Review: Kasbah d’Eau, Sidi Kaouki, Morocco
“Et voila!” Announces our taxi driver, with justification, as we pull into the magnificent Kasbah d’Eau. A beach castle perched high above Morocco’s Atlantic coastline booked for our winter escape by Fleewinter.
Fleewinter has put together our personalised programme of flight, transfer and hotel. Recommending an itinerary that will show us an authentic Morocco, far from madding crowds, infuriating rug sellers and belching mopeds.
Created from local sandstone, cooling in summer, warming in winter, Kasbah d’Eau, is a boutique hotel of just 17 rooms and suites, with art house design. A calm double-height central atrium pulls in the light, illuminating vivid contemporary abstract art that contrasts with solidly traditional dark furniture.
Surf schools outnumber shops in a village with a population of around 5,000. Here Africa disappears in mists and mirages into Atlantic rollers.
Fleewinter’s Morocco experts know this land well, recommending unique experiences: horse-riding on the beach, taking a camel ride to an argan-oil farm, a hamman, having lunch with a Berber family, a Moroccan cookery lesson and yoga.
The welcome
If ever there is a boutique airport it is Essaouira Mogador where we’ve passed through immigration, collected our luggage and picked up some Moroccan Dirham in less than 20 minutes.
Fleewinter has arranged for a driver to meet us. Within 40 minutes of landing, we’re sipping mint-tea and nibbling cake at the sumptuous Kasbah. In our Seaview Suite, luggage already delivered, a sultan-size bed and bath are romantically adorned with crimson rose petals. Honeymoon romantic.
The room
The Sea View Suite’s large sliding doors give panoramic views of horses galloping through the surf, dogs frolicking, goats grazing in the Trade Winds whipped sand dunes and surfers searching for the ultimate gnarly wave. A day bed awaits on the balcony to absorb the scene or you can sit at the dining table for sunset pictures.
A dark wood marquetry cabinet consumes all our clothes for the week. A sofa, desk and bedside cabinets are lit by brassy Arabian lamps. Mihrab recesses, both aesthetic and functional, host candles. A minibar, plus Netflix and Prime on the television, are reminders that notionally we are still in the 21st century. The large burnt orange rug may have seen action as a flying carpet in a previous life …
The bathroom
Pure Moroccan indulgence: a deep bath with more mihrab recesses for candles and a superb rainfall shower. A sumptuous bathroom finished in local style with polished tadelakt plaster. And this bathroom has a sea view with a window that looks through the suite.
If you fall in love with the aromas of Sens de Marrakech toiletries, often created from argan oil, you can buy some to take home from the Kasbah’s boutique.
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The facilities
Ancient cedar doors salvaged from Agadir, representing both hospitality and heritage, decorate the walls of the restaurant.
At breakfast, Berber omelettes with a tomato sauce, served in a tagine, tell of one historical strand. Whilst crepes, cherry picked from years of French colonialism, represent another slice of Moroccan history. The Moroccans knew that French rule, particularly their patisserie, wasn’t all bad news.
Less than half an hour from Essaouira’s fishing harbour it’s no surprise that a starter of prawns and avocado salad, fish of the day, grilled squid and octopus tagine are the stars of both lunch and dinner menus.
After breakfast some guests get no further than a swimming pool that has infinity views of the Atlantic but there’s also a mini-gym and a spa.
The location
We are around a dozen miles south of Essaouira, three hours north of Agadir and in a surfers’ seventies time-warp.
Sidi Kaouki is where Bondi Beach meets Bing Crosby and Bob Hope’s Road to Morocco – but with more camels, dogs, donkeys, goats and horses than surfers.
A squat shrine to the 19th century Sufi saint, Sidi Kaouki, desperately in need of many licks of paint, overlooks mile after mile of raw and rugged beach. Surf schools outnumber ships in a village with less than 5,000 inhabitants. Here Africa disappears in mists and mirages into Atlantic rollers.
Take a bus ride into Essaouira for a French take on Moroccan architecture. Djerbs through the medina are straighter and wider than in the usual Moroccan souk. They were thoroughfares built to defend the port when it was viral for France’s Indian Ocean trade.
Other nice touches
The Kasbah is designed for those moments when Time shrugs and relaxes with a mint tea, selecting a book from the library, settling into a game of backgammon, cards or chess.
As well as curating the sun loungers and driftwood-style sofas by the pool, the pool attendant sets up a group of sun loungers, exclusively for Kasbah guests, on the beach. Take your Kasbah beach bag onto the sands to claim your spot.
Download the Vamoos app and log in for your itinerary, the Kasbah and what is on offer around Sidi Kaouki.
The cost
Rooms with breakfast, begin from £140, based on two people sharing.
The best bit
Far from Morocco’s crowds, Fleewinter’s Kasbah d’Eau invites guests to experience an authentic and timeless Morocco. Every member of the Kasbah’s team is Moroccan, providing softly spoken Arabic hospitality, warm and discrete.
For a journey into Berber life, camels sedately take us from the Kasbah d’eau towards the hills and Hussain’s family home, passing Argan trees whose roots seek out water 100-feet beneath the arid scrub desert.
After a lunch of Moroccan salad, chicken tajine, ring ghoriba biscuits and mint tea, Hussain’s mother shows how to grind the liquid gold of Argan oil. Nothing is wasted. If the camels don’t eat the left-over husks they are burnt for winter fuel.
