Mohammed Mutlak Camp

I have mixed reviews for this camp. The reviews online make the camp seem so friendly and well-managed. I think perhaps this is true in upper management (as the booking process was very good). we loved the food, loved the planning/organisation of booking and communication. We arrived at 10 am and then sat around a camp for the entire afternoon. I advise anyone coming to the camp to ask them to plan something for you the first day. We had a "picnic" and transfer to the camp in the itinerary. I thought this would be a bigger deal than it was. We had a 20 minute ride into the camp, and they got us some salads to eat at the camp. It is a very hot desert to sit around in with little to do. We had them take us for a little walk about 4 pm which was interesting. However, at the camp the manager changed daily, the men’s bathroom smells very bad, the rooms had a lot of mosquitos and are very close together. I have suggested they leave some mosquitor repellent in the rooms for others. We had some very noisy teenage girls at the camp the first night. However, I can happily say the staff tell me they banned them from returning. An example of miscommunication with management is that the morning after we asked to move to another tent. We were told the girls would be moved for the next night. Then that manager left the camp. When we returned from our day out, the girls had not been moved. We then had to ask again and we happily changed tents, as the young girls had not been asked to move. So we were taken care of, but it was a lack of cohesion. Our guide, Zayd was so nice.. so friendly… but not such an experienced guide. He lacked confidence. Zayd also dropped us off for a 15 min hike through a canyon to pick us up at the other end. The rocks were far too steep for our old legs.. so we turned around and went back to wait where he dropped us off. He didn’t come back for almost 2 hours. I think this is just his inexperience and youth.. but we were without enough water and this seemed careless and dangerous. The food was fantastic! They bury the food and cook it in the ground with charcoal and it was so tasty! Worth coming for the food alone. Our camel ride through the desert at sunset was also amazing! It was truly something for the scrapbook and I recommend this to anyone. The cigarette smoke is also something that westerners are not used to. This was from other guests, not the staff. However, I intensely dislike people smoking, especially in the food tent. I think maybe they need to make the food areas, campfire and recreation tents no-smoking. I know smoking has different cultures around the world, so this might be tough. I would have liked to have known before I signed up that smoke might be everywhere. After our stay, the manager followed up nicely and I think they will take some comments on board. They have good intentions but it just lacks the polish and planning we all want on our holidays. Holiday time is prec