Four stylish far-flung escapes

High Atlas Attitude

Richard Branson acquired Kasbah Tamadot in Morocco’s High Atlas from the Italian antiquarian Luciano Tempo more than 25 years ago, and opened it as a hotel in 2005. Lushly landscaped, filled with the antiques Tempo had amassed during his own travels (Branson got a warehouse full of them as part of the sale), with a prime view of Oukaïmeden on the country’s highest peak, it set the Atlas Mountains bar for indulgence, service and community engagement (The Eve Branson Foundation, started by Branson’s late mother, provides education and healthcare funding and supports artisanal training).

Last month, Tamadot reopened after a year-long part-closure, during which the foundation provided aid following the September 2023 earthquake. Along with a renovation of the kasbah itself, Branson has built six three-bedroom riads on a plot acquired with the purchase in 1998. Each has an ample living room, terrace and plunge pool; all benefit from the same views the Kasbah does, and have access to all its amenities – an ideal option for the families and small groups who now account for so much travel to the country. Artisanal products, designed by local makers supported by the Foundation, will be available to buy, with 40 per cent of proceeds going to the artisans.

Island idylls in east Africa

“Bush to beach” has long been one of east Africa’s alluring proposals; the promise of megafauna-filled wildernesses combined with equatorial sands – and the intriguing blend of Swahili and sultanate history and culture that define the coastlines of Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique – is made easy by proximate destinations. Mnemba Island, the private island off the coast of Zanzibar owned and managed by safari specialists &Beyond, has always met the fantasy criteria – tiny enough to walk its circumference in 20 minutes, thatched banda accommodations, sand floors in the restaurant, a dive centre and coral reefs minutes away by speedboat. Last month it reopened after a rebuild with the important elements intact; the bandas are updated with wider patios and indoor-outdoor bathrooms, but walls and floors are still clad in woven palm. The dive centre is still artfully housed in an open-air thatched hut. Menus are written out on blackboards each day in the restaurant, and there’s that sand floor. And it still delivers the sense of remove from the main island, despite being only a 10-minute speedboat from its north shore. 

It’s the promise of megafauna-filled wilderness and equatorial sands

Down the coast, reached once a day by plane from Dar Es Salaam, is Fanjove Island, where new owners Julie Brisson and Xavier Marie have redesigned and upgraded the entire experience as part of Laba Laba, their small but ambitious new stable of high-style Tanzanian lodges. Its 18 villas now boast carved teak walls and plank floors (the wood is sourced from a sustainably managed plantation on the mainland), huge canopied beds, separate living areas and soaring thatched ceilings. It’s castaway aspirations with a spa, kids club and family villas; Laba Laba may not yet boast the conservation credentials of a stalwart like &Beyond, but it’s definitely one to watch.

New glamour in North Yorkshire

Saltmoore, Whitby

A new “wellness-led” retreat has taken over the old Raithwaite Sandsend hotel near Whitby, on the coast of North Yorkshire. Saltmoore, which opens this month, sees the hotel remade as two of them, sedately swank, with a total of 72 rooms and three restaurants and cafés. The rooms and suites at 43-key Saltmoore House, the main property, skew grand, with original tall sash windows, marble counters in the bathrooms, high canopied beds and a few enormous suites.

In the 29-room Beach House, things are more pared-back, with shiplap-clad walls and rattan furniture (and a warm welcome extended to dogs); it will have its own bar and restaurant. Adam Maddock, formerly of The Fife Arms in Braemar and Wiltshire’s Whatley Manor, is overseeing the food offering, from a gleaming brasserie to a whole- and raw-foods-driven café. But the draw for many will probably be The Sanctuary, Saltmoore’s spa, with pool, cryo chamber and fitness centre with all the trimmings. If Yorkshire’s weather doesn’t faze you, there’s also outdoor yoga, horseback riding and beach picnics.

@mariashollenbarger