Rum Stars Camp

TL;DR: good accommodation, horrible tours (NOT SAFE), would not recommend Never thought I’d write a bad TripAdvisor review, but here it is. I originally chose Rum Stars Camp from its TripAdvisor reviews & the fact that it was recommended by several guidebooks. I booked the 2 Day, 2 Night tour with the camel ride & jeep ride for my trip. Unfortunately, Rum Stars Camp did not live up to expectations, and I would think twice against signing up with them. The accommodation was good - it was immaculate, relatively comfortable, and really can be counted an oasis in the desert (full beds in the desert!) The toilets were also clean to use, with running cold & hot water. The food was also great, and the chef does a good job providing the best food available given the constraints and circumstances. However, with regard to the tours, Rum Stars unfortunately did not live up to expectations. We started off the first day with the camel tour. In his welcome email, Ahmed did mention that the camel guides did not speak much English. We acknowledged this, and the guide on the first day tried his best to explain the different spots to us despite his lack of English skills (his effort is commendable). We ended the first day thinking that we would have more context from the second Jeep tour (of which we were told that there would be English-speaking guides) - boy, were we wrong. The second jeep tour started off with us having zero clue about the day’s itinerary, with our guide (Selamat) giving zero directions and zero context (we had to actually repeatedly check the package we signed up for, and the spots we were promised to visit). Upon arriving at the different sites, we were just shown very curtly ‘this is .......site’ before the guide took out his sleeping mat, and aptly laid down and started sleeping. In our group of 4, we were left clueless about the sites and had to eavesdrop and tag along with other tour groups that had much better guides. When asked, our guide had zero interest about explaining to us the sites and simply waved us away before he continued sleeping. Being clueless in the desert is frustrating (did I mention that there was no internet, so Wikipedia-ing was also not an option?) and the desert landscape seemed to blend together, with our group unable to decipher what the hell was going on. The last straw was when he drove us to the Wadi Rum sunset spot. He wanted to drive us back to camp (when we still had several places to visit, including the Nabatean temple), and conceded to bring us to the sunset spot after discussion, while choosing to omit several places on our itinerary. Upon arriving, he drove to a shaded area, let us alight, and did his usual and laid down sleeping on his mat (photo attached in this review). We were left figuring out where to climb up to the sunset spot, and he simply waved us away again. The spot in question was a particularly difficult one to climb, and when we came up to him to ask him to show us the way; explicitly stating that he ONLY had to show us the entrance and not to climb with us (and literally begged him and said multiple pleases) he simply waved us away again. We were left to our own devices, stranded at the bottom of a cliff that we didn’t know WHERE to climb from (did I mention it was a difficult climb?) After the sunset, he aptly drove to the spot where the other guides were: the starting point of the climb that he never showed us, and nudged us to quickly climb down and get back to camp. This is the reason why I am giving Rum Stars camp a 1 star review while acknowledging its good points in the detailed review above: safety is a huge component of any holiday, and ensuring the safety of visitors should be the responsibility of Rum Stars Camp. Despite the bad tour, safety should NEVER be compromised, and they crossed this line. At the end of the tour, we did voice our concerns to Ahmed, the owner of Rum Stars camp. He apologized for the lack of information, but did not address the safety aspect of the tour. He is very hospitable however, and I regret that we had such an unfortunate experience with one of his guides. Rum Stars camp is owned by him and his brother, and is a local-owned business that I would love to support. However, I cannot support something that is unsafe, and I hope that this is something that he will act on. The Wadi Rum desert is a beautiful place and we’ll definitely be back, but not with Rum Stars camp.

Amazing experience, here following just the top highlights: - best tent of my life (comfortable, fashionable, authentic, view on the desert) - private tour with a real-beduin full day - dinner - luxury position and structure - good value for price Only 1 point to improve: toilets (they could be cleaned more often). Thank you very much!!

