Al Moudira
Egypt
Al Moudira
Hager El Dabbayah, 85836 Luxor – West Bank,
Qina, Egypt
www.moudira.com
HOTEL INFORMATION
Group
Relais & Chateaux
Shareholders
Privately owned
Date of Creation
September 2001
Hotel General Manager
Extensive culinary background. 20 years’ experience as general manager in chain hotels (Steigenberger, Marriott, Radisson). Culinary experience (Vietnam, New Zealand, cruise ship MV Europa) holding positions as Executive Sous Chef and Executive Chef.
Hotel Positioning
5 Star Luxury Boutique Hotel – since October 2023 the first Relais & Chateaux Hotel in Egypt
Development Strategy
The hotel has been developing into the leading boutique hotel in Egypt and is integrated under egyptbeyond.com – a unique collection of tourism assets owned or curated by the owner. The owner has currently 5 other hotel projects under development, one in Egypt, one in Portugal, one in Ecuador and two in Indonesia (Sumba).
Al Moudira
History & Story
The founder, Zeina Aboukheir, discovered a parcel of desert close to the Nile with its own natural spring and, over many years, created what has become the only palace hotel on Luxor’s west bank. Over decades she collected the furniture, antiques, paintings and other decorative items that make Al Moudira so special. Zeina travelled the Middle East seeking the exceptional antiques and works of art that enhance Al Moudira’ s magical atmosphere and evoke romantic memories of Alexandria, Cairo, Beirut and Damascus.
Building work commenced in this oasis of palm trees and lush vegetation and the hotel was named Al Moudira(املديرة ) the affectionate name given to Zeina by her team of workers meaning ‘The Lady Boss’. The hotel lies at the edge of the Nubian desert, within one of the oldest UNESCO world heritage sites. Built from materials and fittings rescued from the vanishing historic buildings of Egypt, the hotel is now a glamorous palace w a honeycomb of eight courtyards and is surrounded by palm groves populated by exotic flora and fauna.
The Al Moudira has received extensive press coverage in the past 18 months. To name a few: Financial Times HTSI “the best bones in in Egypt” with a photo of one of our villas on the cover page. The Telegraph listing al Moudira among the 50 best hotels in the world. Architectural Digest, Near Far Magazine, Door Magazine, Conde Nast ME edition, Vanity fair, the world of interiors, Travel & Leisure and many more.
Date Renewal
2023 & 2024
Date added extensions
2023 & 2024
Main Strengths, Special Touch
All Suite Hotel and 7 Villas
Location
Located on the Westbank with view on the Theban mountains, tugged between 2 villages and rural farmland.
Key sites/activities in the area
Al Moudira is situated right next to the UNESCO World Heritages site, also considered to be the largest open air museum and has its own “selected” guides.
Boat trips on the Nile.
Vintage cars
Private caterings on or off property including on boats or in a temple
Pottery and hand paper making workshops
Horseback and camel riding
Bike trips
Dessert trips
Tennis Court (hard court)
Fun Facts
The Hotel is named after the founder, who was addressed by her staff during the construction affectionately with “Moudira” which translated into lady -“boss” .
Al Moudira engages strongly in social sustainability. We recruit our staff almost exclusively from the nearby villages. We offer English lessons to the children and provide job opportunities to the women of the village. We recently started a program to help the village to upgrade their housing conditions and implemented a cleaning program.
Children’s Corner
no restriction to age – kids friendly
The hotel is children friendly, and we have plenty of activities on the adjacent Moudira Farm.
Pottery – Papermaking Studio – Calligraphy – horse and camel or donkey riding. There is also a tennis court. Apart from this we offer also fun activities like make your own pizza and bicycle tours.
On request, Babysitter or child minder. (extra charge)
HOTEL FEATURES
Accommodation
Number of suites: 55
• 13 Deluxe Suites
• 18 Junior Suites
• 14 Signature Suites
• 7 Luxury Suites
• 3 Family Suites
Number of Luxury rooms: 7 villas
• Villa Zeina 690 sqm
• Villa Nubia 690 sqm
• Villa Casbah 250 sqm
• Beit El Fananeen 170 sqm
• Louxor Loft 500 sqm
• Owners Loft 560 sqm
• Garden Villa – 255 sqm
• Number of rooms, (keys) in all: 72
Restaurants & Bars
• Ottoman Hall (indoors) & Courtyards (outdoors) – mediterranean cuisine with Levantine influences. Breakfast buffet and a la carte
Breakfast 6 – 10 am Dinner 6 – 10 pm
• Khan Al Moudira (indoor, outdoor and roof top terrace) – Local specialties and Lebanese dishes
Lunch and Dinner open from 12 pm – 10 pm
• Il Forno (outdoor) – Neapolitan Pizza – Italian salads and desserts
Open from 12 – sunset (January – March) from 12 – 9 pm (September – December & April – June)
• Pool Pavilion (outdoor) – light western and international food (sandwiches, salads, pizza, pasta, barbeque)
Open from 10 – sunset
Wellness
• Spa with 3 treatment rooms, 2 Sauna and 1 Hammam. Treatments include Ayurvedic
• Fully Equipped Fitness centre
• 1 large swimming pool (heated) and a children’s pool (heated & shaded)
• Yoga teacher (extra charge) & free 60-minute yoga sessions once per day
• Tennis Court
• Horseback riding
Corporate & Celebration Events
• Event Hall (main facility) 120 person
• Event Hall Mezzanine 40 persons
• Conference Room – 25 persons
• Winter Garden – 35 persons
• Coworking space – 40 persons
• Breakout rooms – up to 7 possible locations (breakfast room, eastern bar, ottoman hall, conference room, Coworking space, winter garden, Khan Al Moudira)
Extra Notable Features
• Yoga Centre
• Tennis
• Horseback riding
• Cooking classes
• Unique experiences:
Private dinner in various location inside and outside the hotel including outside catering with Nile experiences.
• Outside caterings: Temple dinner (i.e. Habu Temple)
• Moudira Farm providing farm to table culinary concept. Our organic produce includes presently vegetables, fruits, bee hives crops, dairy, and poultry. This project is still expanding, with plans for the near future to include cattle for producing our own organic meat product. The farm will open this coming April its own Farm restaurant and features also a pottery workshop, a hand paper making studio, Calligraphy workshops, stone carving and a tennis court.
Hotel and restaurant Awards
• The Telegraph – 50 Greatest Hotels in the World for 2024
• Architectural Digest (Middle East) – Hall of Fame (for the design of the Hotel) – 2024
• Veranda – World’s Most Beautiful Hotels 2024
• Architectural Digest (Global Edition) – 22 Places to visit in 2025 according to AD’s Global Editors
Number of employees
230 including the Farm