Dar Azawad

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Sahara Desert, southern Morocco

The end of the road, the start of the Sahara: a chic kasbah with shady palms, infinity pool and Landrovers for desert adventures

Reviewed by Michael Cullen

Dar Azawad, Morocco, Overview

DAR AZAWAD - REVIEW

South of Zagora, the newly-asphalted road crosses vast lunar landscapes to end at the dusty desert town of M’hamid, where it yields to palm-studded sand dunes stretching into Algeria and beyond. This is the start of the Sahara proper; beyond here, it’s jeeps and dromedaries only.

Vincent Jacquet made a brave lifestyle change when, in 2002 - shortly after the area opened to foreign travellers - he swopped his Biarritz restaurant for a mud hut in the date-growing hamlet of Ouled Driss. But within 2 years he had created a mini-village of smartly sculpted pisé houses and tented rooms, set among young gardens of palm and acacia trees, with a rimless pool and refined cuisine that would not be out of place in France. Tribal-chic interiors combine nomadic themes (colourful rugs, sparkling saris, carved woods) with European comforts (air-con, stylish shower pods). Outside, Landrovers offer overnight expeditions across salt lakes to Morocco’s largest dunefields at Erg Chigaga; camels plod through the palmeraie to smaller dunes nearby; or you can explore crumbling ksour and lively souks in the local village.

HIGHS

This desert is the real thing compared to the busy playgrounds of Merzouga: vast, elemental, awe-inspiring, it empties your crowded mind (Vincent calls it his ‘spiritual washing machine’)
The Chigaga dunes are Morocco’s biggest, a veritable mountain range of sand
It’s a real treat having a big pool for daytime lazing and waterside dining
The 10 rooms and, in particular, the 5 suites, are showpieces of exotic style
Tireless Gallic hospitality from Vincent and his business partner Christian creates a highly convivial atmosphere; and their staff are unfailingly polite

LOWS

Unlike Merzouga, you don’t have stunning dunes on your doorstep – the best are a two hour jeep ride away
M’hamid is 4 hours’ drive from the nearest international airport at Ouarzazate (though plans are afoot to expand the airstrip in nearby Zagora), and 8 hours’ drive from Marrakech
The tented rooms can get very hot in summer
Breakfast is a bit meagre by Azawad’s otherwise high standards, but yoghurts are promised

Print Whole Report

Name	Dar Azawad	Location	near Mhamid, South and desert
Type	Desert hotel: 15 rooms, 8 tents	Country	Morocco
Price Guide	€45-80 pppn H/B	Open	All year except July


DISTANCES	Airport: 90km	Nearest Shops: 5km	Nearest restaurant: 5km	Beach: 550km