From: "Jim Winship"  ( United Kingdom )

To:  Summit Tours Egypt

Sent: Saturday, January 13, 2007 12:33 PM

Subject: RE: Lake Nasser Cruise During New Year

Thank you for your email.

We were extremely happy with the support and attention you gave us throughout our stay and we would have no hesitation in using you again in the future.  We will certainly recommend you to friends who may be thinking of visiting Egypt.

I hope we can use you again in the future.

Thank you again.

Kind regards

James Winship

From: "A Mehta"  -  ( UAE – India )

To: Summit Tours Egypt

Sent: Sunday, January 14, 2007 8:36 AM

Subject: Re: Fw: Nile Cruise program # STNC01 Starting December 29, 2006

 Mr. Emad

Thank you for your mail. We had a good time in Egypt and we thank you for
arranging the package as per our requirement.
Already we have given you contacts to our friends so they can call you when
they plan to visit Egypt.

Regds

Amish Mehta.

From : Ken Bumgarner  ( USA )

To : Summit Tours

Sent: Sunday, November 12, 2006 4:27 PM

Subject: RE: Egypt Tour 9 days 8 nights starting

 Salaam Emad!!

Yes my friend we are back safe and sound and the ladies are very happy about the trip and are already planning the next one!! 

They send greetings to you, your family and your staff and thanks for the best trip we have ever taken.  And truly Emad, I have not enjoyed a dinner party so much in years as that one with you and Rosario and Mohammed and Ashraf.   My wife wanted to take Mohammed back with us!!

 I’ve attached some photos, please spread them around!

 God be with you and your family and Ashraf and his.

 Ken Bumgarner, U.S. Consultant

From : Gerald & Sharon Moult  ( South African )

To : Summit Tours

Sent: Wednesday, November 01, 2006 10:44 AM

Subject: Re: Nile Cruise Program # STNC02

Hello Emad.

Thank you for the follow-up email. We are safely back home

The tour with your company was very good and well organised, no hitches or problems. The cruise on the MS Carnival and food very good. Thank you.

The daily tours to the temples and tombs etc was well organised and
informative.

The sleeper train was ok but perhaps advise clients that breakfast and
morning coffee not good (both directions). Also train was late in both
directions about 5 hours on the return to Cairo. If this happens regularly
then catching connection flights will be a serious problem.

Please thank Ashraf your Cairo guide. He is very pleasant, helpful, friendly
and nice to deal with.

Also thank Mosas the guide with the cruise for his input.

I will certainly recommend your tour company to others.

Thanks again & best regards.

Gerald & Sharon Moult  

From: "Ann & Dean"  ( Western Australia )

To : Summit Tours

Sent: Sunday, November 05, 2006 10:23 AM

Subject: Re: Feed Back for Egypt Tour

Hello Emad

We have arrived home safely from Cairo.
We had a wonderful day on the cruise to Dendara. It was very relaxing
and we enjoyed the trip very much.

Thank You for looking after us and we look forward to our next trip
in the future.

Regards

Dean & Ann

From: Carlos_Botero & Ana Milena Hoyos and Family  ( Colombia )

To : Summit Tours

Sent: Monday, October 30, 2006 7:02 AM

Subject: RE: Egypt Tour # STC03

 Emad:

We really enjoyed our travel. We felt very well attended and actually we
received an excelent service. All that was scheduled was done. Thank you
very much. We want to highlight the service we received from all your
personnel and specially from Emad Mohsen .

Thanks again

Carlos  & Family

From : Carol

To : Summit Tours

Date :  June 2006

Subject : Caryl Theresa Olson – Egypt

RE : Guest feed back

Just got back and had a great time. Thanks for helping make it a great trip.

From : Carol

To : Summit Tours

Date :  June 2006

Subject : Lisa Alvir – Egypt   ( USA )

RE : Guest feed back

The trip was fascinating and a unique experience for us all.  It was definitely worth every penny.  Our guides were wonderful!  We felt comfortable and they took care of everything. We especially loved Salwa  Her youthful exuberance was contagious and Mohamed 's knowledge seemed to be endless!  Rachael even took notes!

