On our holiday, we stayed at four hotels and have reviewed them below:

Grand Palace Hotel, Amman

Located out of the town centre, the Grand Palace Hotel was large and comfortable. Our bed was absolutely huge. The spacious lounge adjacent to the dining room was ideal for having a pre-dinner drink or waiting for friends. We enjoyed the buffet meals which were our first taste of Jordanian cuisine.

Julie needed to buy some sunglasses and we found a tiny shop in the reception area with some expensive sunglasses in a display case, but the shop was never manned. Exploring further past reception we found a small room packed with newspapers, postcards, toothpaste, and so on, presided over by an elderly lady who spoke little English. This proved to be the place to buy cheap sunglasses.

We had no complaints about this hotel but it was nothing special.

Hotel entrance

Hotel security guard

View of Amman from our room

The hotel's web site

More about Amman

Petra Panorama Hotel, Wadi Musa

Two things stand out about the Petra Panorama Hotel. One is its location on the side of a hill overlooking the mountains that surround Petra. The view from our room was absolutely stunning, especially at sunset. The lounge also had a very pleasant aspect; after breakfast we watched a boy herding goats much further down the valley. The other is its construction. As the picture shows, it is built into the steep hill which meant that getting from the communal areas (reception, dining etc) to the bedrooms involved an elevator (lift), then a walk of about 50 metres down a corridor, then another elevator.

Julie had a problem in the bar - they would not serve her whilst she was on her own and I was summoned to act as chaperone. She also had to insist on entering her own PIN number when paying at reception, and was led through the back offices to the area behind the reception desk as the card machine could not be moved.

The hotel's souvenir shop was opened on request. We had been told that souvenirs at Petra were the most expensive in Jordan, but the goods in this shop were reasonably priced.

The food was excellent and the staff efficient, though the acoustics of the restaurant made it rather noisy when crowded. Julie had an epileptic seizure (see www.livingwithepilepsy.org.uk) in the restaurant and the staff were puzzled but did not make a fuss.

The view from our room

The lounge view

The hotel's web site

More about Petra

Aqaba Gulf Hotel

We liked this hotel which was spacious and well designed. In particular, we spent quite a bit of time in the lounge. This had a large-screen television (with the sound turned down), English-language newspapers and plenty of movable seating. Drinks, alcohol, colas, tea/coffee and biscuits could be ordered from here and the location of the lounge near reception made it easy to socialise with passing members of our party.

The Aqaba Gulf Hotel is located on the Corniche, opposite the ruins of old Aqaba (Ayla) and next to the larger Movenpick. It is only a few minutes level walk from the town centre so it is easy to get to the shops, sea front, restaurants and the cinema. Our room had a view of the harbour and of the town of Eilat just across the border in Israel.

The view from our bedroom and . . .

. . . sunset through a telephoto lens

The hotel's website

More about Aqaba

Dead Sea Spa Hotel

The hotel is spread out over a large area beside the Dead Sea. The complex includes a medical centre and shops. Most of the bedrooms have balconies and sea views. We could see Jericho in the distance from our balcony (see opposite). There are several outdoor swimming pools and we spent our evenings beside one of the pools, drinking colas and watching the amazing sunset (see main Dead Sea page).

The food was excellent, though expensive, and the staff attentive. The breakfast choice was especially good. In particular, several types of tasty bread were available.

Apart from the poolside bars, there was an inside bar cum library (stocked with books and magazines in German). On one night live musicians performed outside, but this was amplified so it was impossible to converse.

There is direct access to the Dead Sea from a rather rough beach, and hoses are provided to clean off the unpleasant mud and salty water after going for the obligatory float.

We would have liked to spend a few more days here as it was a very relaxing and beautiful place to be. Our only hassle was being ignored in favour of pushier but later customers at check out time.

The hotel's web site

More about the Dead Sea

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