Article by Dylan Clements

Mandarin Oriental is making some big moves in Egypt right now, and I think it is going to make 2027 a very interesting year for luxury travel there.

We have been talking about doing another Egypt trip for some time, but apart from Four Seasons Cairo, nothing was really jumping out at us, so we kept putting it off.

Now that is changing.

The great thing about what Mandarin Oriental is doing is that you are going to be able to travel through Egypt and have a luxury hotel or cruise at every major stop. Cairo, Luxor, Aswan and the Nile are all covered.

It starts in Cairo with Mandarin Oriental Shepheard, Cairo, bringing one of the city's most famous historic hotels back to life.

Cairo already has some excellent luxury hotels, but what I like is the bigger picture. Mandarin Oriental is not just adding another hotel. They are building a collection that lets you travel through Egypt while staying with the same brand from start to finish.

For me, that is the opportunity. Egypt has never lacked incredible places to visit. It has sometimes lacked enough luxury hotels and cruises to encourage people to slow down and spend longer exploring the country.

If Mandarin Oriental delivers on these projects, I think a lot more people will start looking at Egypt as a ten to fourteen night trip instead of trying to squeeze everything into a week.

Mandarin Oriental Shepheard, Cairo

Let's start in Cairo. One of the things that stands out is that Mandarin Oriental is not treating Cairo as a small city hotel.

Mandarin Oriental Shepheard, Cairo will have 188 rooms and 88 suites, with many overlooking the Nile or Gezira Island.

The dining looks promising too, with five restaurants and bars planned, including a rooftop restaurant that should have some of the best views in Downtown Cairo. There will also be an exclusive club lounge and a rooftop ballroom.

The spa is also getting the full Mandarin Oriental treatment, with eight treatment suites, an indoor lap pool, a rooftop swimming pool, fitness center and beauty salon.

Location is another plus. The hotel sits on the banks of the Nile in Downtown Cairo, putting guests within easy reach of the Egyptian Museum, Khan el-Khalili Bazaar and many of the city's historic attractions.

For me though, the biggest feature is not the rooftop pool or the spa. It is what this hotel represents. Instead of flying into Cairo, seeing the Pyramids and moving on, Mandarin Oriental is creating a journey that starts here and continues through Luxor, Aswan and the Nile cruise under the same brand. That is something we have not really seen in Egypt before.

The Nile Cruise Is The Bit I Am Really Interested In

The Nile cruise is the part I am most excited about.

There are already some very good luxury cruises on the Nile, but Mandarin Oriental has the chance to bring something different by linking the whole journey together. Instead of treating the cruise as a separate experience, it becomes part of a wider itinerary that starts in Cairo and continues through Luxor and Aswan.

The cruise will offer three, four and seven night itineraries between Luxor and Aswan, giving plenty of flexibility depending on how much time you have in Egypt.

While the ship is still being designed, Mandarin Oriental has already confirmed that it will feature spacious suites, three restaurants, a dedicated wellness area and a cultural program with expert-led talks and guided excursions along the way.

That last point is probably the biggest difference. The company is talking about creating one continuous journey rather than just putting guests on a luxury boat. If they get it right, you will be able to arrive in Cairo, stay at Mandarin Oriental Shepheard, continue to Winter Palace in Luxor, board the Nile cruise, finish at Old Cataract in Aswan, and have the same style of service throughout the entire trip.

For me, that is what makes this launch so interesting. It is not just another Nile cruise. It is the missing piece that brings the whole Egypt itinerary together.

Winter Palace, Luxor

If there is one hotel I am looking forward to seeing the most, it is the Winter Palace in Luxor.

The hotel first opened in 1886 and has welcomed royalty, explorers and archaeologists for well over a century. It is also closely linked to one of Egypt's greatest discoveries, with Howard Carter announcing the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb from the hotel in 1922.

Mandarin Oriental is restoring the property rather than replacing it, which is exactly what I was hoping to see. The plan is to preserve the character that has made the Winter Palace one of Egypt's most famous hotels, while bringing it up to the standard people expect from Mandarin Oriental.

