A Moroccan botanical garden stay at Dar Al Hossoun, Taroudant

The gardens at Dar Al Hossoun, Taroudant
This place in Morocco could have been paradise....but looks can be deceiving
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Dar Al Hossoun

I’m not sure what first attracted me to Dar Al Hossoun. Perhaps it was the impressive garden landscapes, the promise of peaceful luxury, and the fact we might see baby peacocks. Or maybe it was because the famous ‘open sesame’ cave scene from the 1954 film Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves was filmed just outside the property wallsWhatever the reason, we decided to stop here for a night during our tour exploring the Anti Atlas Mountains with Wild Morocco.

Located a few miles out of Taroudant, Dar Al Hossoun is a unique boutique lodge originally designed as a conservation experiment by renowned landscape architects Arnauld Maurieres and Eric Ossart. The lush gardens boast over 900 varieties of rare and exotic plants, collected during their travels through the many deserts of the world. Now that’s my sort of gardener!

The gardens at Dar Al Hossoun, Taroudant

The gardens at Dar Al Hossoun, Taroudant

The property extends over one hectare, with bedrooms and patios discretely nestled amongst the foliage, a haven for wildlife as well as visitors. The piece de resistance has to be the 30 metre swimming pool running through the middle of one of the gardens, and nearby ponds are home to a symphony of frogs. The public living space surrounding the pool includes a covered terrace and patio where meals are taken, as well as a cosy lounge and pavilion overlooking the gardens.

Indoor dining at Dar AL Hossoun, Tardoudant

Indoor dining room and lounge at Dar AL Hossoun, Tardoudant

The Arrival

In our not insubstantial experience, a Moroccan welcome is usually something to remember, and one rarely surpassed, even in the smiling lands of South East Asia. We’re always made to feel like honoured guests, whether it’s our first visit or our sixth. So it would be fair to say we were expecting more of the same at Dar Al Hossoun.

Yet our arrival was somewhat of an anticlimax. The outer gate was locked and as there was no-one there to let us in, our driver had to leave the vehicle parked across the lane whilst he ran inside to try and find someone. When we finally made it inside, we were rather confused that the lad on duty didn’t seem to know anything about our reservation. After some explanations he eventually showed us to a room (which we had to wait outside whilst he went back to fetch the key he’d forgotten), although our driver ended up carrying two of our cases which he was rightly not too pleased about.

Olive Tree Room, Dar Al Hossoun, Taroudant

Olive Tree Room, Dar Al Hossoun, Taroudant

Once installed in the room we were left alone, without any explanation or tour of the hotel and grounds. This meant we spent the rest of the afternoon not knowing which areas were private and which we could use. There was an old faded black and white map in the room information folder, but this didn’t even have our bedroom on it so wasn’t much use. We felt forgotten and a bit forlorn.

Half an hour later the guy came back with some mint tea and cookies, and whilst the latter were very welcome and tasty, the tea was the bitterest we’ve ever experienced, even with piles of sugar from the tea tray in the room. Again barely a word was exchanged and we were left feeling rather baffled and like we shouldn’t really be there.

The Room

There are ten rooms and five suites at Dar Al Hossoun, all individually decorated with stylish contemporary fixtures and traditional pottery and textile furnishings. I loved that the duvets were made from wool from the local Taroudant area, and everything seemed both sustainable and ethical. Natural materials were in use throughout the lodge, it was all about earth, stone, wood and bamboo, along with solar water heating and clever use of natural lighting.

We were in the Olive Tree room, located in a smaller garden away from the main house. This meant it was very tranquil, we had no neighbours and really enjoyed the peace and quiet.

Olive Tree Room, Dar Al Hossoun, Taroudant

Olive Tree Room, Dar Al Hossoun, Taroudant

However, even though we checked in after 4pm, it turned out that underneath the throw, the bed didn’t have any sheets or pillow cases, there were no towels in the bathroom and the room clearly hadn’t been serviced since the previous occupants. The glass bathroom doors were filthy and even had a footprint on. We eventually managed to find a member of staff who rectified the problem immediately, although we only ever had one bath robe between us and the footprint remained.

