Hotel Details
Ksar Shama
| Region: | Atlas Mountains |
| Location: | Ouirgane |
| Season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accommodation Type | Low | Mid | High | |
| Standard Doubles |
Double or twin bed, ensuite shower, chimney, opens onto shared terrace
|
n/a | 48 € | 60 € |
| Superior Standards |
Double or twin bed, ensuite bathroom, chimney, living area, opens onto shared terrace
|
n/a | 64 € | 80 € |
| Junior Suites |
Double bed, ensuite bathroom, chimney, living area, private balcony with view
|
n/a | 80 € | 100 € |
| Ksar Suite 1 |
Double bed, ensuite bathroom with bath, chimney, living area, private terrace
|
n/a | 128 € | 160 € |
| Ksar Suite 2 |
Double bed, ensuite shower, twin room, separate living room with chimney and private terrace
|
n/a | 168 € | 210 € |
| Please note: All prices are per room per night | ||||
Check Availability
Special Offers
All season
- 15% off meals for a stay more than 5 nights;
- Free transfers from Marrakech for a stay more than 5 nights;
- Discounts on activities for stays of more than 5 nights
Low season specials
- 3 nights for the price of 2; or
- 7 nights for the price of 5
Facilities
Swimming pool
Air-conditioning
Spa on site
Sunbathing area
Internet connection
Disabled friendly
Vegetarian food
Smoking
Child-friendly
Bar and drinks
In-house restaurant
OtherSecure parking available.
A business meeting room can be set up for groups of up to 65 people.
Laundry service on request.
Special occasions are marked by Ksar Shama with a bottle of wine for honeymoons and cakes for birthdays and wedding anniversaries.
Live traditional music can be arranged (discuss with hotel if required).
Description
A series of holidays in the Ouirgane area led the owner, Ben Bella, to buy 15 hectares of land and create Ksar Shama. By producing their own organic olive oil as well as fruit from their very own fruit trees and keeping their own animals, Ksar Shama is a successful guesthouse promoting eco-tourism. Located 1,000m high in a Berber village, the guesthouse is only an hour from Marrakech and benefits from views of the Atlas Mountains.
Built in pisé (mudbrick) and with wooden doors and tataoui (carved wooden) ceilings, guests can hope for authentic interiors as well as a traditional mud-brick exterior. Berber carpets, hand-carved furniture and tadelakt plaster have all been incorporated in Ksar Shama by local craftsmen. The guesthouse offers twenty rooms divided into six standard doubles, four superior doubles, seven junior suites and three Ksar suites (or 'kasbah houses'). The standard doubles are smaller rooms (20m²) whilst the Ksar suites are larger (52m²) and include access to a private terrace, similar to the junior suites. The standard and superior double rooms also allow access to a shared terrace area. All rooms have air-conditioning, en-suite facilities and working fireplaces. Whilst the bathrooms can be quite dark, the guestrooms are light during the day and cosy in the evenings with honey-toned walls.
Read MoreThe large dining room with floor to ceiling glass windows provides a stylish, spacious venue while the terrace an al-fresco alternative in warm weather. Moroccan cuisine is generally served at Ksar Shama with lunches and dinners starting with simple mixed or Moroccan salads. Turkish kebabs with saffron or chicken tagines with olives and lemon may be offered for the main course. Desserts such as crème caramel or fruit tarts (made with Ksar Shama’s own fruit, combined with fragrant rose-water and cinnamon) may then follow. International cuisine may be a possible alternative, guests should discuss with the hotel if this is required.
Outside, the gardens have been carefully landscaped with olive and fruit trees, aromatic herbs such as camomile and thyme and beds of roses. Guests may be greeted with Ksar Shama’s tortoises, chameleon and Neo, the friendly house-dog. A large swimming pool is available for adults, whilst a smaller, shallow pool is provided for children. Adults may enjoy the various therapies available at Ksar Sharma. The guesthouse’s new extensive spa facilities offer two hammam rooms, three massage rooms, one sauna and a room dedicated for beauty therapies. Treatments such as oriental and Ayuvedic massage, shiatsu and reflexology are also offered amongst others.
