Guests feel like they are relaxing in a private home at this Relais & Châteaux property in a restored kasbah in a remote oasis in southern Morocco. The seclusion and unobtrusive service allow you to switch off and forget the world while idling poolside or being waited on during private picnics in the grounds.
Deep in the Skoura oasis, if driving from the nearest city Ouarzazate, you will need to be met by a guide, otherwise you might not pick the hotel out from the many other kasbahs that stand among the palms and dusty tracks that weave around green squares of irrigated land. Once settled, it is blissfully serene.
The 1920s Kasbah building has 18 rooms, some inside the seductively dark and warren-like main building; others, with terraces, sit outside in the gardens. Vegetables and herbs used by the kitchen are grown in the grounds and there is also a large patch of olive trees that are harvested by locals.
Guides can take you for walks around the oasis and to nearby valleys – that brighten up with almond blossom or rose blooms in season – for tented picnics in gorges next to cool, clear rivers. Alternatively, opt for an Arabian night adventure where you can sleep under the stars.
The spa and hammam is found by following masseurs down dim, candlelit corridors to a line of small, tiled treatment rooms consisting simply of a bed and a fire roaring behind a crenelated wooden screen.
The suites (choose from junior, superior or a villa that comes with a plunge pool) are vast chambers of cool tadelakt plaster hidden behind arched wooden doors that clunk reassuringly behind you. Sand and earth-grey tones echo the neutral, natural materials used for the furniture, while Berber rugs cosy up the floor. All have large fireplaces but none have televisions, so bring a book.
Wander the gardens and choose where to have lunch in one of the clearings between olive trees marked out by staff with silk sashes. Light Mediterranean dishes are brought out on silver trays. Dining venues are equally flexible in the evening, when guests can choose between one of many lantern-lit corners and romantic secluded lounges in which to enjoy good Moroccan wines with pastillas, lamb couscous and other typical cuisine. Local musicians sometimes play an invigorating set.
Yes. Ground floor rooms are accessible.
Though this is a quiet place, children are welcome and can be put up in all suites.
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