Kasbah d'if

We recommend Kasbah d'if to thirty-something couples and older who have already done Marrakech and seek the desert without tent bivouac. It's an address for discreet honeymoons, a few days' retreats, landscape photographers, travellers who tolerate isolation and appreciate silence. Families with young children risk finding the place too quiet, no entertainment, 25 km track to reach the city.

Contemporary kasbah architecture, low volumes in ochre pisé that blend into the Agafay landscape. Thick walls, small openings on the desert side to keep cool, large picture windows on interior patio sides. Nordic design furniture, light wood, white linen, Berber rugs, deliberate contrast between construction tradition and minimalist interior treatment. Human scale, a maximum of fifteen rooms, communal spaces open to the landscape.

One main restaurant serves revamped Moroccan cuisine, tajines, couscous, lamb grills, local organic vegetables. Continental and Moroccan breakfast served on the Atlas-facing terrace, fresh orange juice, msemen, local honey. Room service available, simplified menu, useful for late returns from excursions. No signature chef, honest cuisine without gastronomic pretensions, we come here for the setting more than the table.

Kasbah d'if stands in the Agafay desert, 25 km south-west of Marrakech via the dam road. Mineral landscape of ochre hills, a few Berber douars, total silence after sunset. No shops, restaurants or petrol stations nearby, the hotel provides a shuttle to Marrakech on request. Marrakech-Menara airport 45 minutes, medina 35 minutes. The neighbourhood doesn't exist, it's the desert, we come here to escape the city.