From desert camps beneath the dunes of the Sahara to kasbahs, riads, mountain retreats, lakeside escapes and heritage hotels across southern Morocco — a hand-picked collection of places rooted in landscape, culture and authentic hospitality. Each property offers its own character, story and connection to the spirit of Morocco.
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Grup Xaluca · Southern Morocco
Hotels, bivouacs, events and services
in the south of Morocco
Nine properties, two families, three hundred hands — and a single promise of welcome across the kasbahs, the dunes and the Atlas peaks.
4.9Guest rating
Trusted by 12,000+ travellers across our nine properties
Welcome欢迎नमस्तेHolaأهلاً وسهلاًBonjourOláЗдравствуйтеসালামSalamようこそBenvenutoWillkommenHoş geldiniz환영합니다
Plan your stay
Begin a southern Morocco journey
How it works
- 1Choose your stayPick a hotel, desert camp or mountain lodge.
- 2Submit your requestTell us dates, travellers and preferences.
- 3Availability reviewOur team prepares a tailored proposal.
- 4Confirm your reservationReview, confirm and receive your booking.
This is an enquiry, not an instant booking — a host reviews availability and follows up with a tailored quote within 24 hours.
Pick one or more properties to start building your inquiry. Each becomes its own editable block below.
Browse the properties
Tap a card to add it to your enquiry — pick as many as you'd like.
5 hotels4 bivouacs1 refuges
Start here
What brings you to Grup Xaluca?
مرحبًا بكم
Four ways into our southern Morocco — tap any to read more, then jump straight to where you want to be.
Sahara · Erg Chebbi·Heritage Berber·Atlas Highlands·Family since 1990s·Oasis & Kasbahs·Sahara · Erg Chebbi·Heritage Berber·Atlas Highlands·Family since 1990s·Oasis & Kasbahs·
Our collection
Hotels & Bivouacs
Nine addresses, one art of hospitality — from fortified kasbahs to bivouacs beneath the stars.
Six kilometres from the city of Arfoud, the gateway to the Sahara. A fortified kasbah where adventure begins.
KASBAH HOTEL XALUCA ARFOUDBOOK WITH US
An oasis of comfort in the heart of the desert. Slow down, breathe, and let the dunes speak.
KASBAH HOTEL TOMBOUCTOUBOOK WITH US
A dream made real between the rugged peaks of the Atlas and the silence of the high valleys.
HOTEL XALUCA DADESBOOK WITH US
An intimate riad where Moroccan craftsmanship meets the silence of Erg Chebbi.
HOTEL RIAD XALUCABOOK WITH US
A renovated mountain refuge, heated pool and spa overlooking a serene Atlas lake.
HOTEL XALUCA SPA AGUELMAME SIDI ALIBOOK WITH US
A treasure hunt in the fortified UNESCO town. New maison d'hôte opening soon.
XALUCA AÏT BEN HADDOU MAISON D'HÔTEBOOK WITH US
Bivouacs & Desert Camps
A night in the Sahara
Camel-hair haimas, white luxury suite tents and the silence of the Erg Chebbi — three ways to disappear into the desert.
The Bivouacs Xaluca experience
Bivouacs Xaluca
One collection, four ways to sleep in the Sahara — from candle-lit haimas to five-star suite tents. Your doorway into every Xaluca desert camp.
La Belle ÉtoileKamkamiaMerdaniFuture camps
Explore the Bivouacs Xaluca collection
Camps & desert auberges
Discover each campSleep like a nomad beneath an infinite starry sky and chase the sunrises of Erg Chebbi.
AUBERGE LA BELLE ÉTOILEBOOK WITH USPitched deep inside the Erg Chebbi dunes — Berber haimas, embroidered cushions, lanterns and a sky so dense with stars it earns the camp its name.
LA BELLE ÉTOILE BIVOUACSBOOK WITH USOur most refined desert camp — private suite tents with king beds, en-suite bathrooms, copper basins and a candle-lit dining tent set among the highest dunes.
KAMKAMIA LUXURY DESERT CAMPBOOK WITH USA quieter alternative to Erg Chebbi — set on the Merdani plateau where black-stone hammada meets rolling dunes. Small, intimate, perfect for stargazers and writers.
MERDANI BIVOUACBOOK WITH US
Refuge & Mountain Lodge
Above the valleys
A high-altitude refuge in the M'Goun massif — base camp for trekkers, astronomers and anyone who reads at altitude.
