Hotels with the best pools in Luxor, ranked
Pool with palm trees at a Luxor hotel
Twelve Luxor hotel pools tested for size, temperature, shade and view — from a $35 rooftop plunge to a $260 Nile-side infinity — plus which "pool" is really a puddle.
Hilton Luxor — the infinity pool that earns the rate
Hilton's main pool is the one you’ve seen photographed — a proper 35-metre infinity edge that reads straight into the Nile, with the West Bank cliffs on the horizon. It's heated November through March (usually 27°C), which matters because most Luxor pools go unheated and become unusable from December to February when air temperature drops to 15°C at night. Loungers are plentiful even in high season, and non-guests can buy day passes at around $30 including lunch — worth it if you’re staying at a hotel without a real pool.
The second pool, in the garden, is quieter and where families end up. Shade is generous, which is the underappreciated hotel-pool feature in Luxor — you don’t want to be in direct sun from 11am to 3pm even in December. The catch is the location, 15 minutes from town, so this is a hotel where the pool becomes the day rather than a stop between temples. Book breakfast-only and use the pool aggressively; if you’re indoor-oriented, you’re overpaying for the view.
Jolie Ville Kings Island — biggest pool area in Luxor
Jolie Ville has the most pool by surface area of any Luxor hotel — three connected pools including a shallow section, a small waterslide area (fine for kids up to ten), and an adults-only quiet pool that most people don’t find. Water is heated in winter, palms provide good shade, and the peninsula setting means you’re surrounded by Nile on two sides. Day passes run $25 including access to the small zoo which kids inexplicably love.
The pool is the reason to book Jolie Ville — everything else about the hotel is average. Rooms are functional, food is buffet-heavy, and you’re 20 minutes from town. But if pool time is 50% of your trip (with kids, or in the shoulder-season warmth), this is where you’ll be happiest. In February when the East Bank rooftop pools are freezing, this heated setup earns its rate.
Sonesta St. George — the underrated pool complex
The Sonesta pool is the most surprising thing about the hotel — three levels connected by shallow channels, a dedicated kids' area, and heated water year-round. It's not photographed as much as the Hilton, but the actual swimming experience is comparable, and the hotel is $50 cheaper. Loungers have proper cushions (rare in Luxor), and the pool bar does decent grilled sandwiches for $6, better than the Hilton snack bar which is overpriced.
The trade-off is the view — you’re looking at the hotel buildings rather than the Nile, though there's a partial river view from the upper terrace. This is the pool to pick if you value the actual swim over the Instagram shot. Day passes are $20, one of the best deals in Luxor, and the pool is rarely crowded because most guests are on tour buses all day.
Al Moudira — the boutique pool
Al Moudira's pool is a rectangle of dark tile surrounded by tamarisk trees on the West Bank, and it's the best-feeling pool in Luxor even though it's not the biggest or most heated. Water is cool (unheated, so plan spring or autumn visits rather than winter), the setting is complete silence apart from birds, and there are proper deep loungers with actual mattresses. Non-guests can use it with a $40 lunch minimum, which is worth it once during a Luxor trip.
This is the pool to visit rather than book if you’re not staying at Al Moudira — take a taxi ($8 each way from East Bank), have lunch (the mezze is genuinely good), and spend three hours in a setting that feels a hundred kilometres from the Corniche hustle. In summer the hotel closes so this isn’t an option; October through May is the window.
Steigenberger rooftop — the best-view pool
Steigenberger's rooftop pool is small (maybe 12 metres) and shallow (1.4m throughout), so it's more of a cooling dip than a swim. What earns its spot is the view: you’re looking directly across the Nile at the West Bank cliffs, with Luxor Temple ruins in the near foreground. Sunset from this pool is the single best hotel-pool sunset in the city. Unheated, so realistically usable April through October.