The room itself was very tastefully decorated and photogenic, and I loved that we had an outside shower in the bathroom, as well as one inside. I’m a sucker for outdoor showers, even if it’s freezing I’ll be standing out there under the water enjoying the breeze on my skin, feeling a bit naughty to be naked outside, despite the fact no-one can see! The water temperature and pressure were excellent, which believe me, in Morocco is a bonus!

The bed was comfy, and the subtle use of natural light meant at night it was really dark and a good night’s sleep was had. It was also a lot cooler than back in the cities, and it was great not to have to rely on air con the entire time.

Rooms start at €110 and suites are from €150 for double occupancy including breakfast.

The Grounds

The magnificent gardens are quite rightly the main attraction here at Dar Al Hossoun. I’m not a gardener, and can kill off even the hardiest of cacti, so I really admire those manage to create such natural pockets of paradise.

The gardens at Dar Al Hossoun, Taroudant

The gardens at Dar Al Hossoun, Taroudant

Hubbie had been looking forward to pounding out a few lengths in the longest pool we’ve ever seen, and I’d been dreaming of serenely gliding along beneath the jungle-esque foliage ever since we set foot in Morocco. Yet it seemed that hundreds of dead leaves and multiple bugs had the same idea and the thought of swimming in what could soon become a bit of a compost heap just wasn’t appealing. So we didn’t. I get that Dar Al Hossoun is all about nature and organic living, but a simple sweep with a pool net once a day wouldn’t have gone amiss.

The 30 m pool at Dar Al Hossoun, Taroudant

The 30 m pool at Dar Al Hossoun, Taroudant

The Food

Whilst perhaps not the gourmet culinary experience we’d expected, the food was nonetheless decent and tasty, and I have to say I could have easily polished off the entire terrine of courgette soup at dinner. The seafood pastilla was a welcome respite from the tagines we’d been eating all week and I absolutely loved the Moroccan take on the hors d’ouevres tray. I think it’s a tradition we’ll have to introduce in the Conversant Traveller household! Spoiler alert…hubbie says we already have enough tagines and that they are now on the ‘disallowed souvenirs’ list. Humph.

Moroccan style hors d'oeuvres tray at Dar Al Hossoun, Taroudant

Moroccan style hors d’oeuvres tray at Dar Al Hossoun, Taroudant

After the scrummy dinner, breakfast was a tad disappointing the next morning. We were given fresh pancakes, but the bread was rather dry, the cake clearly leftovers from the day before, and the home-made jam smelt a bit odd. Just a good job I’m not really a breakfast person.

Lunch is €16 per person and diner is €20 per person. For a small supplement you can enjoy secluded and private dining elsewhere in the grounds, but we felt it was lovely sitting on the dining terrace by the pool.

What we loved

Listening to the chorus of frogs over dinner, and then seeing some hop across the terrace between ponds was something special. Add in several baby peacocks and a miniature Kew Gardens at your disposal and it is indeed a horticultural paradise.

Baby peacocks at Dar Al Hossoun, Taroudant

Baby peacocks at Dar Al Hossoun, Taroudant

What wasn’t so great

We’re all for a laid back atmosphere, but during our visit it was all rather too relaxed, to the point where we felt uncomfortable since we didn’t know which areas we could use, and even when and where meals were to be taken. Having seen just one large dining table in the main house we spent the entire afternoon worrying it was to be communal dining (the only other people there were a large party of French). As it turned out dining is wherever guests like to sit, and is never communal unless requested. We ended up having a wonderful evening meal outside on the terrace by the pool, just the two of us, and one of the friendly house dogs.

