ESCAPADE

It took the imagination of two architecture and design enthusiasts, Patrick Elouarghi and Philippe Chapelet, to create Dar Hi five years ago. They gave a free hand to Matali Crasset, who had already done the Hi Hotel in Nice for them. Her mission was to design a unique hotel, a place for living in, without disturbing this ecologically sensitive area or damaging the fragile harmony of the desert village. The result is a powerful architectural statement in total harmony with the site and local life. Sand coloured with touches of ochre, it rises on the ridge overlooking the Corbeille. It looks like an old town district built around open public spaces; moving around it, meeting people as one goes, feels perfectly natural. Each room and apartment is unique. Some are on stilts; others are underground, like the houses in the neighbouring villages, round and cool even in the heat of the Saharan day and lit by light wells. The effect is very zen and rather futuristic. The minimalist but cheerfully coloured décor is just perfect. A sulphur-rich hot spring supplies the pool at the top of the hotel and the naturally-heated hammam. Rather than high gastronomy, the cuisine here is organic, simple, unaffected and healthy, the produce coming from a kitchen garden tended by people from the village. Guests are served at a big communal table.

Carlo, a hardened traveller, runs the place with great enthusiasm. One of the founders of "bistronomy" and close to the Slow Food movement, back in Nice he created La Trattoria and then the Cave de l'Origine, a concept based on organic French produce. Friend and spokesman of the Dar Hi's owners, he loves the peace and quiet of the oasis. He's also busy with Palm Lab, an association that promotes the virtues and benefits of the palm and its dates, and also around Dunes Electroniques, an event where 8000 music fans gather in the open desert.

À partir de 176 €, Comptez 350 € tout compris pour l'appartement de 3 chambres Nefta - T. + 116 764 327 79 - www.dar-hi.net/fr