When we have visitors, we love showing off Wadi Rum which is one of the most beautiful natural wonders in this world. We try and stay at different bedouin camps for variety and to see what differences there may be. Rum Stars offers the traditional dinner meal, Zarb, chicken and vegetables cooked underground and a traditional breakfast. The dining facilities and bath facilities are above average based on places we have stayed in the Wadi. The beds are very comfortable, BUT, if you need to charge a phone you will be out of luck. No outlets in the tents, although there is a light. The excursions that are offered by all camps, are a little more expensive here, 30 dinars a person. We have found some as low as 15 dinars a person. But our driver Radeh was fantastic! Must do a sunset drive, I would call this a mandatory experience if you visit Wadi Rum. One aspect that makes this camp unique, is that they have an office in Rum Village with private parking which is unusual. Most camps have their operations at the camp. The cost is a little higher than average. All in all, after we visit 5 or 10 more camps, we would consider returning here.

The campsite, the food, the performance, the shisha and the nice and warm cottage were all wonderful! Bathrooms’ cleanliness could be improved but I really appreciate their cottages which could withstand strong wind and freezing temperature at night. However, the cons: jeep doesn’t have shelter, guide doesn’t speak English (no one understands what a band-aid/plaster is but fortunately there were other helpful tourists there) and got sunburnt after sitting on a jeep without shelter on the top. I asked why and they obviously could not answer (language barrier again I guess?) The sunrise camel ride was amazing and well worth it!

We've traveled a lot and still can be blown away by this peaceful and yet life crushing habitat. Therefore big compliment to the organization, the motivation and the execution of it. We stayed for two nights, rushing from one top sight to the other was okay, the best part was the peaceful guided hike we took the next day as well as all the lunch breaks, sunsets and fire place hang around. And if course the spontaneous camel back ride - sunrise lightning is highly recommendable though winter clothes are as well. Our guide wasn't fluent in English but was twice as ambitious, and we got to know Arabic as an extra :) food was of good variety, always water when needed, room and dining room was clean and very nicely furnished. For bathroom and shower expectations, I kindly remind you that you are in a desert! Still well cleaned and good comfortable to use. Overall, we hesitate to engage further travelers since we are looking very much forward to come back to Wadi Rum Stars Camp and hopefully finding it as we left it... Shukran

This has been one of the best experiences ever. We were unlucky with the weather (unexpectedly cold and windy for the season, temperature went down to 5 celsius during the night) but still it is something you cannot miss. This camp is very well organized, but you must understand it is a CAMP and not a hotel. Toilets were clean enough, I did not take a shower because it was freezing. Food was great especially at dinner and they provided heavy blankets. I actually did sleep all night even if at 5am I woke up because my face was freezing. Our guide for the Jeep tour was Eid, a great funny and smart guy. I was travelling with my family and we had 2 very beautiful tents. My brother and I wanted to try sandboard and he organized to go get the board. We had a wonderful time with him and at the camp. Ahmed, the owner, is a great host and I recommend his camp to everyone. Thank you Rum Stars!

We did the 1d/1n “Classic Bedouin Tour with Rumstars. Accommodation and toilet facilities were great as none of us are really into camping. They did run out of some food for dinner as the camp was packed the night we were there. The full day Jeep tour was amazing. All of us really enjoyed Wadi Rum. It did help that the other 2 people in our group were good company and helped us out with narrow/difficult climbing spots. All in all, would not hesitate in using Rumstars if we are ever in Wadi Rum.

What a fantastic experience, riding in 2 hours by camel coming to the untouched landscape of the Wadi Rum. The food was great, our guides were knowledgeable and so friendly. Thank you ESPECIALLY to SALEM who made sure that I faced my fears and got up to,across and then down from the rock bridge! What a highlight and incredible experience! I am so thankful the Bedouin are committed to not over developing this beautiful land, it felt like going back in time.

Great food, great people, truly an experience of breathtaking views, the clear skies, the dark skies and amazing starry nights! A journey back to simpler times. The staff at Rum stars are welcoming and hospitable. Amazing experience, not to be missed!