[SKOURA, MOROCCO] — After a long, bumpy slog over the Atlas Mountains from Marrakesh, I got out of the dusty Mercedes van in an indiscriminate parking lot outside a great mud-walled compound. Steep walls up to the sky.

This is it? I wondered under my breath. This is the place I’ve heard so much about?

I follow Flo through the thick passageway, then through an even smaller doorway on the main building and into a deep dark hallway, practically blinding me.  Like diving into a pool, I was instantly surrounded on all sides by moist, cool air. A shock to the system after the heat outside.

“Welcome to Dar Ahlam. Our goal here is to redefine the hotel experience. There is no Reception. No restaurant. No keys. No hours. No menus. No itinerary. Just surprises. When you are hungry, just show up at any time and we will take you to a special place we’ve arranged for you. Whatever you are in the mood for, we will arrange for you.”

And that’s how it all started…

Staying at Dar Ahlam is one of the coolest hotel experiences I’ve ever had.

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Ask any travel writer or traveler who’s been here and you’ll hear “Ahhhhhh Dar Ahlaaaam….” in a big sigh. Dar Ahlam is not only considered one of the best boutique hotels in Morocco, but one of the coolest hotel experiences in the world. It’s small, only thirteen or so luxurious suites, but its reputation is huge.

Dar Ahlam is located in the ancient palm oasis town of Skoura, an ancient caravan town, a long six or seven hour drive from Marrakesh (with delightful stops); up and over the ragged Atlas Mountains and down into the barren plains that lie before the sands of the Sahara. Travelers have been coming here for thousands of years, this kasbah alone was built in the 19th Century.

What’s slick is that they have a tandem experience with their own private tent camp in the Sahara, another four hours or so further south. You come to Skoura first, stay in luxury, lounge by the pool and tour the stunning surrounding area, then pop off to their private tent camp in the desert for an overnight. (see my other post about that incredible experience here.)

After a glorious night in the star-studded night in the desert, you come back, refresh and do some more exploring.  Everything is included, including on-staff guides. They take care of every detail. And fantasy.

Everything is built around these incredible surprises. Lunch or dinners are spread throughout the expansive grounds, eating in a different place every day. By the pool one night. In a date palm grove the next. On the rooftop at sunset.  You never know where next, giddy with discovery.

Getting to Dar Ahlam is Half the Fun

Okay, this trip….ummmm, I really splashed out on…because it is the Morocco and the Sahara, so what better place to go all-in? And Abercrombie & Kent is the one to go with, or Scott Dunn. They arranged everything, from pickup at the airport to transfers, to guides, to hotels, to a wifi-equipped Mercedes van (not that I spent anytime looking inside the van…)

From Marrakesh, you travel up the scary/windy Tizi n’Tichka Pass and then down the other side to the big town of Ouarzazate then on another hour to Skoura. Surprisingly, Northern Morocco is quite lush, green and bountiful, all fed from snowmelt from the High Atlas mountains.

But as you cross the Atlas Mountains, almost instantly the scenery changes. To desert. With verdant and thick oases, noted by the palmieres, thick and deep green against the one hundred shades of ocher that is Morocco.

As you descend into the desert side, you pass one picturesque town or oasis after the other. And if you take the dirt track Route 9, even more-so.

Every turn opens up a new geography and geology, different from the past kilometers. We stopped at this hidden little gem of a kasbah for lunch. Kasbah Ighnda. Had a remarkable tagine.You don’t even know this is here, driving down dusty streets, around tight corners, then pull down one alley. It’s not until you get inside that you realize what an Eden this is.

Once you arrive in Ouarzazate, take a quick tour of the movie studios, yes, movie studies. Movie production is the biggest business in town and has made Morocco famous. Google it. Tons of pictures have been made here and everyone can cite everyone one. (And a surprising number of Nicholas Cage movies.)  It has a massive backlot with movie sets and vistas galore, you can visit the old sets of Cleopatra, Ben Hur and Gladiator.

When you roll in to Skoura, you can’t figure it out. This supposedly magical hotel, here?

You pass dusty streets, everywhere. Donkeys. Little shops and homes with metal doors. Anas zooms around tight corner after tight corner, cats, dogs, people. You dip down into a dry riverbed, someone watering their mule. The roads get tighter, the road, dustier. Finally you pull into a small carpark. HERE? Really?