The M'Goun experience
Refuge Ifess Fess
Hidden deep in the M'Goun canyons — reached by mule or on foot, beneath a vault of stars only shepherds and astronomers truly know. Amazigh cuisine cooked over wood fire, sunrise above the cedars.
M'Goun MassifBy mule or on footAmazigh cuisineStargazing
Explore the Ifess Fess refuge
OUR FOUNDERS
The people who lit the path
Two paths. Two homes. One shared belief — that travel is a bridge between people, and that every welcome, every route, every detail should feel like family.
Tayeb Ettaiek
Arfoud, Morocco
Tayeb Ettaiek
From Arfoud, Tayeb Ettaiek carries the local soul — Moroccan hospitality and a deep, lived knowledge of the south. His reading of the land, its people, and their traditions has been essential to shaping experiences that feel authentic, caring, and truly rooted in place.
His legacy lives on in every welcome, every route, and every small detail that turns a journey into a memory.
Play thank-you message
Tayeb Ettaiek
— Tayeb Ettaiek
Lluís Pont
Sabadell, Spain
Lluís Pont
From Sabadell, Lluís Pont championed a way of travelling grounded in trust, closeness, and respect for the destination. His vision helped build the bridge between those who dream of discovering Morocco and those who live it from within, day after day.
A family story — of travel and of people — that keeps inspiring every experience shaped by Grup Xaluca and Xaluca Tours.
Play thank-you message
Lluís Pont
— Lluís Pont
Where we are
The map of southern Morocco.
From the cedar lakes of the Middle Atlas to the dunes of Erg Chebbi — every Xaluca property, every landmark, and a side index for places that sit close together.
26 places
Tip — when markers overlap (Merzouga · Erg Chebbi), use the side panel to pick the exact place.
Films of the south
The Grup Xaluca universe, in motion.
Short editorial films capturing the people, the places and the rituals of the south of Morocco — produced with our chefs, guides and guests.
Experiences
Cultural adventures
Camel caravans, Atlas treks, kasbah trails, the living heritage of the Berber people.
Xaluca OriginalsSahara Camel Caravans
Cross the golden dunes of Erg Chebbi at dusk and bivouac under the Milky Way.
Discover this experience“The Sahara at dawn on a camel — silent, endless, life-changing. Xaluca made every detail feel effortless.”
Sarah B.
London
Xaluca OriginalsAtlas Mountain Treks
Hike the rugged Atlas with Berber guides, sharing tea in nomad tents.
Discover this experience“Two days trekking with Amazigh guides through the M'Goun. Cedar forests, warm bread, silence. Deeply human.”
Andrea L.
Milan
Xaluca OriginalsKasbah Heritage Trails
Walk fortified earthen villages and discover the artistry of mud-brick architecture.
Discover this experience“Aït Ben Haddou at golden hour, then a private dinner inside the ksar. Cinema you can taste.”
David C.
New York
Xaluca OriginalsBerber Living Heritage
Weaving, music, gnaoua rhythms — share a slow afternoon with the families behind the craft.
Discover this experience“We cooked tagine with the family, learned three Amazigh words, and left as friends. Rare, unforgettable.”
Nadia F.
Amsterdam
Xaluca OriginalsBespoke · Tailor-made
Beyond the listed experiences — your Southern Morocco, by design.
Off the obvious trails, this is what our concierges quietly slip to guests who want to see the south the way we live it.
A café, an oasis, a dune kept for those who know to ask.
- Xaluca Originals
Sunrise Camel Trek & Erg Chebbi Discovery
Sahara magic at sunrise — 4x4 transfer from your hotel, then a camel caravan to a private viewpoint over the dunes.
Discover“The dunes turned pink under our feet — a quiet, unforgettable morning.”
Lucía M.
Barcelona
Xaluca OriginalsSunset Camel Trek & Erg Chebbi Discovery
Watch the Erg Chebbi turn from copper to rose. Hotel pickup, 4x4 to the dunes, then a camel ride to a sunset vantage point.
Discover“We rode into a sky of copper and honey. No filter comes close.”
Thomas K.
Berlin
Xaluca OriginalsPizza Night in Arfoud
A relaxed lunch or dinner at one of Arfoud's most renowned pizzerias — casual atmosphere, a local favourite, easy on the family.
Discover“A wood-fired oven under the stars — the crust, the mint tea, the desert. Perfect.”
Isabel R.
Madrid
Xaluca OriginalsErg Chebbi Quad Adventure — 2 Hours
Two hours of pure dune thrill — desert tracks, hidden viewpoints and experienced local guides. Open to beginners and pros.
