Kasbah Tamadot
The infinity pool facing the valley · © Kasbah Tamadot 
Clinging to an Atlas spur above Asni, an hour's drive from Marrakech, the Kasbah Tamadot is Sir Richard Branson's Moroccan house, bought after a hot-air balloon flight and opened to the public in 2005. Twenty-eight rooms and suites, four Berber tents on the hillside, two heated pools, a spa: you come for the mountain, not for the medina.
Our verdict
The Kasbah Tamadot is not a hotel in Marrakech, it is a mountain house an hour from the city. You reach it by the Asni road, heading south, where the plain gives way to the first foothills of the High Atlas, then you climb to a spur planted with cypress at over 1,300 metres. The building, a kasbah of ochre pisé topped with crenellations, overlooks the valley and the Berber village of Asni. Sir Richard Branson spotted it from a hot-air balloon during a flight above the Atlas, bought it, then opened it to the public in 2005 under his hotel collection banner. The result feels as much like a private home as an inn: furniture, rugs and curios gathered on the spot, and you move between patios, terraced gardens and a maze of sitting rooms rather than numbered corridors.
The stay is played outdoors, facing the mountain. The estate counts twenty-eight rooms and suites, plus four luxury Berber tents perched on the hillside, each with a large bed, a bathtub open to the peaks and a private terrace. The best suites have their own plunge pool. On the shared side, two heated pools share the view: an outdoor infinity pool stretched towards the valley, and a covered one for the shoulder season. Add the Asounfou Spa and its hammam, a tennis court, two restaurants and a bar. The table, Moroccan and international, is served in the room under pierced-metal chandeliers or on the terrace at sundown. The estate mostly serves as a base camp in the open: walks to Imlil and the foot of the Toubkal, mule rides, cookery classes. With this altitude bias, the Kasbah Tamadot lines up alongside other addresses where you sleep otherwise, off the beaten track.
That leaves the remove, and it decides everything. An hour from Jemaa el-Fna, you do not slip down to the medina between activities: every round trip to town is planned, by car or shuttle, and the mountain road is a slow one. For a first trip built around the souks and monuments, that is a real drawback, and the absolute quiet of the place can feel austere for anyone after buzz. The climate takes some earning too: at this altitude, evenings cool from spring, and winter calls for proper warm layers. Travellers praise the service and setting most of all, on a modest review volume for a house this well known. Rates, finally, place the address at the top of the bracket: from around £660 a night, meaningfully more for a tent or a suite with private pool. You come here for the mountain, the quiet and a certain art of retreat - not for a handy base in central Marrakech.
What sets it apart
- Branson's house Sir Richard Branson spotted it from a hot-air balloon, then bought it. Open to the public since 2005, it remains a private home turned hotel, and it shows: rugs, furniture and pieces sourced on the spot rather than a chain-hotel decor.
- Sleeping under canvas at 1,300 m Four luxury Berber tents sit on the hillside, each with a large bed, a bathtub facing the peaks and a private terrace. You sleep under canvas, in the mountain's cool air, the Atlas valley for a horizon.
- Two pools facing the peaks An outdoor infinity pool turned to the valley and the village of Asni, and a second one covered, both heated. Enough to swim off-season, when the mountain air turns cold.
- The spa and hammam The Asounfou Spa offers massages and treatments, with its hammam. After a walk in the Imlil or Ourika valleys, this is the stop that makes staying on the estate all day worthwhile.
Worth knowing
Reckon about an hour's drive from Marrakech (43 km) on the Asni road, then a climb up to the estate: you will need a car or the hotel shuttle, nothing is on foot around apart from mountain trails. Free private parking, airport shuttle on request. Two restaurants, bar, spa with hammam and massages. Imlil, the launch point for treks to the Toubkal, is 13 km away. Check-in from 3pm, check-out by noon. Rates from around £660 a night, meaningfully more for the tents and the suites with private pool.
Facilities & services
Location
Practical info
Details checked and cross-referenced by the editors - June 2026.
