Last Updated on April 2, 2023 by PowersToTravel
Memories Aicha is a luxury camp in the Wadi Rum desert in Jordan. Before investigating our pop-over to Jordan from Egypt I had never heard of the Wadi Rum desert. What else in the world have I never heard of? It makes me want to keep reading about the world, searching for the wonderful, can’t miss places like Wadi Rum.
Wadi Rum is a red-rock desert north of Aqaba. Mountains cut through the desert, providing shade to the red and golden sand floor. Huge sand dunes spread against the tall rocky cliffs. On an ancient caravan route through the Middle East, it exudes history. Amazing petroglyphs dating back 12,000 years are scrawled in gorges and around waterholes. You must read this article about the history of the petroglyphs.
The national park area is run by the local Bedouins which also gives character to the tours. The Bedouins provide the transportation and tours; the camps, though, are run by businesses. To enjoy the experience you must be ready for both extremes of service.
Getting to Memories Aicha
To reach the camps, you must transfer from your car or SUV to a Bedouin truck in the town of Wadi Rum. A tiny place, it exists only as a gateway center for the camps in the desert. There’s plenty of parking in the town to leave your vehicle. Somehow you must connect with the driver heading to your camp. Luckily for us, our driver from Jordan Horizons Tours made all the connections. He just motioned us to a rickety truck and helped us and our luggage get in. Climbing up the back bumper and over the closed tailgate was a struggle for my knees.
“See you tomorrow at noon!” was all he said as he deserted us.
Another couple also waited with their luggage. The four of us sat on the thinnest possible cushions in the open back of the oldest-possible-but-still-running pickup truck. And we were off!
How long did the ride take? I don’t actually know – maybe 15 minutes or so, maybe more. All I knew was that I was so anxious to get out there before the sun set. I wanted my pictures of this amazing camp with its panoramic geodesic domes!
Lesson learned – it was perhaps too much to try to cram into one day – the Petra hike until 3pm, then the drive to Wadi Rum. It did fit for time, but not really for daylight! (But then again, I wouldn’t have wanted to arrive at Wadi Rum in the morning, just a little earlier in the afternoon.)
We headed out to the desert. I could see about 25 other vehicles – not in a caravan, but spread in a huge spider web of dust! The vehicles didn’t stay in a path, they just drove across the desert, each one trying to drive the fastest, and avoid the dust of the one in front at the same time! We passed several other camps tucked into the crevices of the mountain rock fronts. I peered as we swayed and bounced across the sandy, rocky desert. Was I ever glad I was wearing my sunglasses with all the dust swirling around.
“Is that ours? I want it to be ours! I want to be there so I get pictures in the sun!” I would immediately know it was not, because ours had geodesic domes. There are several with geodesic domes, but many more with canvas tents only.
Arrival
We finally arrived at our camp, Memories Aicha, and the camp workers grabbed our luggage and escorted us to the reception tent. There was a delay as we tried to check in – no reservation for us. What!? All the while I was antsy wanting those pictures! Turns out that while Jordan Horizons Tours had made all the logistic arrangements, this was one of the accommodations which showed “fully booked” when they tried to book it, and allowed me to book it on the internet using the Memories Aicha website. We had our confirmation page, and finally they sorted out that we were just “walk-ins.” It was a strange bit of confusion.
At last we were escorted to our tent, and it was worth the wait! Of course we have stayed in nice hotels before. I try to splurge and go to a special hotel at least once a trip, just to make a memory. But this place? It looked as an Arabian Nights decorator had gone wild! Beautiful curtains, bedding, tapestries, inlaid wood, all coordinated to give the guest the illusion of fantastic luxury in an Arabian desert. I can assure you that the pictures on their website are accurate.
I chose the panoramic tent because it would give us the views to the desert and stars, and was so fantastically decorated. The panoramic suite, at an even higher cost, was not available for that night, and I wouldn’t have chosen it anyway. After all, why would we need an extra area with a couple of chairs when all else was the same? The price was significantly higher than the Executive Tents and other Tents, which were canvas and situated in the inner area of the camp.
Luckily, in spite of the delays, I was able to get some pictures of the outside before the sun set over the opposite mountains.
The rest of the camp was just as magical as our tent
We took a walk around the boardwalk which joined all of the tents and domes. The dining tent was HUGE and just as extravagant in decoration as our dome.
The hookah lounge is the only location in the camp where wifi is available, so we wanted to check it out:
Built as it was, tucked under the rock, it had an elegant vibe. The night we were there, though, pre-dinner, it had an empty vibe because the wifi was down. We checked later – still down. Bummer.
Dinner was delicious. I am always hesitant to eat from a buffet (see my Peru – Itinerary, Reviews and Diabetic Travel Tips for my bad digestive experiences.) However, we made sure we arrived just as the buffet was being loaded, and chose fully cooked foods. They offered a carvery with succulent roast lamb. Wonder of wonders, they had a refrigerated cooler in the dining room filled with sodas for us to select – and that included Pepsi Zero!
We struggle sometimes to find diet soda, which leaves me to drink bottled water with my meals. If that isn’t the epitome of boring while on a magical vacation, I don’t know what is!
But not so here. We even had our choice of diet sodas for breakfast! And that is the epitome of luxury!
Night in the Desert
They say that it gets cold in the desert. That’s no lie! We had brought our jackets to dinner, so we were all set for our walk back, but it was very chilly. They even offer each guest a furry bathrobe in the tents so that we could easily keep warm after dark. Check out Greg modeling his.
The freeway a distance outside our camp was quite a surprise to us. We had no idea there were so many camps in the desert, and so many late arrivers. The sun set and we watched the darting lights as the pickup trucks zoomed across the desert. I’m so glad we made it when we did.
Now comes our major disappointment. We had read about the stars in the desert, and how this location is a unique dark location where we would be able to see the Milky Way and all the wonders of the galaxy. That may be so, but that doesn’t happen if the moon is full. If the moon is full and in the sky, it is almost as bright as the picture above. We saw no stars, even in our special bathrobes!
It is important to note, because this aspect was not clear to me during my investigations, that they eventually turn off the lights in the camp. I so desperately wanted a tent which was on the outer ring so that the night lights not bother our view of the sky. I shouldn’t have worried. It was perhaps 10pm (later? I don’t know) that the lights were turned off, and all tents had the benefit of the dark sky. That is, if the sky had been dark and that stupid moon hadn’t been hanging around all night!
Now I have to add Moon Phases to my trip planning considerations. In some locations I consider the tide charts, pollution levels, dust storms. Now I’m adding Moon Phases. I can’t blame Memories Aicha for that. Besides, we couldn’t have re-scheduled the vacation two weeks earlier or later, just to see the stars.
Morning and sadly, departure
The following morning we took a two hour tour of the desert with our Bedouin driver in his rickety truck. At the time it was more something to endure than enjoy, but now that we are comfortable, and the pictures and memories are here for us to look back on, it was a tremendous experience.
I keep looking back at the camels in the desert, wishing I had had the time, perhaps not to experience the back of that truck any longer, but to choose a camel ride in the Wadi Rum desert.
Conclusion
Memories Aicha is hands-down one of the most special accommodations we have ever stayed in. Choose the Panoramic Tent.
