Marrakesh (with a baby)

This blog’s been cooking for a while. A year to be exact.

Last March, fed up with the Beast from the East and eager for a holiday before I became too pregnant to fly, I waltzed off to Morocco with my mother.

We settled on Marrakesh, which is an easy 3-hour flight from London. You might wake to grey drizzle but, by dinner time, can be smugly toasting your good fortune in an orange-blossom-scented garden complete with tinkling fountains and nightingales.

In need of some serious downtime, we opted to stay outside the Medina in what can only be described as paradise.

The best hotel in the world

Ok, anyone who’s read some of my other posts will know that I’m prone to exaggeration when I get excited (see my delirious rant about the Best Bar in the World). But Jnane Tamsna certainly has to be a contender.

Set in the palm groves on the outskirts of Marrakesh, this family-run hotel manages to balance staggering elegance with heart-warming intimacy. For the owners, Meryanne and Gary, and their two children, it is a true labour of love. Exquisite taste is underpinned by an ecological and philanthropic zeal, which makes Jnane Tamsna beautiful inside and out. The rooms are carefully decorated and the gardens lovingly tended. Everywhere you find exquisite corners, tucked between Moroccan archways or reflected in a well-placed mirror. On top of that, you have grass-roots projects supporting local communities and championing sustainability.

Its Instagram feed (and website) depicts its most glamorous side: High-end fashion shoots with models lounging against yellow walls, or dangling a languid calf into a swimming pool. Opulent dinners laid for a 100, candlelit tables dripping in roses. But don’t be fooled. Far from an exclusive, A-lister vibe, the place is relaxed, informal and incredibly child-friendly.

What’s not to love?

We couldn’t believe our luck when we arrived last year, greeted by a candlelit corridor of Moroccan archways and smiling staff. One bite of the home-grown, home-cooked food and we announced we weren’t going anywhere for the next 5 days. And we pretty much stuck to it. One year later, we made our return. Two husbands, and one eight-month-old baby in tow.

The Medina and beyond

If you can tear yourself away, Marrakesh and the surrounding area offers plenty of delights. The Medina itself is the usual tumbling chaos of labyrinthine souks and street hawkers coupled with pockets of calm serenity.

If shopping is the name of the game, you can lose hours (not to mention considerable €€) in the main souk which fans out from the Jemaa el-Fnaa (Marrakesh’s landmark square). It’s impossible to be sure of authenticity, but the genuine Berber rug design is cream with simple black diamond patterns.

If the souk gets too much for your, head for the Jardin Secret for lavender-scented shade, calming Islamic architecture and an impressive irrigation system. Fountains and water channels are fed via a spring that’s channelled directly from the Atlas mountains – a technique that’s been in practice since the 11th Century.

Another, slightly off-beat, gem is the Jardin Majorelle, created by French painter Jacques Majorelle. It’s both stunning and mad. Moorish architecture meets Art Deco and the now famous ‘Majorelle Blue’ is set against bright yellows and earthy reds. Next door is the Musée Yves Saint Laurent, which showcases collections of haute couture spanning forty years. The building’s unique brick design was created to resemble woven fabric. Queues for both can be vast, so try and avoid peak times. The café in the Jardin Majorelle offers a good, simple lunch in a pretty courtyard.

The Ourika Valley

About an hour and a half south-east of Marrakesh is the Ourika Valley, which sits in the shadow of the snow-capped Atlas Mountains. It’s a beautiful drive, following the river as it winds its way through the green valley past earthy hillside towns that almost melt into the scenery.

But don’t expect total tranquillity and isolation. Its easy proximity to Marrakesh makes the Ourika Valley day-trip heaven. The roadsides sparkle with glazed pottery and brightly coloured blankets flap in the mountain breezes. Restaurant owners flag you down as you pass and the banks of the river are lined with endless cafés, reached by flimsy bridges, where you can sit with your feet in the rushing water while you eat your tagine. To avoid the beaten track the Lonely Planet suggests (and doubtless ruins) the Mizane or Zat Valleys as alternatives.

Since we were with a baby and didn’t fancy a precarious scramble down a precipice for lunch, we opted for the more genteel Kasbah Bab Ourika. This beautiful hotel is perched on a hilltop at the end of a bone-rattling, stomach-lurching drive. It has wonderful views over the valley, which can be enjoyed from a quiet, shady terrace with a cool beer.

Baby notes

Marrakesh is a very-manageable three-hour flight from London and, since it’s in the same timezone as the UK, routines (if you’re into that sort of thing) can be easily maintained.

Jnane Tamsna provided a lovely cot with clean, crisp bedding. If you stay in one of the Garden Rooms, you can enjoy your meals and lounge by the pool while staying more or less within range of the baby monitor. On one day, we arranged childcare for a few hours so we could venture into the Medina buggy-free. For 3 hours, Sofía was bounced up and down by a kind lady who took great care of her. She didn’t speak any English (French of course) but Sofía didn’t mind.

Wherever you go, babies are a great equalizer. The divides of culture, language, or the service-provider/guest dynamic simply melt away when a plump baby comes into the picture. Gardeners broke off from their work to wave and pull faces, young waiters clowned about for her attention, and shy housekeeping staff gathered to coo. Needless to say, Sofía lapped up the adulation.

Travel gadgets

• Travel kettle (to prepare bottles of formula)
• Inflatable high-chair (n inflatable booster seat that fits on any chair and is easily transported in a nappy bag)

Health and safety

Car seats were provided on request. And, although chaotic at times, the roads were never alarming.

The vaccinations we should have had (but none of us did) could not be given to someone as young as Sofía, so we were just careful. Her milk was prepared using bottled water and she lived on a diet of baby-food pouches (Sainsbury’s Little Ones, Babease and For Aisha). She was healthy and cheerful throughout (aside from a streaming cold she picked up on the plane of course).