Maison d'hôtes Ambelar

Forty-eight kilometres of palmery separate Erfoud from the Merzouga dunes, and Maison d'hôtes Ambelar sits at the near edge of that stretch, on Route Nationale 13 in La Maadid — a fossil-trading hamlet rather than central Erfoud itself.

Rooms open onto a shared courtyard shaded by date palms; the kitchen cooks tagines to order rather than running a buffet line. Staff arrange 4x4 transfers into the dunes and can point guests toward the local fossil workshops that supply Erfoud's marble trade.

This suits travellers using Erfoud as a staging point before or after desert camps, not those wanting nightlife or a town-centre address.