We tried to follow the tips you had provided concerning dress, tipping etc and we were treated well.  The people were friendly and helpful and so interesting to talk to. We were very pleased with all of our accommodations as well. Thank you again. I'm very happy I choose your company. 
 

From : Carol : A-Z Tours

To : Summit Tours

Date :  May 2006

Subject : Susan St. Claire – Egypt  ( USA )

RE : Guest feed back

The food was great except the Nile cruise did not have a vegetarian entree until I requested one.
* the ancient sites were great
* snorkeling and hiking were great
* the trip went well with a few glitches

The guides were ok. The best one was the woman in Alexandria. She spoke good English, she was professional, she was well-educated on the information.

The Luxor hotel was the best.

From : Carol : A-Z Tours

To : Summit Tours

Date :  May 2006

Subject : Lisa Franklin – Greece  ( USA )

RE : Guest feed back

I really enjoyed my trip. Thank you for all your hard work. My tour guide was very nice.  I stayed at Hotel Pan, which is in a wonderful central location, but the people that worked at the front desk weren't very cordial. Other than that, everything was wonderful. If I should go back to Greece, it will be to island hop. Thank you again.

From : Joseph Andrew Maderick  ( USA )

To : Summit Tours

Date : March 20, 2006

Sent: Monday, May 01, 2006 6:11 PM

Gentlemen:

    On February 10, 2006 my son Joseph and I embarked on a package provided by your company on a tour of Egypt.  I would like to take this time to report on the trip.

    Let me begin by saying that overall the trip was spectacular and immensely pleasurable.  If you will I shall proceed step by step yet shall remain brief.

    We arrived at Cairo International and were immediately taken back by seeing armed soldiers standing under the wing of the airliner.  This was to be the case everywhere we went.  Unknown to us the Egyptian Government has a large national police entity called the Tourism and Antiquities Police.  They were omni-present on our trip.  It was explained by the guides that Egypt will not allow a repeat of the murderous nonsense that occurred a few years ago and have taken more than appropriate precautions to insure complete security.  All of the tour people and even the policemen themselves with whom I spoke were adamant about ensuring safety of visitors.  Maybe this could be communicated to potential tourists, concerned about such matters.  In spite of this presence I must say that at no time, even in the dark of late night were either of us particularly concerned about any dangers.  We felt at least as secure as one might in Los Angeles or New York.

    We found the people with the exception of snotty teenaged kids pandering for a buck to be absolutely wonderful and both conciliatory and helpful in every respect.  We were treated more than respectfully by everyone we met at every location.  Almost everyone had some command of English and when they did not; someone nearby did and offered help.  

    Upon our arrival at the airport we were met by two representatives of the Egyptian Tour Company, Summit Tours.  The two young men ushered us through Customs and onto our tour bus which delivered us to our hotel, The Mena House.

To our absolute amazement the Great Pyramid of Cheops was just across the street from the hotel.  It literally provided and dreamlike backdrop for our dinner.

    The hotel itself was quite nice with every amenity.  It was very clean and well maintained.  The restraints were a bit pricey but provided excellent cuisine with excellent service.

    The following day we toured the Sphinx and Pyramids and rode a camel.

That evening we had a dinner cruise on the Nile.

    Emad, our tour representative arrived bright and early with our mini bus driver and Madleen, the licensed tour guide.  Egypt requires tour guides to be properly educated and licensed.  Off we went to the Pyramids.

    Madleen provided reasonably good service, though she was suffering from a cold.  Emad was instantly at our bid and service providing us with all of our tickets and the “other” details on Egypt and Cairo.  I highly compliment him on the excellent job of taking care of us while in his care.  We felt a bit pressed for time by Madleen at the various venues.  Please understand she did nothing wrong in any way.  