The final verdict
In the depths of a grey UK winter amongst headlines of flooding, storms and frosts, our perfectly curated Fleewinter holiday to Morocco is more than just a retreat, Sidi Kaouki is a sanctuary for the soul. A chance to discover, explore and reset.
As we wait for our flight home it is impossible to resist a visit to the Fleewinter website. Where can we flee next? The Caribbean, Central and South America, Asia, The Indian Ocean, The Middle East or more Africa?
Disclosure: Our stay was sponsored by Fleewinter and the Kasbah d’Eau.
Michael Edwards
Michael Edwards is a travel writer from Oxfordshire, UK. Although Michael had his first travel pieces published nearly four decades ago, he is still finding new luxury destinations to visit and write on.
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Great timing! Having scrapped the ice off my car’s windscreen this morning Fleewinter is suddenly seeming a wise call.
One of the really good things about Morocco is that you get winter heat without a long and expensive flight. I’ll remember this one for the New Year.
Lydia – the temperature drops a little in January and February so check forecast temperatures before you fly. At that time of year you’re not going to get Caribbean temperatures though you will get good value flights.
Even in “winter” it will be very pleasant for walks along the beach, into the hills and exploring Essaouira.
Even though you described the location, I still had to Google Sidi Kaouki to find out where it was. As the only place I’ve ever been in Morocco is Marrakech my geography knowledge of Morocco is far from detailed.
Last week The Times published some tips on surviving the British winter. One of which was to book a winter holiday. It seems that Sidi Kaouki is perfect for ticking off that one. It’s not too expensive and not too far away either.
You are right about it not being too expensive. Fish of the day in the Kasbah’s restaurant was around £11 – depending on your exchange rate – and it came with grilled vegetables plus fries or rice. An hour’s massage in the Kasbah’s spa came in at around £34 so you can have a brilliant holiday in Sidi for very little expenditure.
A meal in a Berber house would be top of my list!
It was a unique experience sitting on the floor and eating with our hands. Also it was a very tasty chicken tagine, Hussain’s mother, who cooked the meal, was very generous with the chicken.
The decor looks beautifully done with its mix of traditional Moroccan and classy contemporary. The ancient doors in the restaurant is very clever and also a nice way of giving them an extended life after their original use had gone.
The ancient doors is a very creative idea, though you need a large expanse of wall to make it work. Would look odd in my cramped dining room at home!
That sunset shot of the camels is very seasonal. Three kings or three wisemen heading for Bethlehem?
We couldn’t believe it when that sight appeared before our eyes. We were just sat in the atrium having a pre-dinner drink with no thoughts of snapping a classic. Sometimes you get lucky with photography.
I’ve done Marrakech in June which was sweltering and packed with tourists. Next time I give Morocco a try Sidi will be my sort of place. Marrakech with all the high pressured selling was too much in my face. Sidi looks far more relaxed and a lot cooler with the sea breezes too.
Got to agree Phil! Even in summer the Tradewinds keep the Kasbah cool and its traditional design allow those winds to do their job. If you’re looking for sea air, space and freedom – then Sidi Kaouki is your place.
40 minutes from wheels hitting the runway to your first sip of mint tea at the Kasbah has to be a big selling point. I once waited 45 minutes at Gatwick for a gantry to arrive at our plane. These smaller airports certainly have their advantages.
Nor will you get stuck in a traffic jam getting back to the airport. There are only a handful of flights a day and you’re not going to get any traffic congestion.
I’ve been to Sidi and seen the Kasbah d’eau and enjoyed lunch on the terrace. It’s definitely the grandest place in the village, if you’re looking for luxury book into the Kasbah.
Yes, its architecture turns heads. There were a lot of envious glances from the people heading south to the camp site.
Love that line about Sidi Kaouki being where Bondi Beach meets the Road to Morocco. You make it sound like exactly the sort of wacky place that I like to stay. Or am I showing my age knowing about Bing Crosby and Bob Hope films?
Don’t worry Gerald – those “Road to …” movies are all-time classics. Most people have heard of them, even if they haven’t watched a whole movie.
I’m getting an idea for a Moroccan road trip into my mind. Fly into Essaouira and spend a few days there. Get a taxi to Sidi Kaouki and chill there for a few days. Then either hire a car to drive or get a taxi south along the coast to Agadir.
Yes, that would work nicely. Many of the guests were on road trips around Morocco, some had come from the Atlas Mountains, others from Marrakech and a few had driven north from Agadir. They said that it was a very scenic drive.
A lot of the guests were enjoying a few days relaxation at Kasbah d’Eau before hitting the road again or flying home from Essaouira airport.
I get why the taxi driver was so impressed. It’s a statement piece of architecture!
Yes, it is grand but the architecture is so essentially Moroccan that the Kasbah d’Eau doesn’t look out of place. Its such a vast landscape of endless beach and sea meeting sky on the horizon, that the Kasbah is a mere dot in the grand scheme of things.
A few years ago I camped at Sidi for a few days of awesome surfing. Really surprised to see that the Kasbah’s popped up. Apart from the surf schools there wasn’t much there when I dropped by!
Well Jack, there still isn’t too much at Sidi! The population remains under 5,000 and it’s mainly surf shops and a few supporting cafes. Goats and donkeys meander along the road as there’s not a huge flow of traffic.