Mandarin Oriental Old Cataract, Aswan: a Timeless Nile Landmark

I like a hotel that takes things in its stride without batting an eyelid, and I arrive at this venerable hotel in possibly the most beat-up Peugeot station wagon on the planet. Sitting beside the driver is a villainous looking teenager in a white gallabiyah with a red keffiyeh, with his sidekick – a mischievous but persuasive youth of about 10 – who have together procured this inelegant conveyance for me. The driver realises there is no possibility of being allowed inside the cool, manicured domain I am about to enter, and so I am dumped unceremoniously outside the gate, but the fez-topped staff are an unflappable breed and praise be, my name is on the guest list. Perched on granite cliffs overlooking humpback islands in the River Nile, the hotel was opened in 1900 by Thomas Cook.