This eco-friendly boutique bolthole is spread around a series of interconnecting gardens filled with lush greenery, exotic cacti, citrus trees and fragrant jasmine. With two pools, plenty of alfresco lounging space and cosy lounges with open fires, you can be as sociable or reclusive as you like.
Set on the edge of an olive grove just two miles from Taroudant, an unhurried Berber town in southern Morocco backed by the peaks of the High Atlas and Anti-Atlas mountains. It’s dubbed ‘mini-Marrakech’ for its imposing honey-coloured ramparts. Surrounded by classic villages and hiking and biking trails, it’s an hour’s drive from Agadir’s international airport and three hours from Marrakech.
In the style of a classic riad, rooms and salons – decorated in colourful Moroccan textiles and built by local craftsmen using natural materials and ancient techniques – are set around seven courtyards within a contemporary Mediterranean garden home to 900 plant species designed by landscape architects Ossart and Maurières. The sunken garden is a particular standout. You’ll wake to birdsong and be lulled to sleep by the frog chorus, as well as coming across basking lizards, strutting peacocks and a host of cats that have made the grounds their home.
Nothing is too much trouble for the young and friendly local staff. There are two swimming pools – one 105-feet long and flanked by gorgeous greenery – and you can get steamed, scrubbed and massaged in the hammam, or opt for a massage or facial with organic products. Explore Taroudant’s laid-back souks and you can borrow a bike to explore. They can also arrange guided tours of town’s earthen homes and gardens, rural villages tucked into remote valleys and Sous-Massa National Park. There’s also a library and plenty of board games to keep guests entertained.
The 16 rooms and suites are spread across the property, from the central patio to the citrus garden. Each is unique, although all are decorated with shaggy rugs, tightly woven kilims and thick blankets in bold colours and prints, handcrafted ceramics and original art. They all have outdoor seating in a courtyard, terrace or garden, log fires for chilly evenings and tea and coffee-making facilities – the suites have Nespresso machines. Bathrooms come with smooth tadelakt plaster walls and natural lotions and potions.
Breakfast is served until a leisurely 11am in the dining room or alfresco on the terrace, with seasonal fruit, just-baked bread, homemade preserves, pastries, crepes and eggs-to-order. The Moroccan-meets-Mediterranean lunch and dinner menus make the most of seasonal produce from the organic garden, grilled meat, fish and Moroccan specialties such as tagines and couscous, steak and fish, all paired with nice Moroccan wines. Have a poolside cocktail under the sun or stars – try the Ginger Fresh with vodka, crushed ginger, fresh mint and lemon juice.
T here are wheelchair-accessible rooms.
Cots are available for MAD150 (£12) per night, children’s beds for MAD300 (£24), including breakfast. It’s better for older children as there are a few spiky and stinging plants around.
Trusted Tourism Brand
Leave a review