[Appeared in the Manchester Evening News]
I’m lying in a bed easily seven feet wide. White voile curtains stir in the breeze, and the call to prayer echoes soothingly around the walls of the riad. A small bird lands on the windowsill to survey the scene. Am I in a Disney film? No, this is just a typical morning in the newly opened Almaha Marrakech.
Situated in the Kasbah part of town – I don’t care to admit how many times we sang The Clash during our three night stay – the Almaha truly is a sanctuary of calm in a city that runs on fast forward.
Let’s start at the beginning
Walking the streets of Marrakech, there’s very little to set buildings apart from one another. Secretive wooden doors conceal treasures behind the tall walls – what lies inside could be palace or prison, mosque or museum.
The Almaha obeys the rules and keeps its door innocuous, but once you’re past that, it doesn’t wait to lavish architectural wonders on you. The reception’s ceiling drips with ornate lamps, while a towering wall of books swoops aside to allow access into the heart of the riad.
Here, centred around an aquamarine-coloured courtyard, are two storeys of white stone pillars and archways, with green plants tumbling over balconies.
There is the library – heavy red carpets, dark wood, and yet more books – where guests can dine on tagines and couscous in front of a roaring fire, and the pixel room, where 21,000 fabric tiles depict a scene from out on the streets. Heading down a flight of stairs takes you to the spa, offering up traditional Hammam treatments and even further respite.
Our suite itself was so comfortable, so beautiful, and so intriguing, that I could quite happily have whiled away the weekend within its walls, flitting between the different carved writing desks and soaking in the marble bath.
After wrapping my head around the beauty of our home for the next few days, and digging my toes into every plush carpet in the place, we ventured out to the rooftop.
This, for me, was the thing that sealed the deal, and marked the Almaha as something very special. It’s hard not to be wooed when faced with views of the snow-capped Atlas mountains from your own private roof terrace.
There is a small but perfectly formed year-round swimming pool accessed from the roof, and a communal dining space where we took breakfast each morning, watching the city stretch out before us.
The hotel staff were faultlessly hospitable, keeping us topped up with Moroccan mint tea and traditional pastries, and pointing us in the right direction whenever we ventured away from our haven.
Continued below
Renowned Belgian architect Charles Kaisin has designed this independent hotel, his immaculate attention to detail never wavering. Every inch of wall, every centimetre of ceiling, every tile and every textile, has been picked and placed with precision and care.
So, to Marrakech itself
This is a scene brushed in shades of rust, grey, and dusky pink, with palm trees and minarets jutting above an otherwise low-level landscape. It is a city of contrasts; of light and dark, chaos and calm, heat and cool, mules and Maseratis.
The ever-changing Jaama el Fna is the beating heart of the old part of town, where traders and snake charmers clamor for attention in the day and chefs and dancers battle to catch your eye at night. It’s an easy-to-circle-back-to orientation point for bewildered tourists.
A walk around the souks is simultaneously exhilarating and exhausting. It’s difficult to keep up much of a discourse when every few feet a man appears at your shoulder and attempts to coerce you to view his pottery, spices, tortoises, orange juice, henna, teapots, and any other weird and wonderful treasure you could think of.
Even away from the thriving souks, walk in anything less than single file and you become a target for the thousands of mopeds nipping around the narrow streets – you begin to feel like the pins in a bowling game.
The hotel arranged a guide to show us around, and we were grateful to have El Alami Ali with us to deflect some of this attention. He was a beacon of calm for us to willingly follow, never breaking his steady pace, telling us of the rich history running through the city’s veins, of its French and Jewish influences. What seemed overwhelming on our own became fascinating in his presence.
The Almaha Marrakech watches peacefully over a city that positively vibrates with energy; a foothold in the frenzy, the calm in the chaos.
Factbox
Rooms at the Almaha Marrakech start from £246 per night, including breakfast and free wifi.
A private tour guide can be arranged through the hotel, costing around £60 for half a day – well worth the price!
Daisy Jackson 