    The boat dinner was nice but did not qualify as a highlight by any means.  The dinner was ample and savory and typical of Egyptian fare.  The fact that a wedding party was seated at the next table made the experience most pleasant and is the thing that made it noteworthy.  Entertainment included set of “swirl” dancers, a disco band and female singer, and a belly dancer.  Again it was pleasant but otherwise unremarkable.

    The next day we did the Egyptian Museum, the Christian sites, the Bazaar, Saladin’s Citadel and the Mosque of Mohammed Ali.  We were very pressed in the museum and had to move briskly through the exhibits.  We were escorted to a Cotton Shop….this was a blatant hook to buy Egyptian cotton wares in which we had no interest.  We skipped the Papyrus and perfumery, as they too were traps to buy souvenirs and wares.  We insisted on lunch instead.  

    At the bazaar, which is a maze of close and narrow little streets choked with tourist shops.  My son was guided by Madeen to a place to purchase a Hookah, water pipe.  When my son presented the pipe to Emad and was told the price, Emad took my son back to the dealer who ended up giving him piles of tobacco products and a second pipe with no further charge.  Apparently the shop where he was taken had an arrangement with the guide and grossly over charged the price of the pipe.  We were later to learn that the guides generally had arrangements with certain shops where they receive significant commissions for bringing in their unwary tourists.    My son and I are of the opinion that such behavior in view of the tour prices and such is really uncalled for and that the tour companies might be well advised to tell the tour participants to beware of such tactics.  As a rule we found that a number somewhat less than half of the original asking price was usually fair.

    So in spite of the renegotiated deal on the water pipe my son came away feeling cheated.  However, in all fairness this was the worst of it.   And Emad the tour representative was mortified and apologetic.  We made no issue of it with the guide.

    Emad got us to our sleeper train and saw us off to Aswan.  Our blessings go to our driver whose name escapes me.  But he surely has an angel watching over him and he is blessed with the patience of Job as the traffic in Cairo is phenomenally bad and disorganized.  We actually were hit twice during our stay.  As it was everyone was non-plussed and ignored the little bumps as meaningless.  Typically there are three lanes painted on the pavement and traffic occupies six or seven lanes of cars all moving in rhythm like the muscles of a snake.  A car simply joins the movement then leaves the movement as it crawls along interminably slowly.  With all that we saw no significant accidents.  Amazing !  Don’t even think about driving yourself.

    We arrived in Aswan and were swept away by Eslam Elewy of Aswan.  This guide remained with us for the next four days and more or less took care of the tour representative duties when Mr. Maghraby the Luxor manager was not present.  At no time were we actually left alone.  Eslam made up for any insufficiencies we had experienced in Cairo.  He took excellent care of us and did a great job with his narratives and instructions.  The souvenirs and such we did purchase were under his tutelage and guidance.  He truly went above and beyond in his efforts to serve us and to show us as much as possible.  He was far more detailed and knowledgeable than the other guides.  

    The Nile cruise should more accurately be categorized as a floating hotel rather than a cruise as such.  The accommodations were again very nice and quite clean.  The food service was adequate and ample.  Unfortunately, both my son and I fell victim to Ramses Revenge despite drinking only bottled water and having been warned that although the water is microbiologically clean the chemicals used to purify the water system are rough on our systems.  We probably picked up something from the fresh fruits or veggies.  

    The ship was the M/S Hamees.  I had a minor problem here that annoyed me enough to comment on it.  I approached the front desk to exchange $75.00 US to Egyptian Pounds.  The going rate that day was 5.735 as posted by The Bank of Alexandria.  The desk clerk paid me 5.5 to the dollar.  The actual amount of the difference in the amount paid verses the actual amount due is really insignificant.  It amounted to less than a dollar or two.  But the fact that I was on a ship and they were either indifferent to the correct amount or simply stuck me for a few cents really aggravated me.  I would have expected them to be more responsive and responsible.  

