The 11 luxury bungalows at the Midbara compound in the central Arava desert region in the south of Israel are reserved three months out. The facility is 100% booked over the weekends and 90% booked in the middle of the weeks. “It’s like that all year,” says Rani Shirai, one of Midbara’s operators.
This is no small success. It's dry in the Arava in the summer, but the temperatures can reach as high as 45°C (115°F). That hardly sounds appealing, especially in the middle of the desert. “We provide the desert experience under optimal conditions. The place itself is isolated. It is 100 kilometers [62 miles] to the nearest city, and the sky is lit up with stars. There is no background noise, either,” says Shirai, who readily shares his success story with others.
