affluent page features: tea in the sahara

8/7/2019 Affluent Page Features: Tea in the Sahara

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/affluent-page-features-tea-in-the-sahara 1/4

Tea in the

Sahara

After extensive restoration, Marrakech’s iconic hotel LaMamounia has reopened, as opulent as ever. Establishedin 1923, the property recently underwent a three-yearrenovation led by world-famous interior designerJacques Garcia. The result: pure decadence.

By asa drake

AUGUST 2010 | AFFLUENT PAGE LUXURY INDEX

indUlGe



indUlGe

8 AFFLUENT PAGE LUXURY INDEX | AUGUST 2010

The estte, long known for the legendry grdens

gven s weddng gft to Prne Mouly Mmoun by hs fther,

Kng Sd Mohmmed Ben abdellh, now fetures n ndulgent

27,000 squre foot sp, 136 guest rooms, 71 sutes, 3 Rds, nd 4

world-lss resturnts.

The four resturnts offer unque ombnton of Europen

nd Moron usne, ll under the expert gudne of FbneLson, Exeutve chef of L Mmoun. addtonlly, two of

L Mmoun’s resturnts, L’itlen nd Le Frns, reeve the

muh-lmed onsultton of alfonso irno nd Jen-Perre

Mron, both of whom hve reeved two prestgous Mheln

strs. But no mtter where guests hoose to dne on the property,

they n expet truly sublme ulnry experene. all of the

hotel’s resturnts serve only the freshest ngredents, wth thrty

spees of vegetbles nd herbs provded by L Mmoun’s very

own grdens.

The grdens, speflly al-Mmoun, fter whh L Mmoun

s nmed, re fmous for ther hstory nd beuty. Spnnng lmost

twenty res, the two hundred yer-old grdens brng to mnd lost Eden, wld n “orgnzed onfuson.” They ontn over 6,000

squre meters of flowerng plnts juxtposed gnst hundreds of

mnured frut trees, nd t the end of one of these tree-lned wlks

stnds Le Menzeh Gler et Pâtsser, fé where guests n order

mnt te nd homemde pstres to ther hert’s ontent, s well

s the e rem tht the nme suggests. One the plygrounds of

prnes, the grdens hve dpted ther nturl hrm to more

funtonl end. They now supply the hotel wth hnd-ted bouquets

of red nd whte roses nd homemde ornge flower e rem.

in redesgnng the hotel, Gr kept ts regl hstory n mnd. The

hotel’s three new Rds, three-bedroom sutes dsreetly nestled t

the hert of L Mmoun’s fmous grdens, re the embodment

of elegne. Eh provdes n exlusve sntury, wth ts ownMoron slon nd prvte swmmng pool. The soft sent of edr

lngers on the ntrtely rved elngs, mbung the Rd wth

wrm sensulty. From the sute’s terre, vstors enjoy ler vew

of the atls Mountns, vson of undsturbed splendor.

Throughout the hotel, strong lght nd olor bestow the opulene

of storybook ples whle Gr’s even hnd restores the struture’s

fmlr Moorsh rhteture. “Remnsent of fr wy tme nd

ple, L Mmoun evokes modern dy frytle. Suh hven s

often sought fter but rrely found. combnng the best the modern

world hs to offer wth trdtonl vlues, L Mmoun provdes n

experene so unque, t beomes n ntegrl prt of the myth tht

defnes t,” nd t seems others would ertnly gree wth Gr.The hotel hs long been fvorte mong poltns nd rtsts lke,

who enjoy ts trdtonl Moron hosptlty.

as wth ll of L Mmoun ommodtons, guests who sty n

one of the three Rds wll be provded rport rrvl ssstne,

24-hour serve, trnsportton rrngements n one of L Mmoun’s

bespoke grnet red Jgur Dmlers, nd omplmentry, fternoon

e rem n the nerby grdens. all rooms lso feture Jques

Gr’s ustom furnture. For dded luxury, guests who sty n the

Rds re served by prvte butler nd my request personl hef

to ook n ther sute’s full-szed kthen.



“Reminiscent of a far away time and place, La Mamounia evokes amodern day fairytale. Such a haven isoften sought after but rarely found.”

AUGUST 2010 | AFFLUENT PAGE LUXURY INDEX



close t hnd s lso the Mmoun Sp, whh

blends trdtonl nd modern relxton tehnques. avlble

re mssge bns, n ndoor, ozone-treted pool, ftness studo,

sun, nd relxton room. in ddton, the sp offers full

lne of fe nd body tretments by Shsedo, Moron hmmm

tretments by mroMro, nd hr stylng by Jen Mhel.

Pltes, yog, erobs, nd spnnng lsses re held t the Ftness

Pvlon n the grden houses, nd more thlet guests my wnt

to vst one of the hotel’s two ly tenns ourts. aordng to Dder

Pquot, generl mnger of L Mmoun, the hotel s ment to

meet “ll expettons of ontemporry trvelers who re n

serh of n uthent experene, yet keen to preserve the

hertge they fnd.”

The hotel’s restorton serves only to ntensfy ts rh trdton.

Undoubtedly modern ple, L Mmoun ters to those who

know too muh of modernty, nd seek forgotten er of ulture

nd grnd refnement.

La Mamounia’s exquisite Riads are available at the rate of 80,000

MAD per night.

La Mamounia, www.mamounia.com, 011.212.524.388.600

indUlGe

0 AFFLUENT PAGE LUXURY INDEX | AUGUST 2010

affluent page features: tea in the sahara

Documents