Harper Bazaar
By Violet Hudson
photos: Courtesy of La Mamounia
For some early-summer sun just a short-haul flight from the UK, head to this retreat amid Morocco’s heady chaos.
Morocco is a country that exists as much in the imagination as it does geographically. It is a melting pot of the familiar and the strange, a liminal space between East and West, Europe and Africa, the safe and the alarming.
When we think of it, we see the lights of Tangier glimmering across the sea from Spain; we smell the spices of the souk and hear the muezzin’s haunting cry. But we also imagine Talitha Getty, glamorous and doomed on a roof; Yves Saint Laurent, planting his fantasy garden; Kate Winslet, dusty and determined in Hideous Kinky. A short-haul flight but an entire universe away, Morocco answers to a part of us that seeks adventure, profundity and sensory overload.
The pool at La Mamounia in Marrakesh
And the jewel in the burnished crown that is Morocco’s capital Marrakesh is, without doubt, La Mamounia hotel. A palace in a jasmine garden, it exemplifies all that is finest and richest about the country. From the moment you step into a chauffer-driven white Daimler at the airport, you know you will be cosseted and cared for.
Accommodation
The rooms are simply sumptuous: deep, enveloping baths; delicious fluffy beds that you actually get in rather than on; beautiful carved furniture inlaid with mother-of-pearl. A leisurely swim in the vast, refreshing pool is followed by an indulgent massage in the spa, tucked away and cool with tinkling fountains, hidden rooms and a heady smell.
Food and drink
There are four excellent restaurants to chose from, serving everything from oven-fired pizzas and the freshest sushi to indulgent tagines bursting with spices and fruits. The hotel has its own wine, and olive oil, peppery and delicious.
The spa at La Mamounia
La Mamounia also prides itself on its cultural heritage; not for nothing did Hitchcock come here for inspiration, and Winston Churchill take a break from state duties to prop up his easel. The hotel sponsors a literary prize for Moroccan writers every September, and this spring will host an exhibition of textiles and sculptures from Parisian tastemaker couple Just and Anne Jaeckin.
The excitement and mayhem of Marrakesh’s old town lies just beyond the gates. Jemaa el-Fna, with its stalls selling sweet, fresh orange juice, donkey-pulled carriages and snake charmers, exerts its chaotic pull. La Mamounia is part of this world, but not fully. A wander around the gloriously manicured gardens fills your lungs with the sweet, ephemeral smell of jasmine. The sun is hazy in the desert dusk, the Atlas mountains shimmer in the distance. It is a haven away from the havoc.
For more information, visit mamounia.com.
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