Imperial and historic, Marrakech is a city that unveils itself gradually. It’s a place where everyday life is often kept from view, hidden behind doors and beyond gates. A seemingly plain façade can suddenly give way to geometrical tiled splendour or a glittering courtyard filled with fountains. The city’s artisans still work in the ancient souks, and their wares offer a hint of what craftsmanship lies behind the city’s impressive and habitually closed doors.
Arriving at Royal Mansour Marrakech, across the road from legendary La Mamounia, one of the oldest and most revered hotels in the city, is a case in point. After a short drive through Marrakech’s 12th-century, rose-pink ramparts, we steer onto a private road then through the entry gate, which weighs four tons and somehow manages to float open electronically, to finally find ourselves in a giant courtyard. As we pull to a stop by some pomegranate trees, the wonder of what lies within this hotel, famously commissioned
by Morocco’s King Mohammed VI, begins to unfold.
The hushed entrance hall is a place where the watchword is ‘peace.’ There is a splendidly tiled portico, complete with sunken fountain of such symmetrical beauty that it induces a quick drawing of breath. The gentle soundtrack of trickling water is a stark contrast to
the boisterous exchange of buying
and selling that fills the souk.
It is said that Royal Mansour was built to showcase the country’s impressive breadth of decorative arts, but nothing can quite prepare the first-time guest for the finery that unfurls within. Moorish arches, zellige tilework, mashrabiya screens, carved wood and tadelakt plaster built and handcrafted by more than 1,500 Moroccan artisans has to be seen to be believed. Even the embroidery on the staff’s uniforms has been created by a master craftsman. No stone has been left unturned in the search for distinction.
Royal Mansour is not merely a hotel, but an entire medina (quarter), where there are no ‘rooms’, but instead, 53 individually designed, three-storey riads, where privacy and comfort are paramount. There is a private roof terrace with plunge pool, a sitting room with open fire, butter-soft beds by Simmons and marble bathrooms complete with generously sized amenities from marocMaroc.
After settling in and getting my bearings (it’s not often that you can become disorientated in your actual hotel room, but that is the case here) I’m keen to experience the much-talked-about spa. Rather than being hidden in a basement, like many wellness centres, the Spa at Royal Mansour is flooded with natural daylight. The central area comprises an enormous white, latticed pergola, which gives the impression of walking into a giant snowflake. Then, a sense of calm descends. There is none of the usual chanting music or incense here, but rather a platoon of pink-suited ladies sat neatly on wave crest-white sofas, ready to advise.
The treatments include countless services and therapies like hydrotherapy, shiatsu and cutting-edge facials that have been created in conjunction with Chanel, Sisley and Dr. Hauschka, but I opt for a signature hammam treatment. This Moroccan bathing ritual became a tradition in Islamic countries after the Prophet Muhammad recommended ‘sweat baths’ for good health, and has been popular ever since. Before that, the Romans and Greeks developed the communal bath as a social institution.
‘Hammam’ literally means ‘spreader of warmth’ and at Royal Mansour, it is something quite special. Atop a hot marble slab in a cavernous steam room, the therapist applies traditional Moroccan black soap, then an exfoliating Miel d’Ambre body paste and scrub, followed by a face paste and an Amande au Lait mask. The steam gently helps the skin to absorb the oils and medicinal properties, and breathing becomes easier in the womb-like interior of the hammam. Afterwards, I’m gently escorted through to a cold plunge pool before relaxing post-treatment with some Moroccan mint tea. The genuine warmth and attention of the therapist, who gives me a traditional Kessa massage glove as a gift when I leave, makes me feel truly indulged.
CITY OF HEALING
Royal Mansour is one of many uber-luxe hotels that have opened in Marrakech in the last couple of years, helping to make the city a serious contender for luxury spa breaks. There’s the newly opened Taj Palace Marrakech with its Jiva Spa, the new Delano Marrakech with its standout Pearl Spa and Le Spa Namaskar at Oetker Collection’s Palais Namaskar, as well as upcoming Baglioni Marrakech and the much-anticipated Mandarin Oriental in 2014.
It is also refreshing to see so many effective and smartly packaged local spa products to complement the therapies. There’s ethical brand Nectarome, marocMaroc and Les Sens de Marrakech, who work in collaboration with French perfumers in Grasse, but produce their products locally. There is no doubt that today Marrakech has moved firmly ‘beyond the riad’ in
terms of its offerings.