    We did not see the quarries but did have an afternoon to ourselves and visited the Luxor museum.  The Karnak light show was at best novel.  It did not compare to the Light show at the Sphinx  which was far more elaborate and entertaining.

    We returned to Cairo for our last day and two nights.  We were met at the train promptly by Emad and the driver.  We toured Memphis and Sakkara and visited a carpet school where we were once again induced to buy.  We did not but did feel somewhat put upon.  Our guide did a decent job for the short time we were with him.

    That night we saw the light show at the Sphinx and as mentioned above was quite entertaining and beautiful.

    We were now staying at the Meridien Hotel.  The hotel was very nice as would be expected of a higher-class place.  But as typical of most French owned enterprises they had their nose in the air attitude.  Ah well.

    The following morning we were up at 0500 to catch our flight.  Unfortunately, we were on the way to the airport when I noticed that our actual departure was not until 3:40 in the afternoon.  It seems that the itinerary that Emad had had a 07:40 departure time whereas the actual time as per my itinerary was at the actual 3:40.   Poor Emad looked like he would die. When this became clear.

    We already checked out of the hotel and we now had like ten hours before departure.  We went to a café and discussed the problem for several hours over a pipe or two and a gallon of chai and coffee.  Someone between A-Z and Summit dropped the ball with the error on the itinerary and neither Emad  nor Momen, his co-representative,  knew what to do to soothe us.  Alas, these things happen and we were not the least angry and undoubtedly felt as bad for Emad and Momen as they did for us.  They did their very best to make sure we were well served.  Finally, I insisted that we go to the airport where we sat until departure time.  

    Regardless, I would recommend these young men without hesitation.  We had great fun with them and thoroughly enjoyed their company.  They kept us out of trouble and well fed.  They were prompt and courteous.  Emad was sure that he would suffer the wrath of a raging god for the error on the itinerary.  It was hardly his doing and therefore not his responsibility by any means.  

    So with no hesitation and being very objective in the matter I strongly commend Emad, Eslam, Momen 

    Should you have questions feel free to contact me by e-mail at maderick@msn.com.

Sincerely,

Joseph Maderick

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From : Joseph Andrew Maderick  ( USA )

March 20, 2006

To : Summit Tours

    It gives me great pleasure to be able to offer this letter of recommendation for Emad Mohsen .

    In February of 2006 my son Joseph and myself engaged the services of Summit Tours of Cairo for an extended tour of Egypt.  We were met at the airport by Emad and a second representative from the tour company.

    Although the second representative was not seen again Emad remained with us for the tour.  I must commend him for the outstanding job he did.  He was always on time and extremely courteous.  His professional behavior along with his easy sense of humor made our time in Cairo a great pleasure.   

    He made it a point to not only act as our guide but went above and beyond the call of duty when my son Joseph was overcharged for a purchase.  Emad in a fit of dismay dragged my son back to the shop in question and demanded that the shop keeper make things right by adding additional items to the purchase with out any charge so that the deal was fair and balanced.

    All during our stay Emad remained attentive to our needs and made sure that we were cared for and protected fully and properly.  We developed a pleasant personal relationship with this young man.  He demonstrated his attentiveness and responsibility for us on numerous other occasions as well.   He shared his knowledge of the sights and venues on the tour as well as information on the contemporary life in Egypt and Cairo.  He added to a wonderful excursion with humor and concern.  We felt welcome and comfortable with his service and genuine personality.

    I would recommend his services without hesitation and offer my e-mail address for any questions that one might have.  maderick@msn.com

 Sincerely,

Joseph Maderick

From : Carol

To : Summit Tours

Date :  April 2006
Subject : Jane & Alan Vogel – Egypt  ( USA )

RE : Guest feed back

We had a simply terrific time and don't feel like we missed anything.   I must make a point to tell you how wonderful our guides were. They are now our friends and we communicate via email frequently.

