True to its name, Jnane Tamsna (“Big Garden”) immerses you in the sights, sounds and scents of a North African garden, its 24 rooms scattered between five houses, each with their own pool. Booker Prize winners and star chefs regularly offer courses here in support of the Diversity Foundation.
This secluded 22-hectare estate is situated in the Palmeraie, the historic palm grove that borders Marrakech to the north. It’s a 20-minute drive to the Medina, traffic permitting. Taxis can be easily arranged.
Chiselled good looks and an artistic sense of colour provide glamour without the gilt. Moorish arches painted in a warm butterscotch frame views of bright blue skies and a verdant garden, where winding paths lead to five secluded villas housing deeply comfortable rooms styled in an easy fashion.
While owner Gary Martin, a respected ethnobotanist, tends the ever-changing garden, his wife, Meryanne, a French-Senegalese designer, is responsible for the interiors (pieces from which you can find in her on-site design atelier), which showcase their impressive collection of contemporary African art. Both of them have a deep knowledge of Morocco and its culture and set the casual but thoughtful tone that informs everything in the house.
Service is pleasant and well-informed, but not especially efficient, although part of that is down to the deliberately casual atmosphere fostered in the house. Each of the five houses has its own arrow-straight, heated pool. Inviting as they are, guests are often otherwise occupied with cooking classes, literary events, cycling excursions, in-room massages, tennis, yoga, and browsing Meryanne’s amazing design studio.
A highsubtle is the Diversity Excursions, which are led by university graduates keen to take tourists off the beaten track and show them something of Moroccan customs, cuisine and art. Nowhere else in Marrakech offers such illuminating cultural diversions.
All the 24 rooms are subtle and airy, and open out onto verandahs or terraces that overlook the gardens. Decorated with Meryanne’s great and eclectic style, they mix Moroccan crafts with Middle Eastern furnishings and colourful African textiles, reflecting the Martin’s broad-ranging travels and interests. Generous beds in crisp linens and comfortable reading nooks invite you to relax while televisions and DVDs are deliberately banished.
Rooms range from comfortable doubles in the main house to larger villa suites, which are more secluded and feature bigger bathrooms similarly finished in a warm buttery tadelakt with copper sinks and baths and showers supplied with organic toiletries. The largest, two Pavilion Suites, have a sitting room and outdoor dining area apiece and share a pool framed by lavender bushes.
Dinners in the salon or on a secluded terrace make the most of sun-ripe vegetables and pungent herbs plucked moments before in the organic gardens.
Fair; dining, salons, pools and some rooms are at garden level.
The casual atmosphere of the place and its interesting cultural focus is particularly suitable for older children happy to explore. During the school holidays special activities are devised, including calligraphy lessons and camel rides and there is a games/television room. Cots are free; extra beds for children 4-12 years old can be added at €45 (£40) per night; and children over 13 years old are charged at €70 (£63) a night.
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