If guests are looking for more, a satellite television and library are available in the lounge areas of Ksar Shama. Furthermore, local activities such as hiking (on foot or with mules) are possible with the National Toubkal Park and Azzaden river on Shama's doorstep. Atlas Mountain excursions, trips to the local markets or the Tinmel Mosque (one of the oldest in Morocco) can also be arranged alongside transport through the guesthouse’s concierge service.
Where is it?
Ksar Shama is located one hour's drive south of Marrakech.
Travel Times
| Airport | 1 hour drive from Marrakech airport |
| City | 1 hour drive |
| Beach | 3.5 hour drive to Essaouira |
Other useful information
Ksar Shama has a strong environmental policy under which the manure of the riad's own lambs is used to help maintain the olive trees and corn is grown to feed the animals. Ksar Shama also produces its own organic oil as well as fruit from their own fruit trees. The hotel separates waste and recycles, and maintains a low-level usage of paper.
Ksar Shama offers itself as a venue for weddings and other group gatherings.
The hotel scores are aggregated individual user scores which have been audited as authentic and accurate through due enquiry by Morocco Gateway.
Morocco Gateway reserves the right to exclude any reviews submitted by users which cannot be validated as authentic and accurate. Equally we will resist any request from any hotel to delist any negative review.
| Condition of rooms and the hotel | 6.0 | Food and drink | 8.0 | |
| Overall cleanliness | 6.0 | Relaxation | 7.5 | |
| Pool and facilities | 7.5 | Value for money | 6.5 | |
| Quality of staff | 6.0 | Overall rating | 6.8 | |
| out of 10 | out of 10 | |||
User Reviews on Ksar Shama
Below you'll find reviews written by our users, that have stayed in this hotel. The reviews are vetted and verified by us and may have been summarised by our editor to give you a meaningful summary.
The Editor's Summary
Recent reviews of Ksar Shama have been relatively mixed. Guests have enjoyed the food which has been described as “really, rather good” and “reasonably priced” as well as “fresh…locally sourced and seemingly organic”. However, guests have commented on the “service” that “was slow at times”. Other reviews have agreed with the unpredictable service but have added that staff were “very accommodating and always friendly”. Guests have appreciated the “natural materials throughout” decorating the rooms in an “environment-orientated” theme. However as “a lot of money has obviously been spent on the spa rooms”, the “rest of the hotel is rather faded” in contrast. Overall Ksar Shama has left guests feeling the guesthouse to be “a great place to experience” for “homely relaxation”. But also, on the other hand, not “hugely impressed”. 
We enjoyed our four days at Ksar Shama, although we do agree with the review above, we found when we did find the staff they were very accommodating and always friendly. We liked the decoration of the place, it was very environment-orientated with natural materials throughout – (apart from the tvs and glorious air-conditioning, which to be honest were a plus!) A lot of money has obviously been spent on the spa rooms that we enjoyed twice (one hammam and one massage each). In contrast the rest of the hotel is rather faded, but if you have money to burn and need a few days homely relaxation before moving on to Marrakech (like us) then it’s a great place to experience.
| Condition of rooms and the hotel | 7.0 | Food and drink | 8.0 | |
| Overall cleanliness | 6.0 | Relaxation | 8.0 | |
| Pool and facilities | 8.0 | Value for money | 7.0 | |
| Quality of staff | 7.0 | Overall rating | 7.3 | |
| out of 10 | out of 10 | |||
Lack of staff was a slight problem here, when we arrived we were picked up by a pre-arranged taxi but after the first night service was slow at times - although the food was really, rather good. Breakfast was definitely worth waking up for with freshly made Moroccan pancakes, squeezed orange juice, jams and eggs to order. Lunches and dinners were similarly fresh, and we appreciated the fact it was all locally sourced and seemingly organic, not to mention reasonably priced. Overall we would probably look elsewhere for our next trip, partly because we weren’t hugely impressed by Ksar Shama, but also because we hope to make our next trip to the coast.
| Condition of rooms and the hotel | 5.0 | Food and drink | 8.0 | |
| Overall cleanliness | 6.0 | Relaxation | 7.0 | |
| Pool and facilities | 7.0 | Value for money | 6.0 | |
| Quality of staff | 5.0 | Overall rating | 6.3 | |
| out of 10 | out of 10 | |||
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