Discover“Two hours flying over the crests of Erg Chebbi. Pure adrenaline, expertly guided.”
Marc D.
Lyon
Xaluca OriginalsErg Chebbi Quad Adventure — 4 Hours
A longer, more immersive ride deep into the Sahara — remote landscapes, hidden ksour and the freedom of the open desert.
Discover“Four hours deep into the erg, ending at a hidden oasis. Bucket-list stuff.”
Chloé P.
Paris
Our heritage
One family, one calling
Grup Xaluca is a family business with over 30 years of hospitality. Honesty, transparency, devotion to Moroccan culture and support of local communities — those are our values.
Chronology
Three decades of history, told through our houses
1998Kasbah Hotel Tombouctou
Merzouga
The Ettaiek family's first establishment — quickly became a Merzouga reference. After Grup Xaluca was born, it was fully renovated and expanded into one of the most charismatic hotels in the dunes.
2003Kasbah Hotel Xaluca
Arfoud
Twelve rooms at first — that was the dream. Twenty-two years of perseverance later, the kasbah has two hundred rooms, eight bungalows, and has become a benchmark for hospitality across the south of Morocco.
2008Auberge La Belle Étoile
Merzouga
Founded to offer an exceptional night in the very heart of the Erg Chebbi dunes — now a strategic stop for groups and travellers who want to fall asleep under the Milky Way.
2011Hotel Xaluca Dades
Boumalne Dades
Reborn from a former National Parador of Morocco — originally designed by a renowned Japanese architect — Grup Xaluca rebuilt it in an African architectural language, perched between the Middle Atlas and the desert.
2014Xaluca Ifess Fess Refuge de Montagne
Atlas Mountains
Born of the demand of daring guests asking to explore the high routes of the Middle and High Atlas. A remote refuge, reached on foot or by mule — for those who want to disappear into nature and come back changed.
2016Arfoud Voyages
Arfoud
Our wholesale travel agency — built to compose Morocco-wide journeys for our long-time partners, taking the chaos of logistics off their shoulders.
2017
Xaluca Tours
Sabadell · Barcelona
A retail travel agency in Catalonia, specialised in tailor-made Moroccan journeys — cultural, adventure, luxury, romantic. The European desk of Grup Xaluca, run by people who actually live in Morocco several months a year.
2020Xaluca Aït Ben Haddou Maison d'Hôte
Aït Ben Haddou
A boutique guesthouse inside the UNESCO-listed ksar — a rare permission, a quiet building, a chance to sleep inside one of the most filmed villages on Earth.
2023Hotel Xaluca Spa Aguelmame Sidi Ali
Lake Aguelmame Sidi Ali
An old hunting lodge on the shore of Morocco's deepest lake, completely rebuilt by Grup Xaluca and a team of master cedar carvers from the surrounding villages — thirty-two rooms in cedar, a heated pool, a high-altitude spa.
2024New projectRiad Xaluca Merzouga
Merzouga
A boutique riad next to the Erg Chebbi dunes — infinity pool over the sand, panoramic restaurant, local guides who organise sunrise excursions. The most intimate Xaluca address yet.
SoonUnder constructionHotel Xaluca Dunes
Merzouga
Our five-star desert flagship, currently under construction at the edge of Erg Chebbi.
Gastronomy
The table of the south
Slow-cooked tagines, mechoui, mint tea and bitter-orange pastries — Berber cuisine refined.
Learn more →
Events
The Sahara, the setting of your moments
Weddings, conventions, launches — our teams choreograph events in unforgettable landscapes.
Learn moreWall of love
What our guests say
“An extraordinary stay. Grup Xaluca turned a corporate event into a once-in-a-lifetime memory.”
Sophie M.
Paris, France
“The bivouac under the Erg Chebbi sky is something every traveler must experience once.”
Carlos R.
Madrid, España
“Warm hospitality, refined detail, and a deep sense of place. Truly the soul of southern Morocco.”
Aiko T.
Tokyo, Japan
“Every meal told a story — and every guide remembered our names. The south of Morocco felt like coming home to a family we had only just met.”
Maximilian K.
Berlin, Deutschland
“The silence at sunrise on the dune, the mint tea poured three times, the kindness of the staff — small details that turn a trip into a transformation.”
Lena B.
Stockholm, Sverige
“From the High Atlas refuge to the campfire in the Sahara, the team made every transition feel effortless. The route itself is a masterpiece.”
Diego L.
