Spending some time in an authentic hammam is a spa experience like no other. The hammam is, of course, the key to the very idea of wellness in Morocco. Evolved over centuries into a distinctive Moroccan style, it is not so very dissimilar from the baths of ancient Rome where the cleansing, oiling and massaging of the body was regarded as the basis of health.
The View in Agadir has been relaunched this year after extensive refurbishments as part of the King of Morocco’s hotel portfolio (his royal palace is just around the corner, guards stationed every 100 yards or so around the railings of his beautiful park). At the same time, they have just opened their brand new spa, Amaya, where there are not one, but five gorgeous hammams.
To be clear, these are not the big communal hammams you will find elsewhere. At Amaya, you have your hammam all to yourself (or there are couple hammams to enjoy with your significant other). The spa itself is vast (1500m2) and elegant, coloured in tones of cream and sand, with golden lighting. At its centre is a circular pool from which hallways of arches disappear into the distance, the pathway to the many treatment rooms. It is very, very calm.
There is more than way to enjoy a hammam and at Amaya, there are different levels on offer. At its most basic, it is not dissimilar to a simple steam room, albeit with various scrubs and potions you can apply yourself and all the products here are local and made from natural materials.
At the other end of the spectrum, there is Le Cérémonial Hammam. My expert guide through this was Guda who introduced me to the delights of the full blown version of a ritual that leaves you not just utterly relaxed but with the softest, cleanest, silkiest skin you have ever had, as well as some health benefits.
My hammam was a double room, the first of which had a shower and a massage table. Beyond this was the marble hammam with its heated bed and a bath-size trough of water (running water is the background noise throughout). I sat on my heated bed while Guda poured hot water over me, then I was lying down being covered in oil.
You let this absorb in the ever-increasing heat for ten or fifteen minutes and then the scrub begins. This is with a mitt that is pretty abrasive and every now and again, Guda shows me approvingly how much dead skin has been removed.
By the time she’s finished I think it must be half a kilo (OK, I exaggerate but we’re talking quite a quantity here) and even the soles of my feet are baby soft. More hot water is poured, then it’s the cleansing with Morocco’s famous black soap, more buckets of water, including over my head during the shampooing (no part of you will be left unwashed here) and, admittedly, it does feel a bit like waterboarding. Then Guda applies some conditioner in my hair and a clay-based body mask and I let my skin soak that up in the steamy heat for another quarter of an hour.
I stagger back into my anteroom, dizzy from the heat, and Guda showers everything off, wraps me up in a robe and guides me back to the circular pool where she plunges my feet into cool water and then brings me jasmine tea. This is not, though, the end of the treatment and a back and scalp massage follow (once my internal thermostat has steadied) which turn out to be 30 minutes of total relaxation.
Interestingly, when I normally have a back massage, there are plenty of knots, especially in my shoulders, that need addressing. After the hammam, there wasn’t an ounce of tension left. The hammam is not just a relaxing treatment, though. The heat stimulates detoxification (you do sweat a lot!) and improves the immune system, while the brisk skin brushing affects the lymphatic system. And you do end up with that silky skin, too, of course.
There are lots of other treatments on offer. I had a great facial using Natura Bissé products (plenty of elastine, keratine and collagen) and another full body massage, very slow and deep with argan oil laced with the heady citrus scent of vervaine. Argan oil comes from the argan tree that grows only in this southern part of Morocco – there have been attempts to grow it elsewhere but all have been unsuccessful.
It is probably most renowned as a hair conditioner but it is equally known here as a skin treatment and there is medical research currently underway into its curative properties, too, as it is full of antioxidants and has three times the amount of vitamin E as olive oil.
The spas has a particularly beautiful heated pool but this is far from the only pool here, however. The View has a series of pools at the heart of lush gardens, with the corniche and Agadir’s vast sandy beach a few steps away (the hotel has a private section of this). There’s a gym and they have yoga classes three times a week which is just as well because there are some seven restaurants including the Italian Le Sensya led by Michelin-starred chef Francesco Franzese, contemporary Moroccan at Mima Kitchen and the Buddha Bar (nightclub, fusion cuisine and acts from singers to trapeze artists).
It’s reassuringly five star, there’s a relaxed ambience, gorgeous ocean views and the staff are uniformly charming. Added to all this, Agadir has an almost perfect climate for winter sun-seeking Brits. When I visited in November, the sun loungers and the pool pods (what a brilliant idea that one is) were highly sought after and the evenings were a perfect temperature for a stroll along the corniche. And, should you fancy a spot of shopping, Agadir has the biggest souk in Africa…
For more information about The View Agadir, including details of fitness and wellness packages and offers, please visit www.theviewhotels.com.
