We could have stayed inside for days, but we did leave, eventually. Our first full day was a deep dive into the medina: hours in the souks, getting lost among the streets, motorbikes threading through roads that barely fit two people walking side by side. By the time we got back, all six of us had clocked 14,000 steps each, and nobody wanted to make a single decision. Walking into that villa, into the quiet, into actual space to decompress, felt like something I didn’t know I needed until I had it.
The second day, we went further: a hike in the High Atlas with a guide booked through luxury travel agency Scott Dunn. Thanks to expert guidance, the trails were manageable for both kids, which I’d been quietly anxious about. Our guide arranged lunch at a local family’s house, where we watched them make bread, drank an unreasonable amount of mint tea, and had a tagine with a preserved lemon situation so tasty I still haven’t been able to find the words to describe it.
Speaking of delicious meals, the villa’s live-in chef is reason enough to book the place. She has clearly been making this delicious food her whole life. Mornings were msemen, eggs, and pastries that somehow kept replenishing themselves; evenings were tagine and zaalouk, all of it rivaling the best restaurants in the city. When the kids hit their Moroccan food wall one night, she made pasta with the freshest tomato sauce. And during a movie night in the cinema room, freshly popped popcorn appeared out of nowhere.
The owner operated the same way, quietly and two steps ahead, preparing things before you’d even thought to ask for them. She’d stocked the fridge before we arrived, left us a trusted driver’s number, and, on the last day, arranged in-villa spa services, including a hammam scrub and massage, that I have thought about at least once a week since coming home.
Worth knowing before you book: the remote location means you won’t be stepping out for a spontaneous coffee, so stock up when you arrive. The heated pool may incur a small extra charge depending on the season, and the live-in staff will come through regularly to clean and prepare meals, which is seamless once you know to expect it, but slightly surprising if you don’t.
