With the 2024 arrival of Morocco’s premier hospitality brand (and the only one famously owned by none other than its King), the sand-swept shores north of Tétouan – established as a ‘Moroccan Riviera’ par excellence just a decade prior – have entered a new era. Royal Mansour Tamuda Bay is the coastal expression of its iconic Marrakchi sister, though more excitingly still, it’s also a leap in the direction of advanced wellness hospitality in the Kingdom.
Step into the mosaic-decked halls of Royal Mansour Tamuda Bay and feel the weight fall off your shoulders. That’s the premise, and it certainly worked for us. There’s a sense here that the space was designed to feel transformative, with a walkway fringed by fountains and water lilies beckoning guests into the resort’s gardens and beyond. Here, some 700 metres of perfect sands bask in the sun and the whisper of the Alboran Sea is ever-present: Wave upon wave washes ashore and the shadows of palm trees ripple like silk over the golden expanse. Every little detail does its part in helping guests feel lighter.
Straight down from the arrival area, and edged between the hotel’s enormous, curved outdoor pool and the sea, a line of sun loungers beneath striped parasols doubles as a front row to this cinematic panorama bleu, at whose Southern end the shark-tooth-shaped Cabo Negro peninsula serves as a reminder that the Rif Mountains back the bay, a circumstance no doubt adding to its sheltered feel. Until not so long ago, this spectacular shoreline was ‘just’ that, but now, the beach (so smooth and orderly, we’re convinced the hotel has it raked every few hours or so) forms the natural backdrop to the largest medical spa in all of Africa.
Royal Mansour Tamuda Bay sits some 90 minutes west of Tangier, placing it within convenient reach of one of Morocco’s most up-and-coming cities, and our stay formed the serene culmination of an otherwise action-packed trip. The resort’s 4,300 sqm (46,285 sqft) wellness area is expectedly well-appointed, with enough treatment rooms, hammams, halotherapy spaces and saunas to detox an Irish rugby team after a Super League win. In search of some classic R&R, we opted for signature massages, steam sessions, plenty of fragrant teas from the spa bar and a soft workout or two (the resort’s sports centre features equipment by Italian fitness disruptor brand Reaxing, a real rarity).
Fellow guests we chatted with had bigger plans, having set aside time at the end of their journeys to dedicated health retreats of the type more commonly found in Germany or Switzerland. Programs range between five and fifteen nights, including a roster of diagnostics and analyses, with more holistic practices underpinning a commitment to learning from the world’s ‘Blue Zone’ communities, known for their extended health spans and long lives. That Royal Mansour Tamuda Bay has ventured into fully fledged ‘medi-spa’ territory – and thoroughly, from what we can tell – should delight visitors keen on a reset outside of the usual clinic setting. Here, the promise of a healthier life isn’t on the other side of a sacrifice made, but a bonus to time well spent.
And boy, did we have a wonderful time in the wellness areas, particularly while exploring a landscape of specialised pools that’s quite simply unrivalled in the country. From a show-stopping vitality pool beneath glass spheres by Canadian brand Bocci seemingly suspended mid-air, to a dedicated water shiatsu (‘watsu’) pool and, our favourite, the resort’s quiet pool, in which we drifted each night, a giant moon lamp above casting its warm glow outwards while a night sky of tiny lights twinkled in the water beneath our feet: each space an aquatic world in and of itself.
The facilities’ design speaks a language of opulence, albeit a genteel one. Water splashes across Gaya Quartzite stone, walls are adorned with hanging mosaic vines, light pours through mashrabiya latticework overhead, and the wooden ceiling’s green shade nods to the ornate doors of nearby Tétouan. For a wellness space this size to feel so well considered, with each area offering an element of discovery within a cohesive, stylistic theme, is a feat rarely accomplished. Too frequently in hospitality, design is streamlined to minimise costs and avoid risks, but this isn’t the case here, where every wall tile, staff uniform and Collier Webb-branded alabaster table lamp feels bespoke and intentional.