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Arfoud
First light over the kasbah. The palm grove still asleep, the cooks already at the bread.
1,48038
Bivouacs Xaluca
A night in the Erg Chebbi — three thousand stars and the distant drum of the Gnawa.
2,31064
Spa & Wellness
Argan, beldi soap, mint tea. The slow grammar of the hammam.
1,12427
Gastronomy
Twelve hours under the embers — méchoui, the way the south insists on cooking.
1,86552
M'Goun
Refuge Ifess Fess — accessible by mule, written for those who read at altitude.
93219
Erg Chebbi
Dromedary caravan to the camp. The dunes do most of the conversation.
2,74081
Pool · Arfoud
The Berber-tiled pool at the kasbah, the date palms throwing their last lines.
1,45633
Aït Ben Haddou
Aït Ben Haddou before the bus arrives. UNESCO, but earlier.
1,98047
Bungalow · Arfoud
Bungalow 185 at golden hour — cedar ceilings, tadelakt walls, and a window that finally exhales.
1,24531
A new post almost every day — landscapes, kitchens, hosts, hours.
See the full journalWhy book with us
Over 30 years sharing the essence of southern Morocco.
We offer more than hotels, camps and experiences. We share a way of understanding this territory, grounded in hospitality, local knowledge and a deep connection with the people and places that make southern Morocco unique.
1998
Founded
A family, not a chain
Owned and run by two families — Catalan and Berber — since 1998. Every welcome is signed by a person who lives here, not by a logo printed in a head office.
04
Desert camps
Bivouacs no chain can replicate
From a candle-lit Sahrawi haima to a sommelier-served suite tent — the only privatised, family-run camps inside Erg Chebbi with a sommelier, a butler and a five-course menu under the stars.
09
Addresses
From Sahara to the High Atlas
Nine properties stitching the south together — desert kasbahs, a UNESCO-ksar guesthouse, lakeside cedar, a mountain refuge. One journey, one host, every landscape.
24h
Hand-written reply
No booking engine — a real host
Every enquiry is read and answered by a person within 24 hours. We propose a route, a price, a quiet recommendation — and we keep adjusting it until it fits the trip you're dreaming.
100%
Local crews
Built by the south, for the south
Adobe walls, hand-laid zellige, fossil marble from local mines, Berber rugs woven a few valleys away. 300 families employed by the group — almost nothing in our hotels comes from outside the region.
12h
Mechoui
Rituals you'll only find here
Twelve-hour mechoui sealed in a clay oven, hammam carved into a Berber bathhouse, fire-circle dinners under the Milky Way — small ceremonies our crews have practised across three decades.
“We don't have a booking engine. We have a family that picks up the phone, writes back, and remembers your name when you arrive.”
Tayeb & Lluís · Co-founders, Grup Xaluca
Ready to compose your stay?
Our concierge desk replies within 24 hours to design your ideal itinerary.
Request a stayBooking · Xaluca
How to book with us
Five quiet steps between intention and arrival — accompanied at every moment by a host, never a bot. The same warm process applies to every Grup Xaluca address: our kasbahs, riads, hotels, mountain refuge and the Saharan camps.
- 01
Step · 01
Choose your destination
Browse the nine Xaluca addresses — a kasbah in Arfoud, a riad in Erg Chebbi, a refuge in the M'Goun, a luxury bivouac in the dunes. Pick one or stitch several together.
- 02
Step · 02
Pick your dates
Tell us the dates you have in mind, or the loose week you're imagining. The southern light shifts every season — we can advise on the best window for your dream.
- 03
Step · 03
Send your enquiry
Submit the booking form or write directly to a host. Mention rooms, suites, bivouac tents, experiences, transfers — anything you'd like considered.
- 04
Step · 04
Receive a tailored proposal
Within 24 hours, a host returns with availability, a draft programme and recommendations — restaurants for your taste, excursions for your pace, a route that breathes.
- 05
Step · 05
Confirm & prepare
Once you say yes, we send the practical map — flights, transfers, packing notes, the weather of your week. Then we wait, the door open.
Beyond the form
Contact a host directly
Phone, email or WhatsApp — answered by the same family that runs the houses.
Coordinated transfers
Airport pickups, inter-hotel drives, 4×4 dune transfers — arranged on request.
Bespoke itinerary
Multi-stay route across kasbahs, mountains and dunes — written for your rhythm.
A human, every step
From first email to last sunset — one host stays with your booking, from end to end.
No deposit required to enquire. We hold the conversation, not your card.