On a week-long bird-watching trip to the High Atlas mountains in Morocco in March 2017, the tour group I was with stayed at a wonderful boutique guest house, Sel d’Ailleurs (KM 59 Imarigha, Road of Taroudant, 42152 Asni, Morocco; phone +212 6 66 57 14 77, www.seldailleurs.com/en).
About one hour south of Marrakech, Sel d’Ailleurs is situated down a dirt road from the tiny Berber village of Marigha. Surrounded by a nature reserve as well as village homes and farms, it’s an absolutely quiet and restorative environment with clear, clean air.
The guest house is comprised of nine accommodations plus a dining room/restaurant, an inside lounge with a fireplace, a large outside patio with cushioned seats, and a pool with hillside views. All is surrounded by a lush landscape of fruit trees and ornamental plants.
Beautifully furnished in a modern manner with traditional Berber accents, each suite has an outside entrance, outside table and chairs, an interior sitting area and en suite facilities. The floors have lovely tiles and Moroccan carpets. The bed was particularly comfortable.
The website shows the nightly price of a room to be €65 (near $74) for a double or €45 ($51) for a single, including both breakfast and dinner.
English was spoken by the welcoming owner/host, and the talented and charming chef de cuisine — young and innovative — spoke French. Gourmet meals were prepared using organic vegetables grown on the property, and people had traveled from as far away as Marrakech to have dinner there. (The website states that Moroccan cooking classes are available upon request.)
This guest house definitely deserves its TripAdvisor 5-star rating.
EDNA R.S. ALVAREZ
Los Angeles, CA
