Bivouac Chergui Sahara

Right from the get-go, I'll say that if you're a Ritz hotel type traveler, you'll need to take a minute and adjust your expectations. This is something I had to do myself. But, this is not like any other travel experience - it's unique. If you pass this up because it's not what you're used to, you'll be missing a LOT. Upon arrival, we were greeted with mint tea as is customary everywhere, but that's where typical ends. The circle of very large tents is surrounded by dunes in every direction. There's a very large dining tent and a fire pit in the middle of the compound. Our tent had a terrible ant problem at the doorway - we couldn't source the problem, but they did give us bug spray and we didn't get any bites and the ants didn't get into our things, so it was a minor inconvenience. The photographs we saw on-line are accurate, but in reality, the room impressed us differently. In-person, the shag carpeting (while practical for catching and hiding the abundant sand) along with the red velvet walls was all just a little jarring. The shower space and toilet space were modern and functional. The vanity was modern and sufficient. The tents have individual wall-unit air conditioners - ours cooled the space very effectively. There was an unusual smell in the tent - was it incense, or left over from the campfires? It wasn't pleasant, but we also only used our tent for sleeping. The came ride was AMAZING! Don't miss that. It's an experience unlike any other. And, the guides are friendly and enthusiastic. Dinner was terrific - food was good and plentiful. We brought our own alcohol. They chilled the wine for us. Non-alcoholic beverages were available for purchase. The drum circle was the BEST. Everyone was dancing - it was probably the best group dinner of our entire 2-week trip because it was so relaxed, fun and unique - the space was entirely ours and the entertainment was especially for us. After dinner, they set up a roaring campfire and left us to it. We stayed up very late, played our own music, danced, talked. There's nowhere else to go and nothing else to do - and, you can't be on your phone because there's zero service. It's extremely relaxing. They had surveyed who wanted to be awakened for sunrise, so we got a tap on our tent in time to throw on clothes and venture into the dunes. (Shortly thereafter, there were hyenas running eagerly past our tent looking for last minute scraps before we all arose). As you walk into the dunes: note that some of the people who work here sleep in the desert - not in tents. Just bed down. Anthropologically, this was neat to see, too. It's another way of life entirely. While awaiting breakfast, one of our travelers started playing one of the drums and in no time, Rashid (who manages the space) joined in and we had an impromptu performance before breakfast. So, that's why this hotel experience gets 5 stars while I also caution you to lower your typical hotel expectations. It'