Australian Gourmet Traveller - (06)June 2019 (1)

GOURMET TRAVELLER 129

OurRouteduSudbeginsat theairportintheheaving
beachresortofAgadir,onMorocco’ssouthernAtlanticcoast.
Walkingintothearrivalshall,myheartsinksas I takeinthe
longlinesat passportcontrol.Thena youngmanstepsforward
witha signbearingournamesandsoonwe’reonourway
toMaisondesArganiers,a three-bedroomcliffsidevillain
a villageonlyanhour’sdrivefromthecity.
Enroute,ouryoungFrenchdriverexplainsthejourney’s

raisond’êtreandthevisionofitscreator,theParis-based
hôtelierandtravelimpresarioThierryTeyssier.
“FormonsieurTeyssier,Moroccois hissecondhome,”
hesays.TeyssierhadspentyearstravellinginMorocco’sless
trammelledregionsand,in2002,heopenedDarAhlam,or
“houseofdreams”inArabic,anopulentlystyledkasbahina
palmeraieinSkoura,inthecountry’scentralsouth.Here,he
treatedgueststorareexperiences– candlelitrooftopdinners,
tenteddesertpicnics,privatetours– designedtosurpriseand
delight.Fromthischiclaunchpad,Teyssier’sdesiretosharehis
favourite“secret”placesinthesouthexpandedintoLaRoute

duSud,a seriesofsurprisesinoases,hilltownsanddesertdunes.
Infact,I’dmetTeyssierat a dinnerpartyarrangedbyexpat
friendsinMarrakechsoonafterhe’dlaunchedtheroutein
2015.“I wantedtocreatea journeyofdiscoveryinthesouthof
thecountrythatwouldallowyoutodiscoverfiveverydifferent
environments,”hetoldthetable.“It’sa sortofmodernversion
ofa caravanserai,whereyoutraveleachdayintotheunknown.
Wedon’tliketoexplainouritinerariestoomuch,andevery
dayis punctuatedbya varietyofsurprises.”
Hewaswarmingtohisthemeovera glassofBordeaux,from

theregioninwhichhewasborn.“Thesesurprisesaremeantto
mintmemory,andtheyemphasisethetoneofthistrip,whichis
toliveonthecuspofa wakingdream.You’reguidedandcoddled,
butyouneverknowwhatwillhappennext,whereyouaregoing
orwhatyouwilleat.Everymealis stagedina differentsetting,
every day is different, so you travel like a real explorer.”

I’dvisitedQuintadaRomaneira,a wineestateinPortugal’s

DouroValleythatTeyssierhadrunforfiveyearsfrom2007,and

I knewhisratherfascinatingbackground.Originallyanactor,

hefoundeda special-eventscompanywhenherealisedhisreal

dramatictalentwasn’tactingbutcreatingmise-en-scèneand

stage-managinguniqueexperiences.A charmingaesthete

andavidfoodlover,healsoopeneda chicParispâtisserie

withchefPhilippeConticini(they’vesincepartedways).His

magic-makinginMoroccohasbeenfollowedmorerecently

by700,000Heures,a clevermembers-onlyconceptofwildly

indulgent“wandering”hotels.Namedfortheaveragenumber

ofhoursina humanlifespaninthedevelopedworld,the

project’sfirstpop-uphotelopenedina restoredpalazzoin

Salento,Puglia,inSeptemberlastyear,followedbyanothernear

AngkorWatinCambodia.A thirdincarnationopensinJune

inLençóis,northernBrazil,promisinga RobinsonCrusoe-like

adventurethroughhugewhite-sanddunesinterspersedwith

vastemeraldlagoonsontheedgeoftheAtlantic.

MaisondesArganiersis,indeed,thesurprisethatTeyssier

wasstrivingfor.Ina dustyvillagewithunpavedstreets,it’sthe

kindofplacewheremanyresidentsgetaroundondonkeys,

sointeriorsofeffortlesslycasualchicarequiteunexpected.

Paris-basedStudioKO,whichalsodesignedtheMuséeYves

SaintLaurentinMarrakechandLondon’sChilternFirehouse

hotelhasteamedhandwoventextilesandglossyhandmade

tileswithlocallycraftedfurnitureincludingantiquewooden

travellingchests,andtherearecharmingdetailssuchas

old-fashionedporcelainlightswitchesonthetoast-coloured

walls.Thethicktowelsarehand-embroidered,thesoapis

arganoil,ofcourse,andthe rooms are heated by cast-iron

wood-burning stoves.➤

Right:Maison

desArganiers.

Above:residents

inTighmert.

Opposite,from

left:a localride,

Aojou;interiors

atMaisonde

l’Oasis.

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