The Credentials
It’s been a testing few months for communities living in the Atlas Mountains since the devastating earthquake that struck Morocco back in September. And while you might think it’s a jarring time to be pursuing luxury in the area, my experience on a recent trip shows that it’s exactly the right time to be doing so. It was repeatedly stressed to me that visiting is the best way to support the local communities.
I was lucky enough to spend some time at Olinto, a new mountain retreat bordering Toubkal National Park about an hour’s drive into the Atlas Mountains south of Marrakech.
Olinto is an extraordinary place. It’s probably the clearest distillation of understated luxury I’ve ever experienced. Franco-Italian owner Fabrizio Ruspoli—the original proprietor of La Maison Arabe and pioneer of the raid hotel concept—has taken his extremely discerning eye to this new project in the mountains and created something rare and strikingly beautiful.
Carved sympathetically into the contours of an ancient olive grove, the hotel’s carefully curated congregation of buildings and grounds harness the raw beauty of the natural surroundings, enhancing rather than exploiting the original terrain.
Under a huge expanse of hazy mountain sky, the hotel property is a showcase in serenity. Floating along its tree-lined pathways, you’re constantly flanked by the gentle gurgle of running water and seductive perfume of rosemary and lavender.
The place has a sense of slow-release luxury with complex layers only revealing themselves after repeated exploration; a reflection of Fabrizio’s belief that you shouldn’t be able to absorb the full extent of interiors and gardens on first impression. It’s a view I interpreted as a gentle aversion to gaudier luxury offerings predicated on the aim of immediate gratification.
Sleep
The rooms are another aspect that differentiates the Olinto experience. For starters, they’re not really rooms. Each of the nine bedrooms is housed in a private pavilion with a garden, roof terrace, and private balcony enclosed by traditional earthen walls. Three of them even have a private pool.
Like the architecture throughout the rest of the hotel, the pavilions are a showcase of local craftsmanship and diligence. The fittings and metalwork are all the creation of a blacksmith within a stone’s throw of the hotel gates, and the buildings all make the most of traditional Moroccan materials—rammed earth, bricks, painted wood, carved plaster, and wood latticework.
Each pavilion has its own distinct flavour with a range of genuinely stunning carpets, decorative objects, antique engravings, and paintings—many of which come from Fabrizio’s prolific private collection.
Dine
The produce—local and very high quality—is the protagonist in Olinto’s food offering. Lots of ingredients come from the on-site organic kitchen garden and the rest are sourced as locally as possible. The menu itself is split into two distinct streams: a Moroccan column sitting alongside a more international-leaning affair.
I sampled dishes from both and can confirm the chefs know what they’re doing. The bread—made by Zahra, Olinto’s onsite baker—in traditional ceramic ovens was comfortably the best I had during my week in Morocco.
When it comes to drinking, you’ll want to kick things off on the bar’s green-tiled rooftop terrace as the sun goes down. Head up for panoramic mountain views as you peer out over the canopy of the hotel’s olive groves – the chicest tree house setting you could imagine.
Who goes there?
Fellow guests, as few as there inevitably are in a nine-bedroom hotel, were a mixture of well-heeled couples and families from Europe and North America. The hotel caters for adults only—16 and up—for an added layer of serenity.
The Worst Thing
It’s very hard to pinpoint anything negative. The full extent of Olinto’s beauty isn’t captured in the hotel’s imagery, though I know that’s in part down to a philosophy of underpromising and overdelivering.
The Best Thing
I felt an immediate sense of belonging when I arrived. A particularly alluring thing to feel in such exquisite surroundings. From the staff at the front desk to the owner, Fabrizio, Olinto is the friendliest version of luxury.
The Details
Pavilion rooms at the retreat start at €728 (£627) per night
Olinto Atlas Mountain Retreat, Ouirgane, Morocco