Dinner by the pool at Dar Al Hossoun, Taroudant

Dinner by the pool at Dar Al Hossoun, Taroudant

The Verdict

Dar Al Hossoun in some ways felt like one of the many kasbahs we visited in Morocco. Slightly crumbling with traces of former splendour, and now in need of a bit of care and attention to regain its luxury status.  Green credentials and eco living have also clearly been prioritised over service which in my book is a huge mistake. There is nothing so important as decent service.

Having spoken to owner Ollivier, and read countless other reviews of the place, it does seem that perhaps we were unlucky with our experience. Apparently there had just been a large wedding party at the property and staff were all still recovering from that. Whilst this perhaps explains the poor service on arrival and lack of communication between staff, it does not excuse it and I have to admit I was sorely disappointed as our experience fell far short of our expectations. Perhaps if the website hadn’t promised luxury we would have been more prepared to settle for less.

However the gardens are indeed beautiful, and the colourfully decorated bedrooms do have the potential to feature on the cover of many a glossy travel magazine. So if the welcome and service had been better I believe our stay would have been a completely different story. A story I would be willing to rewrite should we stay there again, which we would be happy to do. Just so long as there aren’t any weddings the day before.


We received a complimentary stay at Dar Al Hossoun but as always, words and opinions remain my own.

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Staying at a botanical garden in Morocco, Dar al Hossoun, Taroudant

15 Comments

  • Nic says:

    It certainly looks like a unique place to stay and on first impressions pretty amazing too, like you, when I saw that photo of the pool I though about how amazing it would be to swim alongside nature. Although I am not really put off by those things such as leaves etc as we have done quite a bit of wild swimming and similar things I do think that if you are paying those things should be attended to. I think it could easily be a pretty amazing place to stay if they just made some small changes by the sounds of it!

  • Frank says:

    I love that you received a complimentary stay yet actually do actually have your own (somewhat negative) opinion. I’m sorry, I usually skip hotel reviews because they are nauseatingly sickening. You are the anti-hotel reviewer 😉

    I don’t think this hotel is cheap and I would expect more. Why do the rooms and pool look like they were shipped to Morocco in a container? Everything else looks nice though, the grounds look superb and I like greenery. But I’ve been to so many places where I’ve paid a lot of money and received mediocre service, it bothers me – usually a sign of lackadaisical management. But at least the infrastructure is there. they just have to step it up.

    Frank (bbqboy)

    • Heather Cole says:

      I’m always 100% honest when I review places, otherwise what’s the point? I have to admit I was quite surprised that our experience here wasn’t what we’d anticipated, given the flashy website and the fact that hospitality in Morocco in our experience has always been second to none. But I like to think some negativity isn’t necessarily a bad thing as it makes the positives more believable! Just hope they step up their service game and then they’d have something quite special.

  • Sianna says:

    This garden looks like a magical place and perfect for retreat and relaxation. I think I’ve never seen baby peacocks! They are so adorable!

  • Sue Reddel says:

    Wonderful photographs! I love visiting gardens while traveling and Morocco is definitely on my must-see list. Now I know I’ll have to visit the these lovely gardens.

    • Heather Cole says:

      The gardens were definitely the highlight, though I didn’t have time to count and see if there were 900!!

  • melody pittman says:

    Interesting place. Definitely unique. My husband would love all those exotic plants. 😉

  • Bianca @itsallbee says:

    Cant believe I havent been to Morocco yet. Sorry you didnt have the experience you were hoping for but considering how close Morocco is to the UK I am sure you will have more opps for another trip.

    • Heather Cole says:

      Well it’s sometimes good when things don’t go 100% to plan, makes you realise how lucky you are when they do!

  • Milosz Zak says:

    I have been to Morocco once, but only on a structured tour – big mistake. Next time I’m in the country, I’m going to engage the team from Bewildered in Morocco to develop a trip for me. This botanical garden is now on the list – thank you!

  • Revati says:

    Botanical gardens are not what one usually associates with Morocco, so this is a refreshing take (rather literally) great shots!

  • Simone says:

    Looks beautiful! I loved Morocco & used our Riad’s pools so much as we were there in the middle of summer! This pool is stunning!
    Simone

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