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Riad Meriem

Riad Meriem

There’s a simple reason why the riad hotels of Marrakech have been so much more popular among the French than the English, Americans, or other anglophones. It’s not the proximity, not in these days of budget air travel, but the language — the simple fact is that so many riad owners are French, an...
Riyad Al Moussika

Riyad Al Moussika

One could reasonably argue that the experience of staying at a historic hotel, an ancient castle, say, or a converted country mansion, can be improved by a bit of familiarity with the heritage of the place, a passing acquaintance with the story of whatever medieval friar or Victorian earl used to...
Royal Malewane

Royal Malewane

Some modern luxury safari lodges differentiate themselves by pushing against the boundaries of tradition. Others set themselves apart by pursuing the traditional concept of the safari camp to its logical conclusion. The sublime Royal Malewane, in South Africa’s Kruger National Park, fa...
Ryad Dyor

Ryad Dyor

Brighter, sunnier, somehow friendlier than the average riad hotel — maybe it’s the owners, a couple of designers, one Dutch and the other Spanish, but for whatever reason, Ryad Dyor stands out. The medina location and the inside-out riad design mean it’s as private as any, but where many go dark ...
Saxon

Saxon

Impossible to imagine, but the Saxon, on the fringes of Johannesburg, was once a private residence — not bad, considering it now sleeps about fifty. And surrounded as it is by a ten-foot wall, it’s about as private as a boutique hotel can get. This is where Nelson Mandela came to work on his auto...
Sofitel Essaouira Medina & Spa

Sofitel Essaouira Medina & Spa

From the way the travel press tells the story you’d think Marrakech was Morocco in its entirety. But those who have the time for a bit of rambling often find themselves taking some time by the sea in Essaouira (formerly Mogador), a town that’s no less charming than Marrakech, but quite a...
Sofitel Marrakech Lounge & Spa

Sofitel Marrakech Lounge & Spa

The compromise position between the densely packed medina and the wide-open, suburban Palmeraïe is the Hivernage district; it’s less crowded than the old town, but closer to the center of it all than the sprawling out-of-town resorts. And there are a few very worthy hotel options in the Hivernage...
Sofitel Old Cataract Aswan

Sofitel Old Cataract Aswan

Note: From May 2008, Sofitel Old Cataract Aswan will be closed for 24 months for renovations. These days Northern Egyptian cities like Cairo and Alexandria feel less and less exotic, but Aswan, one of the world’s highest and driest desert places, still lies some distance off the...
Talaa 12

Talaa 12

Most of the riad hotels in Marrakech trade heavily on history, antiques, traditional décor. Talaa 12, on the other hand, leaves old Marrakech outside the walls. The interiors here are as contemporary as can be; not quite minimalist, and certainly still quite identifiably Moroccan, but more like 2...
Terre Resort And Spa

Terre Resort And Spa

The classic Marrakech hotel concept is the riad, typically a mansion in the old medina quarter, a small-scale and intimate sort of hotel, however extravagant the hospitality. The Terre resort, the first from the American-owned Octogone group, takes this concept out of town, to the desert oasis of...
The Marine Hermanus

The Marine Hermanus

More than a few seaside resorts offer whale watching excursions. But at the Marine Hermanus, guests need not leave their rooms to watch the spectacle — this stretch of the southern coast of South Africa is a natural playground for the Southern Right Whales that breach near the shore from July to ...
The Oberoi Mauritius

The Oberoi Mauritius

If the Oberoi name conjures visions of very conventional luxury hotels, then you’re about to have your mind changed. What’s true enough in India is something else entirely in Mauritius, where an all-star design team comprising the Thai architect Lek Bunnag and the American-born landscape architec...
The Plettenberg

The Plettenberg

Set perched in the rocky headlands above its namesake bay, The Plettenberg’s whitewashed walls house 37 stately rooms and suites that could each play the set to a modern-day Merchant-Ivory film. Though a five-star through and through, it breaks the gilt mold, forgoing decorous opulence in favor o...
The Residence Mauritius

The Residence Mauritius

Though a modern hotel, this Mauritius resort is something of a throwback, a reconstruction of the plantation houses at the turn of the last century, and featuring a standard of service that it’s easy to imagine doesn’t exist anywhere anymore. The Residence is rather true to its name, feeling quit...
The Residence Tunis

The Residence Tunis

Think of it as the other North African destination. Most well-heeled Europeans opt for Marrakech and its infinity of intimate riad hotels; for big-bucks haute-luxury flash, though, it’s hard to do much better than The Residence, on the beach at les Côtes de Carthage, twenty minutes from ...
The Twelve Apostles Hotel

The Twelve Apostles Hotel

Think of a luxury hotel in South Africa and your thoughts may run to isolated safari estates, old-world colonial compounds, or opulent waterfront mansions. Rarely, though, would the mind conjure images of boutique elegance, of a smartly designed spot that would look equally at home in Miami Beach...
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