Kasbah Tamadot

"All kasbahs are a kind of oasis of calm behind fortified walls, and Kasbah Tamadot is one of the very finest in Morocco. Its name means “soft breeze” in the local Berber language, evoking the reprieve it offers in the shadow of the Atlas Mountains. First built over a century ago as a home for a local governor, it became part of the Virgin Limited Edition Collection of lodges and resorts in 2005. Now reopening after substantial damage from the 2023 earthquake, Tamadot is a lavish yet quirky Amazigh castle with exquisite carved doors and intimate courtyards, secret passageways, and terraces of reflecting pools strewn with rose petals. It is furnished with the extraordinary collections of the previous owner, a Venetian antiquarian named Luciano Tempo, which were included when Richard Branson purchased the place. Huge bronze and wooden chests that might have carried Barbarossa’s loot stand in corners. In rambling gardens, pathways meander beneath trellises of jasmine while espaliered apple trees frame the cabanas around the swimming pool. In addition to atmospheric rooms in the old kasbah, new accommodations offer a step-up in luxury with 10 glamorous Berber tents in the gardens and six luxurious riads, which offer three-bedroom suites and private pools. From $728. —Stanley Stewart" - CNT Editors

"All kasbahs are a kind of oasis of calm behind fortified walls, and Kasbah Tamadot is one of the very finest in Morocco. Its name means 'soft breeze' in the local Berber language, evoking the reprieve it offers in the shadow of the Atlas Mountains."

"Just over a year after the devastating 2023 earthquake that hit the Atlas Mountains, the 43-room Kasbah Tamadot is reopening in October 2024 with six new three-bedroom riads, a new restaurant, and a refreshed look and feel across the hotel’s rooms, suites, and Berber tents. Sir Richard Branson’s Moroccan mountain hideaway, located an hour outside the city, has always been a hit with those looking for a leisurely hike in the hills around the hotel, a challenging mountain bike ride in the Ouirgane Valley, or an even more challenging excursion in the High Atlas. But the Kasbah offers plenty of ways to relax, too, with indoor and outdoor swimming pools and a spa for Moroccan massages and hammam treatments. Through the work of the Eve Branson Foundation, Kasbah Tamadot fosters connections with the local communities, and supports its neighboring villages through projects that focus on economic and social transformation, as well as supporting those affected by the earthquake." - Nicola Chilton

"Sir Richard Branson’s property sits atop a bluff in the High Atlas Mountains, and so thrilling is the 45-minute drive from Marrakech—on a narrowing road which switchbacks into the clouds—that your arrival is both a disappointment and a relief. The 24-room Kasbah was once the property of an antiquarian and artist, and items from his collections decorate the rooms, most of which have their own terrace or patio but no television" - CNT Editors

"Sir Richard Branson’s property sits atop a bluff in the High Atlas Mountains, and so thrilling is the 45-minute drive from Marrakech—on a narrowing road which switchbacks into the clouds—that your arrival is both a disappointment and a relief. The 24-room Kasbah was once the property of an antiquarian and artist, and items from his collections decorate the rooms, most of which have their own terrace or patio but no television. The hotel promotes itself as a home base for adventurers, but its DNA is closer to that of an old-fashioned European sanatorium, the kind in which days are whiled away wandering the gardens and inhaling the fresh air. Credit must be given for its graceful integration into the surrounding landscape and culture: The sweet staff are largely drawn from two Berber villages that bracket the property, and management seems genuinely proud of the employees and their heritage."