Maison Proche De Desert

The overnight desert trip was brilliant, with everything well organized and the team very accommodating. Abdullah made great food for us out there. Just be ready to rough it a bit. For one night under the stars, with sunset and sunrise, it’s absolutely worth it.

We arrived at 7.30pm after driving all day. I’d tried calling several times in the preceding hours to check that our Hotels.com booking had come through, since payment had already been processed. As soon as we got there, a frustrated man told us the hotel was full. We showed him our confirmation, and he said six other people with online bookings had arrived that day and couldn’t be accommodated either. He called his “brother” and said he could arrange a refund in an hour because he was busy. On the phone, both men insisted we cancel through hotels.com and refused to refund us. The man at the hotel blamed us, said it wasn’t their problem, and angrily pointed his finger into our car. Things were getting heated, so we left and contacted the booking site. The area wasn’t nice, and the place wasn’t worth +40€/ night. After we found another place, I checked and saw the owner still hadn’t closed bookings on various websites. The booking site later told me they had tried many times to reach the owner and resolve it, but got no answer. The overbooking led to unacceptable, threatening and aggressive behavior. Sharing this in the hope nobody else has to deal with such outrageously bad customer service. Avoid.

Farid arranged a 24h trip into the desert for us, with friendly, experienced guides who took care of all the details. Back at the place, we felt at home from the start: a heartwarming welcome, soulfood, and traditionally live-baked bread. The rooms were comfortable and beautifully decorated, and the yard had a sweet, traditional look. We’ll definitely return, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for somewhere to stay in Douz.

I came by motorbike and could park right outside my room door. Farid is very attentive, the place is well kept, and the breakfast was amazing. I loved the garden, and the wifi worked well. The rooms sit among date palms and desert sand. I recommend Farid's Place in Douz.