Amanjena

Marrakech, Morroco

Amanjena is the first Amanresort on the African continent. The resort’s 32 Pavilions, six two-story Maisons and the largest accommodation, the Al-Hamra Maison, are set within an oasis of palm and mature olive trees. Amanjena’s rose-blush walls mirror Marrakech, known in Arabic as Al Medina al-Hamra (the red city). The resort’s design emulates the old Moorish pisé (packed earth) buildings, as well as the Berber villages that cling to the High Atlas Mountains.

Marrakech was brought to radiant life by the brilliance of 11th-century Almoravid irrigation. Water is no less the unifying element of Amanjena, which has as its centrepiece, a large basin, traditionally a holding pool to collect water for irrigation. Amanjena’s pavilions and maisons extend from the bassin, fanning out in two directions, separated by reflecting pools in a landscape of lawns and vines, emerald-clay roofs, marble fountains and glittering hand-cut, glazed tiles.

The entrance to Amanjena is through hand-crafted double oak doors leading to the central promenade. There are open-air fountains on either side of the entrance and colonnaded walkways. Amanjena (which means “peaceful paradise”) opened in 2000.