Video: Inside Top Moroccan Hideaways

Many Hideaway Report members don’t know that in addition to writing about luxury hideaway hotels, we also take short videos of them. Even more than photographs, videos convey what it feels like to visit a place and give a better sense of how spaces in a hotel relate to one another.

Our three new recommended hideaways in Morocco, the Royal Mansour, Kasbah Tamadot and Dar Ahlam, were particularly photogenic. Each had a completely different setting and design style, but each hotel had its own dramatic beauty. Watching the videos below has me wondering how soon I can justify a return trip!

Royal Mansour, Marrakech

Very rarely have I experienced such a perfect combination of flawless service and exquisitely opulent décor. The king of Morocco used an almost unlimited budget to take full advantage of the country’s rich tradition of craftsmanship, employing some 1,200 artisans with specialties in geometric zellij tile work, plaster carving, woodwork, stone inlay and painting. Only in Morocco, a country with both an absolute monarch and a 1,000-year-old decorative heritage, would such a hotel be possible.

Kasbah Tamadot, Asni Valley

Owned by Virgin founder Richard Branson, this Moroccan-Mediterranean castle stands amid tall cypress tress in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains, backdropped by rugged, snowcapped peaks. The design incorporates numerous antiques and architectural salvage, but the result feels chic and contemporary. And such was the beauty of the outdoor pool, I found it irritating to have to leave it in order to make my massage appointment.

Dar Ahlam, Skoura

Innumerable mud-walled kasbahs rise above the palms surrounding the ancient caravan stop of Skoura. One of these fortified manors has been restored and converted into a luxury hideaway of the first order. In the original building, the dark, twisting hallways and fragrant, candlelit lounges felt wonderfully mysterious. Beyond the swimming pool, set amid well-tended gardens, my suite used simple, traditional materials (polished rammed-earth walls, wood beams, terra-cotta tiles) to great effect. And I won’t soon forget the surprise picnic beneath a private tent in a nearby river gorge.