“When I was trying to fly around the world in a hot air balloon,” Richard Branson, co-founder of the Virgin Group conglomerate, says in his blog, “I made several attempts from Marrakech in Morocco (…). My mum and dad (…) came across a beautiful Kasbah and (…) fell in love with the place. To conclude his story, Branson says that his father and mother, “made it very clear to him that he had to buy that kasbah”. And so, he did: “Fortunately, I also fell in love with it immediately. Finally, after a thorough restoration that took two years, the kasbah became the Kasbah Tamadot boutique hotel and opened its doors to guests in 2005. As such, Virgin Limited Edition’s collection of “unique ultra-luxury retreats”, set in some of the world’s most breathtaking settings, gained a new tourist destination.
As we read, the current building of the Kasbah Tamadot hotel was the residence of Italian antiques dealer and interior designer Luciano Tempo. Over the years, Tempo filled his home with a collection of extraordinary objects from India, Indonesia and North Africa. Tables, sculptures, paintings and various ornaments still populate the corridors, common areas and corners of the Kasbah Tamadot hotel. After all, the Bransons have only added to Luciano Tempo’s collection with other decorative objects of exquisite taste. The result is a heterogeneous, international interior design, high-class without being ostentatious, wrapped in typical Berber architectural details.
The deep rust-red façades, which reproduce the colour of the Atlas Mountains on which it stands, the crenellated crowns and the gardens are a tribute to the ancient origins of the Kasbah Tamadot hotel. In the Maghreb, a kasbah is a fortified construction of Berber origin, which serves as the residence of a powerful family. Moreover, in homage to the local culture, and in poetic reference to the gentle winds that blow through the Atlas Mountains, the word “tamadot” means “gentle breeze” in Amazigh (Berber language).
The Kasbah Tamadot hotel has recently added to its facilities a collection of 6 luxurious three-bedroom riads, each accommodating up to 10 guests, with their own lounges, terraces and private pools. It should also be noted that following the earthquake that struck the region just a few months ago (8th September 2023), the hotel’s facilities have needed major refurbishment. A large swimming pool, tennis courts and a spa, as well as large open-air Berber-style tents and the Kanoun restaurant, in addition to the 28 rooms and suites, complete the facilities.
It only remains to add that, in line with the Kasbah Tamadot’s mission statement, which states that it is committed to “taking care of local communities and the environment“, the hotel is developing in partnership with the Eve Branson Foundation “initiatives in key areas such as local employment, artisanal training, healthcare, education and preserving the environment“. In fact, according to Branson’s blog, “99% of our employees are from the surrounding villages“.
If you are curious, you can listen to the story of the hotel in the voice of Branson himself and his mother, through the following VÍDEO.
Sources: Hotel Kasbah Tamadot, Virgin Group, Virgin Limited Edition, Globetrender, Audley Travel.
Images: Hotel Kasbah Tamadot.
