Travel

For your bucket list: sleeping in ‘The Nest’ in the Dubai desert

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Do you know that scene from Sex and the City the movie, where the ladies arrive in the desert? Staff everywhere, Persian carpets, and luxury camps set up in the sand? Well, I lived in such a fairy tale the past few days.

When the invitation for an outdoor trip to Dubai came in, with an overnight stay in the desert, everything in my body screamed let’s go. So off I went, into the plane (gotta love Emirates), heading to Dubai. The place where anything is possible. The place where people dream big.

One of those big dreams comes from Frenchwoman Stephanie Reichenbach. After a successful career in banking, she completely turned her life around and established a high-end desert concept. Out of passion for the desert and to give everyone the chance to experience a stylish, eco-friendly desert camp, she came up with The Nest by Camp Sonara. And I must say: that idea has worked out incredibly well.

Forget camping, forget even glamping, desert nesting is the new way to stay overnight. It’s a peaceful, eco-friendly, and especially very Insta-worthy sleeping concept where you stay right in the middle of the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve. A breathtaking place with endless sand plains, where it’s hard to believe that the hustle and bustle of Dubai is less than an hour’s drive away.

Once arrived at the camp, a whole team is ready to welcome us with a welcome drink. ‘Hi Kiki! If you need anything, I’m there for you, you can call me Nepal,’ says the man with twinkling eyes who gives us a tour. We walk past a gorgeous setting of tables in the sand, wicker chairs, and carpets, and I immediately feel like an Arabian princess. We walk towards the fourteen dune-shaped ‘nests’, which blend completely into the landscape, and I hear that Don Diablo slept in the same nest yesterday. Funny. The man has taste.

The front part of the nest is completely made of glass, giving you maximum view of the beautiful reserve. There is an all-beige interior with its own sleeping area, an en-suite bathroom (in a sort of cave), and you don’t have to worry about wifi in the desert here. My thoughts ping-pong between ‘am I secretly at Burning Man?’ and at the same time ‘what would it have cost to build this here?’. It’s a kind of spaced-out luxury trip to the moon.

Also nice to know: because so many animals and plants are threatened in the desert (think of all the tourists wanting to ‘dune bash’), this reserve was created for the protection of those endangered species and for the preservation of the natural desert habitat. That you encounter the Arabian oryx (an endangered antelope species) and gazelles here and there is simply a gift of life.

And speaking of gifts… For that sunrise the next morning, you lovingly set your alarm. Woah, what colors. If you still feel bored afterwards, a hot air balloon experience, a nature tour, and horseback riding are also among the possibilities. Oh, and we also did a Sky Safari: very cool to look at the stars in the desert through a telescope at night. The team at The Nest has a huge passion for astronomy and takes you completely into the galaxy.

Last but not least: the food is above average good for the desert. You can choose to eat à la carte at your Nest, but the drivers can also take you to Camp Sonara in a few minutes, where a real dinner show with fire breathers and dancers with very smooth hips awaits you. You understand that we chose the latter.

But okay okay, Kiek, what does all this cost, you might be thinking now. A night at The Nest starts from 490 euros. That’s quite a bit, but honestly: because of the uniqueness of the experience, I would absolutely recommend this to my friends. This is amazing to do with your love, but it’s also absolutely worth the investment for a girl’s trip to end your Dubai trip with a big bang.

Even if it’s just one (or should I say 1001) fairy tale night in your life.