

I had messaged the owner, Mohammed, before our arrival to enquire about the best way to get to Villa Belzoni. We arrived at Luxor airport at 8:30pm so wanted to be able to get there easily without any hassle on landing.

Mohammed confirmed he could organise a taxi and confirmed the price. I think we paid around 800EGP (approx $15 US) which we were happy to pay for the thirty minute drive.

Mabrouk, the taxi driver, was waiting for us at the airport with a sign saying the hotel name which made everything super easy.

On arriving at the hotel Mohammed was there to greet us and show us around our apartment and then provide a welcome drink on the roof terrace.

What to expect from the hotel?

Villa Belzoni consists of three separate apartments with some shared communal areas. It’s a bit of a hybrid between a hotel and apartment as you also get a prepared breakfast included everyday.

We loved having the space of an apartment with some hotel-like facilities thrown in!

Our Apartment

We had booked the three bedroom apartment which is on the first floor (one floor up from the pool). The other apartments are both two bedrooms so we chose the three bedroom to have more space for our family of five.

Since the apartment was very cheap I was slightly nervous of what it would be like before we arrived. I didn’t need to be because as as soon as we arrived we all loved the apartment.

The apartment is huge! Really spacious and although I really loved the decor too.

The Bedrooms

All three bedrooms are good-sized double rooms with ample wardrobe/ drawers space for clothing.

Two of the bedrooms also have balconies with the third having just a smaller high up window, meaning this room was not quite as nice as the other two.

All bedrooms also have ceiling fans and aircon in order to control the temperature. In April we kept the shutters closed throughout the day mostly to keep out the heat and then managed with just the fan.

In hotter weather the aircon would definitely have been welcome.

Living room

We didn’t really use this much but there is an open plan living area off the main hallway.

This had a sofa and armchair as well as a TV. We honestly didn’t try to turn the TV on during our stay so I’m not sure what channels are available.

There is a small balcony off the living room with a couple of chairs that overlooks the pool.

Bathroom

Probably the main thing I would improve about the apartment is the bathroom. Firstly there is only one so there was a bit of waiting to use it occasionally.

If you’re a family that often share a hotel room this is no different though.

Although clean the decor was clearly quite old and basic. The shower is surrounded by a curtain which made it feel a little cramped but the water pressure and temperature was great.

The big highlight in the bathroom though is the fact that there is a washing machine. There is even washing detergent provided.

We love staying in apartments with washing machines as it means we need to pack less. We managed to wash all our clothes before we left meaning we had all clean clothes for when we arrived at our hotel by the Red Sea, Jaz Makadina.

Kitchen

There is a large fridge in the kitchen which was great for keeping drinks cold and any bits of food that we bought.

The kitchen also had a kettle and full oven/ cooker but to be honest we didn’t use any cooking facilities so can’t comment on their functionality.

We did use some of the utensils including sharp knives and a bottle opener.

What other amenities are there?

The pool

The three apartments share a small swimming pool. It isn’t large and also isn’t heated so in the winter months may be a bit cool.

We were there in April and although it was slightly chilly when first getting in it was perfect for cooling off.

There are only four sunbeds by the pool as well as a few regular chairs. However we generally had the pool to ourselves when using it.

Mohammed brought pool towels to the pool for us on our first day which we then kept until we left. There was also a drinks menu by the pool with beer, water and juice on it.

Despite it’s small size our kids had a great time in the pool and it was the perfect way to relax and cool-off after looking round temples.

Throughout our time in Luxor we tried to balance time seeing the ancient sights with some relaxation time by the pool.

The roof

One of my favourite things about Villa Belzoni was the fantastic roof terrace. There is just one other building between the hotel and the Nile meaning you get a great view of this iconic river with Luxor temple on the far bank.

In the other direction you can see the mountains which fringe the desert and house the famous Valley of the Kings.

Sunset was particularly beautiful from the roof, a great place for an evening beer!

Breakfast

Mohammed, the hotel owner, prepared our breakfast every morning. We generally agreed a breakfast time the day before and then it would be ready for us.

Mohammed was happy for this to be any time from 8a.m. onwards.

Adam and I enjoyed the breakfasts although the children got a little bored by it. Breakfast consisted of an Omlette, bread, jam, cheese, yoghurt and fresh fruit.

It was the same thing every day, although because there was variety we didn’t mind.

Mohammed would also make us a hot drink of tea or cafe (only Nescafe unfortunately) and gave us a large bottle of water every morning too.

The owner

One of the best things about Villa Belzoni is it’s fabulous owner, Mohammed. He was always around either in person or quickly responsive via Whatsapp to help out as needed.

When we arrived he welcomed us with drinks (beers for the adults and Mango juice for the kids) and was always happy to give advice and recommendations.

It was invaluable getting advice on avoiding scammers and how much we should really be paying for things like the taxi boats across the Nile.

Mohammed even provided us with an insect repellent spray and fly spray for killing any bugs in the apartment before going to bed.

So, is Villa Belzoni the best budget hotel in Luxor?

Obviously we haven’t stayed in every budget hotel to get a true comparison but I would say Villa Belzoni is hard to beat.

Overall I would highly recommend a stay at Villa Belzoni, particularly if you are staying in Luxor with children and want somewhere that doesn’t break the bank.

Feel free to get in touch if you want any further information and I’d love to know if you also stay at Villa Belzoni as a result of our review.