Kanz Erremal

A kasbah-hotel deep in the southeast of Morocco, offering camel and jeep excursions into the spectacular Erg Chebbi dunes and beyond

Merzouga is the best place in Morocco to get a taste of the spectacular Sahara dunes. A newly-asphalted road leads right up to huge hills of golden sand; at their base, a string of hotels vies for your custom. We checked out a dozen, and chose Kanz Erremal – ‘desert treasure’ in Berber – for its superior service, comfy rooms and well-run excursions.

It’s a newly-built, square-towered kasbah, made of the ubiquitous mud-straw pisé which serves as bricks-and-mortar hereabouts. At its centre is an airy atrium, cooled by clay vases of dripping water, around which lie several sitting-dining alcoves. Upstairs are a dozen simple but cosy bedrooms, most with views (and in some cases balconies) over those magnetic, photogenic dunes. It’s co-owned by 2 Spaniards, who make regular visits, and a dynamic Moroccan called Brahim, who oversees a handful of cheery local staff. They can arrange all manner of desert trips, including camel treks to an overnight oasis camp (a must), quad biking, sand boarding and tours in their Land Rover to mineral quarries, cave paintings and nomadic settlements.

Highs

• The dunes of Erg Chebbi are right on your doorstep – walk 5 minutes and you can lose yourself (hopefully not literally) in a sea of wind-sculpted sandscapes
• Their oasis camp is in a magical spot, not shared with any other hotels – so you can have the silent dunes and starry skies all to yourselves
• Superb breakfast of crispy crepes, flan, jams, yoghurts, even chocolate spread
• Excellent value for money; rates include dinner and breakfast

Lows

• Dinners could be improved – though admittedly supplies are scarce round here
• Touts hang around trying to sell you trinkets and camel tours (best to prebook one)
• Don’t imagine you’re in splendid isolation: there’s another hotel right next door, and more nearby
• Some rooms are beginning to need maintenance
• Not much to do in the middle of the day
• It's remote – 5 hours from Ouarzazate, 7 from Fez, 8 from Marrakech