Along the fabled Moroccan coast, Justine Picardie discovers a secluded Eden of cinematic beauty
CASABLANCA HAS LONG BEEN A MYTHIC PLACE IN MY IMAGINATION, thanks to the legendary wartime film starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. Needless to say, the movie was shot in a Hollywood studio in 1942, rather than the historic city on the Moroccan coast that was under the control of Vichy France at the time, while the ferocious battles of World War II were still being fought in the surrounding desert. Nowadays, Casablanca is a modern, industrial metropolis, with a 21st-century airport that is a world away from that of the mist-wreathed setting for Bogart’s farewell scene with Bergman. But if you travel 200 kilometres south along the Atlantic coastline, as we did, a romantic oasis can be found that has something of the allure of a semi-imaginary past.
La Sultana lies at the end of a winding track outside the fishing village of Oualidia, overlooking a lagoon and the sand dunes that protect this little paradise from the pounding surf and sea winds. We arrived just before midnight, when a galaxy of stars glimmered in the sky and silvery moonlight revealed the steps to our room: a charming wooden tree-house, cradled within green leaves and branches, yet with sufficient space for a king-size bed and a mosaic-tiled bathroom. Waking to birdsong the following morning, I explored the gardens, which are utterly delightful: a bridge across a goldfish pond leads to emerald lawns, fringed with crimson and cerise bougainvilleas, oleanders, jacarandas and lemon-scented geraniums. Tall, swaying palms provide shade, and a well-tended vegetable garden supplies fresh produce, along with citrus fruits, almonds and dates.
The hotel itself looks like a Moorish citadel, as if drawn from a picturesque illustration of Scheherazade’s Arabian Nights, with beautifully crafted stone walls, crenellations and a domed roof.
It would be tempting to stay here indefinitely, listening to the cooing of doves in the garden and the soothing sound of the waves
There are only 12 bedrooms, so the ambiance is peaceful, but La Sultana also offers all the facilities you might expect from a larger resort: a superb spa with a traditional hammam and an indoor pool; a restaurant specialising in delicious locally sourced seafood; and an atmospheric beachside bar where Bogart himself would have felt at home. (Certainly, my husband pronounced the whiskey sour to be excellent.) There are several secluded hideaways and canopied terraces dotted around the grounds for guests to retreat in comfort for fresh mint tea or a gl
