With more flights from the UK to Morocco than ever before – and it looks like more are on the way, sources tell us – we predict Marrakech’s six star spa scene is poised to tempt us away for more long weekends (or, better – long weeks!)
We love the birdsong in the morning, the glowing pink city walls at dusk, the almost constant blue sky, and Marrakech’s legendary spring and autumn temperatures that top even southern Europe’s. But…it was the opulence of the spas blew us away when we visited recently and without a doubt one of the highlights was the Spa at The Royal Mansour.
Built and owned by His Royal Highness King Mohammed VI and fit for a princess, The Royal Mansour even has its own private riads (as well as suites) where you can escape from the world and dip in and out of your own private pool at your leisure.
S is for sunlight, S is for Spa…
Chanel, Maroc Maroc, Sisley, Dr. Hauschka and brilliant hair care range Leonor Greyl are part of the spa experience here and the spa boutique is simply stunning. Sitting, reading a huge coffee table book about Berber jewellery (page upon page of amazing bracelets and rings from some of the earliest found to some of the most expensive around) the spa space felt like being in a beauty playroom. Row upon row of aromatic serums, body oils and firming eye creams, all calling your name.
But one of the big differences between the low lit, hushed, luminous blue pool spas at most of Marrakech’s top resorts and The Royal Mansour is the Spa itself. It’s like a hushed winter wonderland of Maroc-style honeycombed trellising. Sunlight streaming through the glass atrium, so completely serene that I couldn’t help thinking that if heaven has a spa this is what it might be like.
No expense has been spared here, where you’ll find a state of the art hammam suite, hydrotherapy pool, swimming pool, a spa shop and café and individual relaxation pods and among the spa therapies on offer are the Moroccan Deep Tissue Massage which is a good one to go for if you have “problem areas”. After a health consultation comes a foot scrub, calming lavender inhalations and stretching exercises to release and relax the back.
The core of the treatment is a back massage focusing on specific therapeutic pressure points – with argan massage oil, of course – and as all good things have to end sometime, this one finishes with a light aromatherapy-based massage of your feet, hands, head and scalp. (Yes good luck getting off the bed).
My therapist focused on my feet, legs and hands by special request (too much typing at 100mph) and she worked her magic, from what I remember, as I drifted into a state of half asleep bliss within minutes.
The beauty rituals
The Spa offers a traditional hammam treatment, reflexology, its signature Maroc Pureness Facial, balneotherapy, sea algae wraps, a superb Sisley Hydration Facial and a tempting menu of therapeutic massages.
Tempted? Step into your spa slippers and discover the dream that is The Royal Mansour at RoyalMansour.com
EasyJet flies to Marrakech from Bristol, Gatwick, Stansted and Manchester airports www.easyjet.com and BA and Ryanair both fly direct from UK airports to Marrakech, too.
Whispered opulence, impeccable service
A stone’s throw from the medina, a hushed fairytale escape…The Royal Mansour