The following day, after getting lost in Morocco’s largest traditional Berber souk in search of some babouches (Moroccan slippers), I head to my new home for the night, Mosaic Palais Aziza & Spa. Peacefully located outside of the medina, three miles or so northeast of the city centre, I had heard that this new hotel is a lovely refuge where you can escape the hustle and bustle of the souk and kick back in smart surroundings.
As with any palace, there is a certain way to arrive. A long driveway leads past several stand-alone pavilion suites, which are tucked into two green hectares of lush gardens planted with fruit and palm trees, and continues to the main building, which houses several bedrooms and the spa. The reception, a welcoming space, is set off with an intricately tiled and vaulted ceiling and several traditional paintings and pieces of furniture. Beyond, an inviting, azure-tiled swimming pool, big enough for lengths, is surrounded by lime trees
and comfy loungers.
Located on the lower ground floor, the spa is small, with just four treatment rooms, but it is knowledgably formed. The décor is traditionally Moroccan — Arabian Nights-style, all orange and purple with hanging lanterns and gauzy drapes. The spa also offers a hammam experience, but I opt for a four-hands massage designed to boost inner peace.
In a dimly lit room, after l have selected my scented oil, vetiver, the two therapists set to work. Long and short strokes move over tired limbs before progressing to the temples and feet simultaneously. The key to an effective massage of this sort is for the therapists to remain completely in time with one another, so that their work is like a dance over the body. They both excel and, after some mint tea in the relaxation area, I leave the spa feeling very much alive and thoroughly relaxed.
In the evening at Mosaic Palais Aziza, I feast on salt-encrusted cod, fresh from Agadir in south-west Morocco, and try some delicious Domaine de Sahari wine from the foothills of the Atlas Mountains. Before dinner is cooked, the chef proudly presents the fish and shows me how the salt has set. This is typical of the excellent service at the hotel, where you are treated more as a friend than a guest.
TRIED AND TESTED
While there is no denying that Marrakech is in the midst of a new spa upsurge, there are some well-established venues that remain firm favourites with in-the-know spa enthusiasts.
First among them is the Spa at Amanjena. Also located a few kilometres outside of the medina, Amanjena was the first Aman resort to open in Africa back in 2000. Built with space and tradition in mind, there are 32 pavilions, six two-storey Maisons and the Al Hamra Maison, all of which radiate out from the ancient basin (irrigation pool), which is the centrepiece of the resort.
Amanjena’s Spa offers everything from hammam treatments to traditional Moroccan scrubs to massage and reflexology, and provides a sanctuary for those wishing to escape the heat and thronging crowds of the city. After a consultation I decide upon a Thai massage. It’s not a traditional Moroccan therapy of course, but after meeting a therapist from Bangkok, I anticipate an authentic, invigorating workout that will ease a few knots out of my shoulders.
The smart, low-key space is calm and unfussy, in keeping with the general Aman ethos. After changing into my cotton Thai pyjamas, the therapist starts working on unblocking the flow of vital energies by using her powerful thumbs, palms, forearms, elbows, feet, knees, and even shins. The strong bodywork flows perfectly, eased by the therapist’s smoothness and rhythm, which are uninterrupted. Overall, the session is something akin to a wonderfully choreographed performance; blissful
at times, but challenging in terms of
the stretches, just as it should be.
Amanjena means ‘peaceful paradise,’ (‘aman’ is Sanskrit for ‘peaceful,’ while ‘jena’ means ‘paradise’ in Arabic) and, as I float through the gardens post-massage, it is easy to see why.
If it’s rest and relaxation that you’re looking for, Marrakech can certainly provide. As Jean Pierre Chaumard, general manager of Royal Mansour once said, “Between mountain and sea, before the imperial cities… Marrakech the sublime.” This statement rings true when you first see the sun rise over the Atlas mountains, or when you take a moment to relish in the greenery of one of the city’s many gardens. But, most of all it can be applied to the countless, mind-blowing spa experiences that now await in Morocco’s rose-pink city.
THE GOLDEN BOOK
Royal Mansour Marrakech
Tel: +212 529 80 80 80
www.royalmansour.com
Mosaic Palais Aziza & Spa
Tel: +212 524 329 988
www.mosaicpalaisaziza.com
Amanjena
Tel: +212 524 399 000
www.amanresorts.com