Taybet Zaman: Stay in an Old Village Close to Petra :: NoGarlicNoOnions: Restaurant, Food, and Travel Stories/Reviews

I've been to Taybet Zamen before. We came in for some lunch back then... I still remember entering a place that looks like a haunted city. Too many stones, long alleys, closed shops... And nobody around. This time we came to spend the night before continuing to Madaba and Wadi Rum and let me tell you, I had the same feeling I had the first time round.

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The story behind Taybet is interesting... But unfortunately it all stops here, a story only.

The story of Taybet Zaman is a timeless tale…

Once upon a time, an ancient village called Taybeh found itself on the brink of extinction, unable to find its place in the modern world. Yet the local mayor, Abu Firas, never lost hope.

In an attempt to retain Taybeh’s rich heritage, as well as secure the livelihoods of its remaining families, Abu Firas presented an astonishingly progressive proposal to transform his village into a world-class resort: establish a cooperative relationship with a developer who would lease the village’s land and buildings, and allow the locals to participate in its growth.

Situated just 12 km from the city of Petra, Taybet Zaman enjoys views of the Sharah Mountain Range, as well as endless vistas of the valley and sky. Taybet Zaman achieves a balance for those who wish to experience the spirit of the 19th Century style of living without sacrificing modern comforts.

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True to the style of the village homes in which Taybeh’s original inhabitants once lived, each of the 102 guest rooms offers minimumal comforts, all of which I rated "three stars" and surely not five. An old TV monitor, a broken shower, old furniture, thick wool bed covers and no Internet in the rooms.

Constructed of thick stone walls that magically keep cool through the harsh summers and warm during the winters, the houses’ windows and doors are adorned with rustic shutters of weathered arrowroot wood. Inside, supporting arches are still blackened by fires of long ago.

All of Taybet Zaman’s climate-controlled rooms feature private bathrooms with hairdryers, satellite televisions with remote control, direct-dial telephone service, well-stocked mini-bars, 24-hour room service, and access to secure safe-deposit boxes.

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You are promised:

Shops that are always closed
Night entertainment that never happens. At 10 the place transforms into a haunted city
The website promises magic. Read it and you'll imagine coming to Disneyland resort for a night; nothing of that happened.

Here we are. We arrived at 11pm to Taybet and headed straight to the room. There was nothing else to do since the restaurant had already closed, no entertainment was on, nor was there anything else to discover. I went down to my room, an old style room with two beds stuck together and some old furniture around... To make a long story short, a three star hotel style and not close to a five star. The most disturbing thing was the dust. The rooms look they haven't been visited in over a decade.

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The next morning we woke up and had breakfast before doing anything else. Anyway, there was nothing to do here, eat and sleep is the best you can do. The shops were closed, the pool was unappealing and the billiard room was dark and scary. The breakfast was so bad that I won't even write about it. I had to start the day with an empty stomach. All plates were covered with nylon wrap and it was all not appetizing at all. The bread was dry, eggs were super oily, the choices were mediocre... In all cases I couldn't stay longer inside this dark space under the arcades; and the staff. What can I say. They looked unhappy to be there, staring at their watch every second. I eventually ran away to grab another hour of sleep before the bus departed.

I'm not sure why anyone would want to come here. A scary place, too dangerous for kids with all its stones and hidden spots, no entertainment is offered, the food wasn’t tasty, the Internet doesn't cover all the camp... I personally prefer to stay close to civilization or far from it, somewhere with scheduled entertainment like the camps of Wadi Rum.