Twenty minutes from the sea, in the dry hills outside Essaouira, surrounded by forests of argan trees, you’ll find Le Jardin des Douars. This boutiquey Moroccan hotel bills itself as a ‘ksar d’hôtes’, roughly translating as ‘guest fort’ – and within these walls it really does feel like a one-of-a-kind retreat: a holdout against the slog of everyday life.
The main hotel is a tall two storeys, with towers and domes made of terracotta-coloured mud and straw looming over the hillside gardens. Its bedrooms are clustered around two courtyards that fill with chattering birds at dusk; the dining rooms and kitchen are at one end, with a sprawling terrace outside for lunch. More rooms lie in outbuildings scattered around the gardens, alongside six villas (with their own pools) sleeping as many as 14 apiece. Miles of tiles, terracotta, carved wood and dark metal suggest a design brief that included the phrase ‘Berber chic’. The rooms are comfy rather than luxurious and generously sized – plenty also have their own terrace.
But it’s the gardens that get top billing, and they’ve earned it. Towering palms and cacti; jagged aloes; tumbling bougainvillea in purple, white and orange; oleander and lantana; blue plumbago and pink trumpet vine: cascading down the hill on stone terraces, this horticultural tour de force is worth a visit all on its own, and the leaves make a beautiful noise when the famous Essaouira wind blows in (read: frequently). It’s a proper oasis that makes for a sharp contrast with the miles of arid landscape visible all around; it must take a lot of work and a lot of water to keep it all looking beautiful. There’s even animal life in the form of wandering cats, pondfuls of frogs and turtles, and insects: butterflies, dragonflies and maybe, just maybe, the odd cockroach.
A 20-minute shuttle runs hourly down the highway to Essaouira’s beach or medina, but what’s the rush? This place invites you to slow the heck down. Spend an hour or so trying everything on the breakfast buffet, from international standards (eggs, french toast, fresh OJ) to the extremely local: msem and bagadir pancakes, handmade batbout flatbreads, the addictive almond paste amlou and bowls of seemingly-just-picked dates, nuts and figs. Book in to the on-site hammam to be rubbed and scrubbed with black soap, argan oil and verbena in an atmospheric, red-marble chamber of treatments. Break for lunch, served on the terrace; the spectacular Sunday barbecue buffet is worth planning your entire stay around. Then borrow a big straw hat and veg out by one of the two pools (one for families, one adults-only, both with beach-style bars), where the only disturbance is the staff bringing round a tray of free cake and mint tea at 4pm. Eventually it’s time for sundowners and dinner, with more than enough options (both Moroccan and European) for everyone to try something different each night.
Le Jardin is French-owned, with a small army of cheerful and energetic Moroccan staff taking care of a largely French and British crowd; everyone we met spoke decent English, though a few words of French came in handy here and there.
A day trip to Essaouira is tempting and essential (see below) – but on a four-night stay, I was happy to pull up the drawbridge and spend most of our days bumming around the gardens, soaking up the beauty and letting the adrenaline of city life ebb away.
Nearby
Compared to somewhere like Marrakech, Essaouira is a small and laidback city. It’s famous for its 250-year-old medina, its port hauling in super-fresh seafood, its huge sandy bay – and its reputation as Morocco’s ‘Windy City’, thanks to the Alizé trade winds. You could spend at least a whole day poking around the medina alone, stopping for lunch at Fishburger and coffee at Mandala Society and shopping at the hundreds of traders for bowls, blankets and pots of amlou. Then cap off your day with a sunset cocktail and a sea bream tagine on the Salut Maroc rooftop, with a live band and a spectacular ocean view.
Time Out tip
Book the shuttle to Essaouira in advance, to make sure you get the timings you want – it leaves every hour and only has 7 seats. It sadly isn’t free, but a return trip by private taxi will set you back at least twice as much.