Words cannot come close to describing how great the guides were they bought us farewell gifts. Moemen  was equally wonderful and writes us almost daily, telling us how much he misses us (and we him). They do your company proud and should be rewarded. They were exceptional. The drivers were equally good. Just getting us to our destination safely, considering how crazy EG drivers are, says volumes. 
 
Our tour was everything I had hoped for, and more. We have over 2,000 photos, so that should give you some idea of how much we enjoyed ourselves. Again, my thanks to you, A-Z Tours and our guides for memories that will last a lifetime.
 

From : Carol

To : Summit Tours

Date :  April 2006
Subject : Buck & Margarita Keiser – Egypt & Jordan  ( USA & Columbia )

RE : Guest feed back

Our trip to Jordan was the best part of our trip to Egypt. This was due in large part to our guide. Our plans had to be changed at the last minute and he was right at the exit of the ferry to meet us and take us quickly through the immigration and customs procedures.

He made our day with the trip to the Bedouin camp and the attention to all the details that he showed. What I think impressed us most was his knowledge of a wide variety of subjects, such as history and geology. This was evident in our jeep trip to Wadi Rum. His help in our Petra tour was very useful, as he suggested to us that we should climb to the Monastery, which was worth it.

In our travels we have used many guides and even though our time together has been short, he has been one of the best. We are leaving with a favorable impression of Jordan.

From : Carol : A-Z Tours

To : Summit Tours

Date :  April 2006
Subject : Sarah Fredell – Egypt  ( USA )

RE : Guest feed back

We had a truly amazing time. This was the least stressful trip I've ever been on. It was wonderful to have everything taken care of for us: transportation, tickets, destinations, etc.  I have fallen in love with the Egyptian people and would love to go back again. Your agents in Cairo were fantastic and took very good care of us. We have made new friends, especially with our tour guide in Cairo. We will definitely be recommending you to all our friends and family.  Thanks again for a great spring break.

From : Carol : A-Z Tours

To : Summit Tours

Date :  April 2006
Subject : Terry Pope – Egypt  ( USA )

RE : Guest feed back

Everything was fantastic, we had a great trip. Everything was great. Thanks.

From : Carol Lomond

To : Summit Tours

Date :  April 2006
Subject : Susan and Lloyd Thomas – Egypt  ( USA )

 
Thank you, thank you, thank you.  On a scale of 1-10, this holiday was about a 9.5! We were so pleased with everything.  We also met a guy from Miami who had booked with you and he agreed that all in all, the trip was great.

I am going to list (in point form) what we did like in particular, and things that we either felt could be improved. I do not do this as a "fault finding mission" or to complain....but, rather to offer suggestions that might make a similar trip better for others.

