We arrived at the Luxor Hotel by monorail, initially watching it go by twice as we failed to understand that there were two monorails; one going from Camelot, where we’d got on to the Mandalay Bay and back, while the other one going from Mandalay Bay to the Luxor. We figured it out eventually and got off between the paws of a giant Sphinx, heading down across the taxi ranks to the grand entrance.
The main foyer of the hotel was packed with people retrieving their luggage and as we approached the line to attempt an early check in, a staff member beckoned me over. She asked how long I was staying for, and finding it was one night she called over to her colleague and let him know we were staying only one night. He then tried to sell us tickets to a show.
Realising I was a walking wallet, and she was really just wasting my time, I headed over to the queue of people waiting to check in.
While in the shape of a pyramid, the atrium and casino formed most of the huge inner void, meaning that the rooms themselves formed a single layer along the surface of the hotel. It seems a great waste of space.
The lifts servicing each floor were very specific, and inconveniently placed in the corners, meaning we had to again brave the casino machines and shops to get to where we were going. The lifts moved diagonally upwards, a bit of a shock when starting off, and we reached our room after walking another half length of the hotel. Who needs a gym?
The room when we got there was an interesting combination of slightly tired but interesting decor, had a pool view and was overall a very good size.
The view out the window was slightly filtered by coloured glass, which explained why you couldn’t see into the rooms from outside.
While the triangular shape of the room lead to some “dead areas” which you couldn’t use, they’d done their best and there was a comfortable lounge area facing the bed.
Speaking of which, the bed was huge and somehow only serviced by two thin pillows. After double checking the cupboards and drawers, we rang down to the front desk to ask for some more. After a member of staff dropped them off (with more of a snarl than a grin), I joked to Ange that they’d probably try and charge us for bringing them up.
I must admit that the furniture did look cool though – tastefully laid out in different shades of wood with a very dark trim which matched both the desk as well as the mirror.
I could now say that I have slept in a pyramid. We joked around for all the obscene things that the hieroglyphics might be spelling out on the cupboard doors.
But what was obscene was all the additional fees and add-ons they tried to charge you if you had room service. I get it – it’s a long way to walk, but still: $10 for a litre of water, plus tip, tax and additional delivery fee?
The bathroom was tastefully appointed with the towels nicely folded in racks on the walls. The toiletries were MGM Resorts’ own Kūer brand.
The place was huge. The one saving grace was that on the mezzanine floor in the middle of the pyramid was a food court with reasonably priced outlets.
But the main pool area was closed. For the winter. When it was 30+ degrees (Centigrade) outside! We went and had a look at the smaller pool which was open. No slides. #sadface. I did the maths: in the picture below, our room would have been somewhere near the right hand series of darker windows, probably around the third one from the bottom.
The Luxor has travellators for those trying to get into or away from the interior. Especially handy for people trying to reach the bus/Uber entrance on the side closest to the Excalibur, or for those attending a conference.
Lastly the light which shines into the sky from the peak of the pyramid serves as a beacon so that you can see it from all around the south part of the Strip. Very handy at night.
It was a bit funny seeing some of the statues – in March 2011 I had gone to Luxor as part of a family trip (yes, even after the military took over in February – we’d already paid for our tickets!) and so had seen them first hand. Below is the picture of Ange with the statues, and below that the originals from the Karnak Temple complex in Luxor, Egypt.
Would I Go Back?
I don’t think that I would. There are plenty of other hotels along the strip, and the less than subtle attempts to extract additional money out of you just seemed a little too much. The room itself was fine, and I did appreciate having other options for food. It would have been good to have more options for swimming, but that’s a seasonal thing, so no blame there. But no – plenty more options on the strip.
