My wife and I had an amazing 2 days at La Sultana Oualdia.
After a 3.5 hours drive from Marrakesh (Google Maps says it’s doable in 2 hours, but that’s impossible) we pulled through the gates of La Sultana, where Nabil was waiting to greet us. I think he could read the expression on our faces (impressed with the scenery, but also a little road weary and hungry) so he escorted us to the restaurant, seating us at the best table overlooking the harbor for some lunch. While we refueled Nabil took care of our bags and checking us in. When we were finished, Nabil gave us an extensive tour of the grounds including the impressive ‘fish tank’ attached to the restaurant. Imagine a subterranean tunnel lined with tank after tank filled with lobsters, oysters, shrimp and many other varieties of local seafood. Nabil even rolled up his sleeves and grabbed an enormous lobster for us so we could get a closer look. After being shown to our rooms we spent the rest of the day relaxing by the pool and melting away any remaining stress in the heated seawater Jacuzzis. Since we already had lunch in the restaurant, and our private terrace looked so inviting, we decided to ‘order in’. Within minutes 2 waiters came to our door to take our order (from the restaurant’s menu) and set our table with linens, flowers and candles. Our terrace now looked like something out of a romantic movie.
The next morning we took a boat ride through the harbor (with everything organized by Nabil) to see the oyster beds and get a better idea of what we would be eating for dinner. On the way back to the hotel we asked our boat driver to make a detour and drop us off on the deserted island; with the agreement that he would pick us up in time for dinner. If you do visit the island, you will be rewarded with some beautiful beaches and several secluded coves. When I went there with my wife (both days) we had the entire place to ourselves for long stretches of time. When we got back to the hotel we decided to make use of the complimentary spa treatments that Nabil gave us as SLH members, followed by a long soak in the heated pool.
Showered and dressed, we made our way to the lounge to watch the sunset while enjoying an aperitif. As it happens, we were also able to witness the maiden voyage of La Sultana’s yacht alongside the proud general manager (the company recently launched a luxury yacht taking guests on voyages along the coast). This was all followed by a delicious seafood dinner in the restaurant where I was able to sample some of the oysters that I watched being farmed earlier in the morning.