This thread of care also extends to the soft-edged stucco buildings housing the hotel’s 55 suites and villas. The former start at a generous 80 sqm (861 sqft) and go up to 460 sqm (4951 sqft), while the latter are split between three types, and include the jewel in the resort’s crown, a 1,700 sqm (18,299 sqft) duplex Royal Villa on the beach, featuring a private spa, a cinema, a library and no less than three pools – ideal for longer stays (and deeper pockets). All villas come with butler service, and this being Morocco, you can count on excellence, warmth and a sense of culture: Hospitality in the country is a craft to be honed, not merely a ‘job’ to get done.
Each suite and villa benefits from a unique combination of features. Some boast four-poster beds and cream-peach sofas, others generously wide doorways and exposed wooden beams. We loved just how light-flooded our lodgings were, and how richly decorated yet calm they felt. Berber-inspired patterns and slightly retro furniture lines met shell mosaics and woven ceilings; it’s one muted print or texture in perpetual dialogue with another – an entire souk dialled down to tickle a royal palate. The accommodations’ outdoor areas are equally seductive, with dining set-ups and loungers en plein air framed by masterfully landscaped gardens. And the swoosh of the sea, with its restorative powers, remains firmly within earshot.
If the breeze won’t lure you outside, the promise of leisurely lunches will. Royal Mansour Tamuda Bay is home to no less than four restaurants, from the casual Pool Bar to Coccinella, which serves Italian classics between an open-fire pizza oven and highly ornate wall art courtesy of muralist Michael Chandler. For presumably more ‘haute’ dining, French La Table is a classic white tablecloth affair, and Le Méditerranée is billed as contemporary Spanish.
The resort has a tendency to market its dining outlets as having a ‘modern twist’, though what classifies as such remains a mystery to us. Not only do the restaurants fail to cater to modern dietary requirements – there are virtually no veggie options at La Table, while the best Le Méditerranée could do was a standard vegetable paella (and only after our waitress asked us whether vegans ate seafood, demonstrating a complete lack of training by the hotel) – they also don’t showcase Morocco’s very own, sophisticated culinary heritage. Three dining outlets wholly dedicated to European cuisines, and a pool bar menu that’s all sushi, burgers and Hawaiian poke bowls, and you might as well be eating in a Dubai mall. That said, we washed our paella down with a bottle of chilled Minuty beneath the blue sky, and thought ourselves lucky that at least the sun and the sea would never disappoint.
Royal Mansour Tamuda Bay opened just months after Royal Mansour Casablanca, which marked the brand’s second property. Another upcoming hotel in Rabat is in the works, and there are unconfirmed whispers of an expansion to Italy. We don’t doubt that it’s an exciting time for Royal Mansour, with the company eyeing a space among an illustrious group of brands in the ‘ultra-luxury’ realm, that pride themselves on small portfolios in exceptional locations. There’s certainly appetite for an offering that feels boutique, but on a scale you’d more typically expect from a bigger brand, and we mean this quite literally: larger spaces and vast grounds, but details conveying artisanship over corporate playbook.
Its integration of medical-grade health and wellness as a pillar of its hotel proposition can serve as a differentiator from others and pave the way for brand-wide recognition that Royal Mansour isn’t simply playing to developing guest needs, but suggesting that physical and mental well-being is at the core of each stay. The Tamuda Bay property is a promising example of what’s to come, evidencing that African luxury hospitality is becoming more nuanced and diverse. Travellers have for years journeyed to Asia or the Swiss Alps in search of holistic holidays and science-backed retreats. But with a resort like Royal Mansour Tamuda Bay offering a genuine alternative, wellness on the Mother Continent might be up for a moment in the spotlight.
Steffen’s stay at Royal Mansour Tamuda Bay was part of a bespoke itinerary by Inclusive Morocco, the local and queer-owned tour operator offering visitors rare access to the places – and people – really shaping Morocco today.
Photography courtesy of Royal Mansour
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While you’re OutThere
The kind of place we’d have never found if it hadn’t been for the local expertise (and great sense of orientation!) of our Inclusive Morocco guide, Tangier’s Fondouk Chejra is an open-air market where weavers sit in their tiny – and charmingly filled to the brim – workshops, surrounded by wooden looms and piles upon piles of colourful blankets. It’s a real treasure trove and a fantastic spot to pick up a textile or two at an unbeatable price. But beyond this, Fondouk Chejra is a showcase of local tradition and heritage kept alive to this day. As such, it belongs on any itinerary.