March 24.....great help to be met by polite and helpful guides and "whisked through", customs, visa etc. and taken right to the hotel and have them come in and see to it that we were registered and "all was well".  The hotel was great...big room...(a bit "tired"...soiled carpet etc. but....clean bed/towels etc. and a nice view and good food in the restaurant)  Certainly, the Nile Hilton is 5 star (North American standard)
March 25...on our own
March 26  we enjoyed our guides and the driver (a better command of English would have been great...but, we managed)...to Giza pyramids etc.  Picked up on time...good day all around.  (would have been nice to have a bit more time to go into the pyramids...and, to see the Solar Boat)  -- Nile Dinner Cruise was enjoyable.....nicer than we thought we "might" find it. 
We admit, we had some misgivings about "boats" in Egypt, but, it was well maintained and we felt safe and enjoyed the meal and entertainment.
March 27...museum, Cairo tour, light show at Giza.  (a bit too much shoved into this day)
March 28....due to heavy rains last night, we got off to a late start...Still though...an interesting and enjoyable day.
March 29...to Alexandria....after seeing more of Cairo.  Hotel in Alexandria....wonderful...even better than the Nile Hilton!
March 30 ... new guide (still same guide from Cairo and same driver, but tour guides were new almost every day)  toured Alexandria....great day.
March 31...toured National Museum, Roman Theatre, etc. -- great day ....around noon...back to hotel and "free time".
April 1st...free day.
April 2nd...drove from Alexandria to El Alamein War Memorials...and back to Cairo.  Great to once again have A….'s help to put us and our luggage right on the train!  We really appreciated the attention given to us.  The train was also better than we envisioned.  (supper was so-so...but, breakfast was ok)
One "problem".....we learned while in Cairo....that the ferry would not sail on the day we had it booked.......our guide helped us by arranging (at a reduced cost) another night's lodging at the Marriot Hotel in Hurghada and booked ferry tickets for the next day.
April 3....met in Aswan by Summit ....taken to hotel to deposit our luggage, then toured the dams and temples etc.  Very nice!  Checked into the cruise ship.....again....far better than our expectations!!!
April 4...sailing -- enjoyable....meals were very good!
April 5...Luxor....we had this day off instead of the scheduled tours because the other "tourist" (the one from Miami) was off on another tour and they said, then we could all combine and see the things we should have seen today together.  We agreed, but, said we at least would like to do the Sound and Light show at Karnak that evening.  Even so, we found the next day that there was too much crammed into one day.  (the guy from Miami did all we did on the 6th PLUS the light show)
April 6...Luxor...checked into hotel.....very nice....again 5 star equal to North American standards.  (however, when we checked out....they made a mistake in our bill....they corrected it but advise your future clients to always check their bills.
April 7....Luxor...left for Abydos and Dendera.
April 8.....Luxor to Hurghada....agents were great.  I wanted to get "more cash" and they took us to a Thomas Cook office and helped us get our message across and took us back to the hotel.
April 9 (extra day in Hurghada due to change in ferry schedule) We took a tour.
April 10..too windy for the ferry......so.....once again, they took us back to the hotel and arranged another night's lodging there (at a reduced rate) and re-arranged the ferry.
April 11....we were taken to the ferry and "put on it" by our tour guides. Once in Sharm.....picked up and taken directly to the condo and they helped us get registered etc.
April 12......a "problem" occurred.....no-one’s fault.....but....we'd booked 2 tours....however, we did not realize that the condo does not change their clocks to match EGYPT'S time zone.....so, each time we were to be met and picked up to go on a tour.......no one came to meet us......FINALLY, it was discovered, that we were on a different time "zone" than the rest of the country.  Therefore, we'd go and wait for the pick up....no one would come and we'd go back to our room......the tour operator would come (an hour later)....not find us, and then call later to ask where we were!  This was a fault of the condo not explaining to guests that they "run" on a different time schedule.  The tour company was EXCELLENT...they made up for the confusion.....and were most helpful.  We had NO COMPLAINT with the Tour staff at any time.
April 13...14....15 at the condo....our time and some of it on extra tours booked directly.
April 15th checked out at noon....and headed out for St. Catherines.  We were a bit disappointed that the Monastery was not open on Easter Sunday....but, we did walk around it and saw it.  We also opted NOT to go on the mountain climb.
April 16 drive to Cairo -- great driver. A long drive. Great to be helped and checked into the Nile Hilton again.
April 17.....once again...great to be picked up and taken to the airport and to have them make sure we were okay before they left us.

We would certainly recommend your company to anyone thinking about traveling to Egypt.  We were also very pleased with you, Carol and all the assistance, information and help you gave us to get our trip planned and customized to our needs.

One more question.....do you do tours in other countries?  We are thinking of a trip (in a year or two) to Australia and New Zealand.  Do you do tours there also?

It is the only way to travel......someone there to "hold your hand" and help with any problems that might crop up.....to take you places, explain things, and yet, let you go where YOU want to go and do what YOU want to do.

We enjoyed the experience, the guides and the assistance. Thanks again.

To : Summit Tours

Date :  March 2006
Subject : Ali Mor – Egypt  ( USA )

RE : Guest feed back

Our trip was wonderful.  The cruise and the its staff were great.  The guides were friendly. They were very trustworthy.  We added another excursion to our cruise itinerary at the last moment and they were very accommodating.  It was also a very nice surprise that my friend and I were given our own private guide to the temple sites.  I would recommend the cruise to anybody.  Thanks for helping us with a great trip!

