When Kasbah Tamadot, in the Atlas Mountains,a 45-minute drive from Marrakech, opened last spring it was after a long period of gestation - the launch date kept changing - following its purchase from the Californian-Italian antiques dealer Luciano Tempo.
I had high expectations. The buyer was Sir Richard Branson, the Kasbah becoming part of the Virgin Limited Edition, which includes Ulusaba in South Africa, and Necker, Branson's private island in the British Virgin Islands - both well regarded.
I had seen the Kasbah in its previous incarnation - before Branson had converted it from a private home - having been shown parts of the estate by the property's caretaker. It was magical - a wildly romantic Moorish castle positioned high above a river gorge, the mud-ÂÂcoloured, crenulated folly surrounded by gardens of sweet-smelling rose bushes, orange and cypress trees.
The eclectic collection of paintings, furniture and artefacts from all over the world displayed a proclivity for extravagance and kaftans. It was a style that belonged to that rich Bohemian aesthetic (albeit with a touch of California) that has defined Marrakech and its environs since the famous Getty-led influx of the 1960s. As part of the sale, Branson agreed to purchase all the Kasbah's contents.
Branson bought Tamadot in 1998 when competition among luxury hotels outside Marrakech was just beginning. There was even less after 9/11 because there were fewer visitors to Morocco as a result of concerns about travelling to a Muslim country. Moreover, there was nowhere else like it for location and drama. Kasbah Agafay, 20 minutes outside Marrakech, had none of Tamadot's poetry. Nor had Dar Ahlam, a French-owned kasbah in the desert town of Skoura, which opened in 2002. Tamadot later went on to attract luxury travellers tiring of the riad-style hotels popping up all over Marrakech.
First impressions can be confusing. My husband thought Tamadot purpose-built: that Branson had come in, bought the site, dreamt up and constructed a brand-new resort in faux kasbah style. I could see his point: it does look like a version of the traditional Moroccan Kasbah - but too manicured, too neat, too pink. This impression is in spite of Branson retaining the original higgledy-piggledy stairs, terraces and internal courtyards replete with colourful tiles and tinkling water features. In fact, Tamadot was built in the 1930s as a residence for the local caid or ruler.
The hotel knew I was a journalist. The managers - a couple newly arrived - supplied the room on a complimentary basis (this will usually not be the case with this column; however, we will always tell you the circumstances of the stay). My room, number 31, Iwas told, was "Sir Richard's favourite".
Kasbah Tamadot has some of the best views imaginable of the sun-burnt Atlas, which, during my visit in January, were even more spectacular, covered with snow, following the heaviest fall for a decade. My room, bizarrely, overlooked the car park.
When I looked at the alternatives, I couldn't quite believe it. Suite 31, priced at €450 per night (going up to €495 during high season, and including breakfast and taxes) might have had a separate lounge area with a kooky mirrored dome but its aspect was nothing on that of the cheapest double, room 43, priced at €290 in low season and located like an eagle's nest atop the tower where Tempo's partner would paint when he used it as a studio.
Sure, the latter is small and unavailable if the master suite below is occupied - it also wouldn't have been suitable as I was travelling with my toddler son - but it does have a terrace. Because of the stupendous gorge view, this room also has drama, which, in my opinion, has to be worth more than square footage.
In fact, seven of the total 18 rooms face the river (avoid room 23, with an oppressive courtyard view, altogether). Alternatively, ask for second best - a room overlooking the infinity pool, which is stunning. The interiors are similar throughout; furniture, antiques and artefacts that are unique while making you feel you are in Morocco.
The pool is an undeniable feat in engineering that beats even Santorini's infinity-edged extravaganzas. It must be heaven in summer when the sun is up, Marrakech is sweating and the Atlas mountains have the only breeze outside Essaouira. In fact, there's no place in Morocco I'd rather prop myself poolside.
Not so the restaurant. The menus at Kasbah Tamadot would be stretched by more than a three-night stay. Breakfast is as thin in inspiration as the coffee is of colour. Lunch, if you go Moroccan, includes Berber tagines of the usual order, including a succulent lamb shank with dates.
We investigated Western alternatives at dinner, including an over-salted buffalo mozzarella, avocado and shaved fennel salad with olive and roasted caper dressing, and the ultimate nursery food, an uneventful braised chicken supreme served with aubergine risotto. The well-priced Moroccan wines were eminently drinkable, so we didn't have to explore the apparently well-stocked cellar any further.
I want to rave about the service because the locally trained Berbers are eager to please. They speak well of Branson and his mother, who originally found Kasbah Tamadot; the hotel operates various outreach programmes in the local town of Asni. In spite of this goodwill and their good humour, the staff aren't always quite up to it (the visiting spa therapist from Ulusaba excluded).
On one occasion, room service needed three tries before the order emerged correct (we always ate dinner in our suite). Wine arrived without glasses and two banana pancakes instead of two potato rostis. This I took in my stride. Not so their failure to ask even once about my son's welfare - 18 months old and room-bound with a bug (no fault of theirs) - until we checked out some 48 hours later.
In its defence, Kasbah Tamadot is not set up as a family-friendly hotel. It accepts kids only when it's either conspicuously cold (Christmas and New Year) or hot (July, August) as well as Easter weekend and the last two weeks of October but even then there is only one high-chair available (broken during my visit, and in need of replacing).
So when I was recently asked by a friend if Tamadot would make a good choice for a honeymoon, you can guess what I replied. Stop by, I said, for the photo opportunity, on your way up to Kasbah Toubkal for lunch, or retreat back to the Palmeraie, the desert of date palms flanking Marrakech.
Here you will find the gem Tamadot could have been with a better grip on detail: Ksar Char-Bagh, a 13-room new-built hotel that gets just about everything right. The place is stunningly beautiful, the service exceptional and the food the best I have yet found in North Africa - all for a comparable room rate, at €500.
