in Cairo...for location, good quality room.

Nile Hilton
Gezirah Sheraton
Ramses Hilton
Semiramis Intercon.
Cairo Marriott

in Luxor...

Sonesta St. George
Sheraton
Le Meridian

I have read comments on each of these hotels, and they all sound good, but now my head is swimming with too much information. I really need some help in making a decision. Which would you choose?

Cairo -- I have stayed at each of the Nile Hilton (great location, average rooms); Cairo Marriott (OK location; good rooms) and Semiramis Intercontinental (great location and rooms). So my recommendation based on where I've stayed is the Semiramis. You could walk to Egyptian Museum; everywhere else will require a taxi, but that's true about Cairo hotels. The most walkable part of town, Islamic Cairo and Khan-el-Khali bazaar, doesn't have the high end hotels.

I would stay at the Nile Hilton and the Sonesta St. George.

We stayed at the Gezirah Sheraton at the end of our trip for 1-day and it was fine, and for our first few days in Cairo we stayed at the Movenpick on the Giza side, and which was wonderful - more country club, than hotel, as no building more than 1 level, they were cottages with very very large rooms and great grounds. Down the block from the Mena House.

We didn't stay at a hotel in Luxor, rather on our Nile cruise boat which was the Movenpick boat that doesn't dock at the bulkhead as the other boats, rather on Crocodile Island where the Movenpick Hotel (designed as the one in Cairo with great grouds) is located. They do have a shuttle bus that gets you into the heart of Luxor in about 7-minutes, but so would a taxi.

But I understand that the Semiramis (now an Intercontinental) is lovely and great location; the Sonesta St. George in Luxor has also received good reviews.

We stayed at Al Gezirah Sheraton and Nile Hilton during our latest visit. Both are good hotels.

In Luxor, we stayed three years ago at the Sheraton. The hotel is good, but nothing special.
I tend to prefer the Old Winter Palace because of its central location and huge park, and also the atmosphere.

I can only comment on the Marriot: the hotel is lovely, but the location is not to my liking. I preferred staying at the Windsor, with is in downtown, and much more atmospheric.

Semiramis is a great hotel if you are looking for an upscale modern hotel. I stay at the Marriott Zamalek for the history, it used to be a palace, although the rooms are modern. I just got back from there last week and they are doing some much needed remodeling at the Marriott. Don't know when it will be finished. I would say all the hotels in Luxor, are a little "worn". Still nice, but "worn". Winter Palace does have a great location, you can walk to anything. I wouldn't use that as a deciding factor though because Luxor is small, and I mean small, and a taxi is dirt cheap. I stayed at the Movenpick at Crocodile Island. It has a tropical atmosphere, all rooms are bungalows. Again, a little worn, but most of the hotels are. I usually look for a hotel that has something unique about it, rather than just a "clone" of a hotel I can stay in in the U.S.