Hotel Mesra Haiwan Peliharaan di Al Haouz

Based on our experience at Nkhila Lodge, it is hard to believe that there are any bad reviews whatsoever for this business. One thing to keep in mind when staying at a place like Nkhila: you are in the middle of a friggin' desert! In particular, it is at least a 30 minute fairly arduous drive to the next village of any reasonable size. So, the fact that there are 20 or so items on the lunch/dinner menu is incredible in and of itself. So, first, our family of 4 stayed 2 nights at the lodge. The staff greeted us upon arrival, provided and provided some snacks and water in their ”reception” tent. They were very accommodating, professional, and polite, during the entire visit. In fact, despite the fact that we were the only family there the second night (apparently, only slightly insane Texans want to be in the desert in July), there were 5-6 staff members on duty most of the time. The tents are comfortable, with a very ”modern” bathroom and shower, electricity and Wifi, unbelievably. A word about the meals: yes, they do take a while to be prepared, and we were told this in advance. However, (a) the meals seems to be made essentially from scratch, with several people working in a small, hot kitchen. And (b), please recall that you are in the middle of a desert!! In any case, the free breakfast, and all the other meals were very good. We did two of the offered activities: a one hour camel ride, and the Agafay quad biking. The camel ride is a simple affair, but a fun experience. The quad biking is run by a third party (as far as we can tell), whose base is more or less ”down the road.” This organization is *very* well run and professional. The manager is friendly and safety oriented, and our young tour guide was awesome! He was very attentive to everyone's needs, and also took a cool long video of us (with our phone) as we rode behind him up and down dunes. This experience is highly recommended! Finally, a word about the area. Apparently there are only 3 lodges/camps on this side of the Agafay desert. The other side apparently has many more, some of which are higher end ”spas.” One great thing about the relative lack of camps on this side is that you really feel like you are in the middle of nowhere. So, if you want a slightly more authentic and isolated desert experience, this is the one for you.