For guests, the pool is included; non-guests can’t access it. This is why I recommend Steigenberger as an East Bank base — you’re walking distance to temples and food, plus you have this rooftop as a mid-afternoon retreat. In the deep summer months when nobody swims at midday anyway, the small unheated pool doesn’t matter; in December-February, you’ll want to add a day pass at the Hilton to swim properly.
Winter Palace — the historic garden pool
The Sofitel Winter Palace has a large garden pool that looks like it was designed in 1955 (probably was) and feels appropriately colonial-ghost-of-empire. It's set in the hotel's formal gardens, palm-shaded, quiet, and used mostly by older guests reading books. Unheated, so October-May only for comfort, and the water sometimes has a slight green tint that suggests the maintenance is more decorative than rigorous.
What you’re getting isn’t a great pool, it's a great pool-adjacent experience — high tea on the terrace after a swim, wandering the gardens which are the largest hotel gardens in Luxor. If you’re paying $260+ for the Winter Palace you’re paying for the atmosphere, not the pool. Non-guests can’t access unless dining, so book a garden-terrace lunch ($35-$50) and use it as an excuse to see the property.
Budget rooftops — Susanna, Nefertiti, Boomerang
In the $30-$60 range, three East Bank hotels have small rooftop plunge pools worth mentioning. Susanna Hotel has the largest, maybe 8 metres by 4, unheated, on a roof terrace with a partial Karnak view. Nefertiti has a rooftop hot tub-sized dip pool, mostly decorative but functional in shoulder season. Boomerang Hotel has a similar arrangement. None of these are proper swim pools — they’re cool-off dunks after a hot day of temples.
The right way to think about these is: don’t pick a $45 hotel for the pool. Pick it for the rooftop, sunset, and cheap beer, and treat the pool as a bonus. If actual swimming is important, either upgrade to Steigenberger for the rooftop plus location, book Hilton or Sonesta for real pools further out, or buy a day pass at the Hilton once during your stay for the full swim experience.
Which hotel pools are heated — the key question
Luxor winter nights drop to 8-12°C from December to mid-February, and unheated pools are painful. Heated pools I’ve verified: Hilton (main and garden), Sonesta St. George (all three), Jolie Ville (main), Movenpick Jolie Ville boats when docked, Hotel Al Moudira (partially, and only shoulder months). Everything else is unheated and de facto closed for swimming from mid-December through February.
The mistake travellers make is booking a mid-range hotel for a December trip expecting to swim. You won’t, and if you would have used the pool a lot, you should either upgrade to a heated hotel or accept that this is a temple trip with a bath rather than a swim trip. For March through November, unheated is fine and the difference matters less; the Corniche rooftops become genuinely pleasant.
Before you book
The questions people ask about East Bank, answered with this month’s numbers.
Hilton for a river-level infinity view, Steigenberger for an elevated rooftop view with West Bank cliffs, and Winter Palace for the atmospheric garden setting with feluccas visible past the palms. Hilton is the strongest all-round, Steigenberger the best sunset moment, and Winter Palace the most photogenic in the classic-Luxor sense.
Yes, most East Bank hotels sell day passes: Hilton around $30 including lunch, Sonesta around $20, Jolie Ville $25 with zoo access. Winter Palace and Steigenberger don’t officially do day passes but a lunch reservation on the garden terrace or rooftop gives you pool access at Winter Palace. Al Moudira charges a $40 lunch minimum for the pool.
Yes but paradoxically they’re less useful — temperatures hit 42-45°C, water in unheated pools warms up to 30°C plus, and nobody wants to be outside from 11am to 5pm anyway. The heated pools at Hilton and Sonesta actually get cooled in summer. Early morning (7-9am) and evening (5-7pm) are the only comfortable pool hours.
For a two or three-night visit focused on temples, a rooftop plunge is plenty — you’re only using it 90 minutes a day between site visits. For four-plus nights, especially with kids or in mid-summer when you can’t sightsee midday, book a resort pool (Hilton, Sonesta, Jolie Ville). The pool becomes 30-40% of your Luxor time.