From : Carol

To : Summit Tours

Date :  March 2006
Subject : Richard Perreault – Egypt  ( Canada )

RE : Guest feed back

The trip was spectacular.  I’m not in the category of “extensive” traveler, but I think I’ve traveled somewhat greater than normal (Egypt was my 36th country), and I truly saw things beyond my expectations.   At first, I was a little thrown off by having a driver, guide, and in some cases company rep all to myself, but once I got used to it, I learned to use it to my advantage.  The crew in Luxor were particularly great.
 
My first day in Cairo was cooler, windier, and therefore sandier than I would have liked – the weather thing is always a dice roll (Last October I spent a week in New England when it rained every day and floods washed out some of the roads).  Fortunately I got back to Giza my last day, so my memories of the plateau will not forever be of squinting into a sandstorm.  I think if I had gone a little later in the year, Cairo might have been nicer, but the southern part of the trip would have probably been too hot – so overall, my weather timing was pretty good.  
All-in-all, the positives far outweighed the negatives, and the trip will go down in the “success” column of my ventures.

From: Patricia Barbosa ( USA )
To : Summit Tours

Subject: My evaluation of my trip to Egypt
Date: Tue, 21 Mar 2006 12:24:43 EST

Dear Emad Mohsan, :

I am writing my evaluation of my month's trip through Egypt with Summit Tours.

 First, I would like to state that I very much enjoyed my trip in Egypt and had few problems or concerns during my month long stay.  I do have some suggestions and comments on some of my travel arrangements and my evalution of the services I received:

 1.    Itinerary:   I made some changes in my trip that costs me additional money ($200) and changed the sites I eventually saw.  I was scheduled to travel to Saint Catherines, a 6-7 hour car trip and then return to Cairo and then go to Alexandria.  The amount of travel was too much for so short a time, and basically meant I would spend 2 days in a car.  I decided to spend an additional 2 days in Alexandria, but I would have much preferred to go to Saint Catherine and then go on to Sharm El Sheik instead of spending time in Hurghada.  I met another American couple with the same intinerary that also ended up changing their plans to skip Saint Catherine and spend additional time in Alexandria, to avoid the long car trip.  I would have liked the opportunity to choose Sharm el Sheik, which everyone told me was a much nicer resort than Hurghada, and reduce the amount of car travel required by going to Hurghada.  Also, I did not enjoy Hurghada very much.  The town is not very attractive and there is not much to do except for the beach. 

 2.    Hotel accommodations:  With the exception of the hotel in Luxor, I had very good hotels and very good service.  I chose to upgrade to the deluxe hotels and found them clean, safe and very comfortable.  However, I had a very bad experience at the New Winter Palace in Luxor. Although the hotel is considered a luxury hotel, the room I was given was hot, shabby, and very below par.  The hotel lobby, the garden and the restaurants are fine, but the room given to your tour company and assigned to me was far below what I would expect from a 2 star hotel.  The furniture was stained, old and shabby.  The bed was so old it buckled in the middle and was very uncomfortable.  The air conditioner was not working. I made several calls to the front desk that were ignored.  I had to sleep with the windows open, which was very noisy, so that I could sleep without being so hot.  The television, a very old set, did not work.  I complained several times and finally had the set replaced with another very old television.  The "new" TV had sound that came and went so that I could not watch TV.  I called to complain and was totally ignored because the hotel employee told me the set worked, even though the sound did not.  I was hot, I did not have a working television and I was uncomfortable during my 4 nights in Luxor.  I suggest that you not book travellers at the New Winter Palace as they do not give your tour guests decent rooms, and do not care if we complain.  I complained at least 4 times about problems and never had my complaints addressed, and was not offered a new room, or provided an explanation as to why my room was so shabby and hot.