In Skoura, you are at the top of the Sahara, which is 60 days of camel to Timbuktu. And this was the caravans’ old stopping (and dropping) point to reload before crossing the craggy Atlas. And probably take a shower. You’ve read about caravans as a kid, but this really brings it all to life, especially when you see nomads who have been doing this for hundreds of years.

Inside Dar Ahlam

Dar Ahlam is a sensuously restored old 19th Century kasbah — Skoura has over a thousand old kasbahs in its palm groves — owned by a visionary French company called Maison des Rêves (House of Dreams).  As opposed to the opulent hotels in Marrakesh, this is understated, yet rustically elegant as only the French can do. There are no TVs in rooms, you’re here for the experience. But it has all the modern conveniences. Cool rooms with AC, comfortable furnishings. And nice sheets.

A walled compound amidst the dusty roads, lulled by the Call to Prayer from the mosques of Skoura. You have your own warren of rooms in the cool rammed-earth construction and only run into the few others around the pool or in passing to/from adventures.

“Welcome to Dar Ahlam. Our goal is to redefine the hotel experience. There is no Reception. No restaurant. No keys. No hours. No menus. No itinerary. Just surprises.”

The Rooms at Dar Ahlam

There are rooms in the kasbah tower, but also some outer rooms with their own courtyards. You can’t go wrong with either, although I’m a sucker for outdoor showers.

Dining at Dar Ahlam

When you are hungry, you just show up at your own time and Flo has already picked out a new, isolated little secret place for you to eat. A different place each day. One day in the garden, on pillows and flowing drapes and hammocks. Others in a candle-lit alcove. Once by the pool. A crescendo last night on the roof — which I didn’t even know was there.

I didn’t realize it until after, but I never once was shown a menu — they just start bringing you food — but they served exactly what I was in the mood for every single time. It was eerie. Everything single thing I love; different each day, but always seeming perfectly chosen, perfectly flavored. Moroccan food is now my favorite on the planet. I talked to other guests and they realized the same thing. THAT is remarkable.

When you are hungry, you just show up at your own time and Flo has already picked out a new, isolated little secret place for you to eat. A different place each day.

And candles. Candles and lanterns and fire glowing everywhere. I want to work here, being the fire-lighting guy. What a magical place. I never once saw a menu, they just bring you food, exactly what you wanted and didn’t even know. Every time.

This is one of the coolest things I’ve ever done. And well worth every single burning cent. And Flo and Dar Ahlam was the hotel experience to redefine them all. With surprises at every turn. Save up all your money and give it to Flo and you’ll walk away with one of the most memorable experiences, ever.  Here’s what Conde Nast Traveler had to say about a similar trip, staying at Dr Ahlam. And Travel & Leisure’s article Morocco Beyond Marrakesh

Exploring Around Dar Ahlam

Adventures & Surprises. That’s what Dar Ahlam is all about. Each day you decide what you’re in the mood for, then they take you there. On a hike, to visit local Market Day in Skoura, lunch by a grand lake. Every day is different.

— Last Visited May 2015 —

Additional Information About Dar Ahlam

Here’s a post I made on the amazing Dar Ahlam experience in their private tent camp in the Sahara. And here’s my post on cool things to do in Marrakech. Here’s a great video of Dar Ahlam from The Hideaway Report.  Man, if you want to get a sense of this place, this is it.  And here is Dar Ahlam’s equally stunning website.   And of their new moveable hotel concept called 700,000 Hours, where they are opening similar hidden places in Puglia, Cambodia, Brazil and other far destinations. like these featured in Departures magazine, and the Financial Times.

A great review of Dar Ahlam in Forbes.  Here’s the listing in Scott Dunn. And a 5/5 rating on TripAdvisor. Mr & Mrs Smith’s listing.

Here’s a review of Dar Ahlam in Travel & Leisure. A great story in The Daily Mail, of all places. And in The Telegraph.

Here’s a brief listing in Conde Nast Traveler.com and a lengthier story in the UK Conde Nast Traveller.

Travel Tips for Dar Ahlam

It’s a long way from Marrakesh, only a couple hundred kilometers, but takes about 4-5 hours with pictures. And that’s just to Skoura, from there it’s another 4 hours or so to get into the edge of the Sahara, where camp is. There are no real autostradas in Morocco so most the roads are windy and often bumpy two-lane roads.

It is amazing what shade does in the desert, you go from frying like an egg to cool as a cucumber in seconds, just by standing under a few scant limbs of a stubborn tree.

Gas stations are few and far between. So gas-up when you can. Or look into drivers, which are fairly common. You do need a car/driver, though to get around.