The Sofitel Winter Palace Hotel in Luxor, Egypt is one of those fabled hotels that’s shrouded in lore and legend. Built by British explorers on the banks of the Nile River in 1866, the palace was where Agatha Christie wrote her 1937 novel Death on the Nile, and it was frequented by Howard Carter, the archaeologist who discovered Tutankhamen's tomb. Once the hideaway for the Egyptian royal family, the Winter Palace has played host to celebrities and dignitaries. Today it’s a part of Sofitel Hotels and Resorts, celebrating both “French art de vivre and local refinement.”
Big news: The Sofitel Winter Palace recently announced that GM Architects has been chosen for a massive restoration project, expected to be completed by winter 2019. This is a welcome makeover for the beloved property. Founded by award-winning architect Galal Mahmoud, GM Architects was chosen for the project because of its knowledge of the region and based on its previous work with Sofitel in Tamuda Bay, Morocco and Beirut, Lebanon.
A goal will be to shine the spotlight on the hotel’s historic roots, while modernizing the property and completely redesigning the landscaping—to create a link between what’s deemed the “most beautiful” gardens of upper Egypt with the blue Nile. With this aim, GM Architects will introduce new water features at the front of the hotel. In fact, the transformation project will create an entirely new hotel lay-out.
For the rooms and public spaces, GM Architects has sought design inspiration in the surrounding landscapes and important archeological sites in the Valley of the Kings.
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