The hotel will have around 80 rooms and suites, several restaurants and bars, a spa, fitness center and landscaped gardens overlooking the Nile. It also sits just a few minutes from Luxor Temple, while Karnak Temple and the Valley of the Kings are an easy drive away.

I have always thought Luxor deserved a hotel that was as memorable as the sites themselves. You spend the day visiting some of the most incredible archaeological sites in the world, so it is nice to come back somewhere with its own history rather than just another modern luxury hotel.

For me, that is one of the biggest reasons to look forward to this project. The Winter Palace already had one of the best addresses in Egypt. With Mandarin Oriental behind it, it has every chance of becoming one of the country's standout luxury hotels once again.

Aswan Is Where I Think This Gets Really Interesting

Aswan is probably the property I am happiest to see joining the collection.

On our last trip, we visited Abu Simbel as a day trip because there was not really anywhere in Aswan that made us want to spend a few nights there. We flew in, saw what we came to see, and left again.

That is a shame because Aswan is a beautiful city, and it deserves more than just a quick stop before heading back to Cairo.

Mandarin Oriental is taking over the historic Old Cataract Hotel, one of the most famous hotels in Africa. Sitting above the Nile, the hotel has welcomed guests for more than a century, including Winston Churchill and Agatha Christie, who is said to have written part of Death on the Nile while staying there.

The hotel will be restored with updated rooms and suites, new restaurants and bars, a Mandarin Oriental spa, fitness facilities and refreshed public spaces, while keeping the character that has made the Old Cataract so well known.

For me, this could change how people plan an Egypt trip. Instead of treating Aswan as somewhere to pass through, it becomes somewhere worth staying for two or three nights. You can explore the temples, take a felucca on the Nile, visit Abu Simbel, and then come back to one of the country's great historic hotels.

I think that is exactly what Aswan has been missing.

It All Fits Together Very Well

This is what I like most about the whole project.

You could easily do something like this:

• Three nights at Mandarin Oriental Shepheard, Cairo
• Two nights at Winter Palace, Luxor
• Four nights cruising the Nile
• Three nights at Old Cataract, Aswan

Instead of piecing together separate hotels and cruise operators, Mandarin Oriental can potentially look after almost the entire journey.

I think that's a really smart move, and it's something I haven't really seen another luxury hotel group do in Egypt.

Mandarin Oriental Fan Club Benefits

I'd also be very surprised if these hotels don't participate in Mandarin Oriental Fan Club once they are fully open.

Assuming they do, guests booking through a Mandarin Oriental Fan Club advisor can typically expect:

• Daily breakfast for two
• USD 100 hotel credit per stay
• One category room upgrade, subject to availability
• Early check in, subject to availability
• Late check out, subject to availability
• Personalized welcome amenity
• Priority for waitlist requests, where applicable

If you're staying at several Mandarin Oriental properties on the same trip, those benefits can add up quite quickly.

My Thoughts

I like what Mandarin Oriental is doing here.

They haven't just announced another hotel. They've looked at the classic Egypt itinerary and seem to be improving several parts of it at once. Luxor gets a properly restored Winter Palace, the Nile gets another serious luxury cruise option, which I think it has needed for a long time, and Aswan finally gets a hotel that could make people slow down instead of rushing in and out like we did.

For me, that's the biggest opportunity here. Egypt has never lacked incredible places to visit. It has sometimes lacked enough great places to stay between them.

If Mandarin Oriental gets this right, I think a lot more people will start looking at Egypt as a ten to fourteen night trip rather than trying to squeeze everything into a week. And I think that's exactly how Egypt should be experienced.

Planning a trip to Egypt? Clements Travel is an authorized Mandarin Oriental Fan Club travel advisor and can arrange stays at Mandarin Oriental Cairo, Mandarin Oriental Old Cataract Aswan, the future Mandarin Oriental Luxor, and luxury Nile cruises.

As a Mandarin Oriental Fan Club member agency, we can also provide eligible bookings with daily breakfast, hotel credit, room upgrades (subject to availability), early check in and late check out where available, along with personalized itinerary planning, private guides and transfers throughout Egypt.

Contact Clements Travel to start planning your luxury Egypt vacation.

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