L'Ma Lodge

A football pitch turned garden

L'Ma Lodge has welcomed travellers since 2014. The house says it took six years to turn a former football pitch and abandoned land into a garden, in the douar (hamlet) of Ouled Ali Khamsa, in the Skoura palm grove. L'ma means "water" in Arabic: the name pays tribute to what keeps the oasis alive.

The garden is now the heart of the place: date palms, olive and fruit trees, a kitchen garden where herbs are picked each morning, and a small animal park. No cars pass nearby; the quiet is part of what the house offers.

The house is run by Vanessa, whom travellers mention in their reviews, with a team of eight.

The House and the Riad

The lodge is split between two buildings. The House holds the shared spaces. The Riad, 100 m away, holds the seven units, set apart for more quiet: four rooms and three suites on two levels (three rooms and one suite on the ground floor, one room and two suites upstairs). All look onto the garden. From the Riad's roof terrace, the view sweeps round the palm grove to the Atlas peaks, snow-capped in winter.

Every room has a seating area, a tadelakt (polished lime plaster) bathroom with walk-in shower and separate toilet, air conditioning, central heating in winter, and mosquito screens so you can sleep with the windows open in summer under the ceiling fans. Choose a double bed or twin beds by saying so when you book.

Our advice on choosing:

• as a couple, the double suite with private terrace, which has both an indoor and an outdoor shower;
• as a family of four or five, the family suite: two sleeping areas for two people each and a proper extra bed in the lounge;
• with a child under 11, a room that takes a third person;
• one of the ground-floor rooms is a duplex with an internal staircase: best avoided with young children or for anyone with limited mobility.

A day in Skoura

Breakfast is a buffet of home-made jams, bread, crêpes and pastries. Lunch and dinner are optional: Moroccan and Mediterranean cooking, organic according to the house, with herbs from the kitchen garden and the rest bought at the local souk, straight from small producers. Vegetarian and gluten-free meals on request.

Afternoons are spent in the garden. The 12 m by 6 m pool is free-form, with a shallow beach entry; it is heated from April to October and sheltered from the wind. Children have a play area (slide, swing, trampoline, hut); adults have a 100 m² pétanque court in the shade of the palms, and massages by appointment.

Around the lodge, the palm grove can be explored on foot, by mountain bike or by camel, as far as the 17th-century Amridil kasbah, about 5 km away. With a partner agency, the house arranges longer outings: the Sidi Flah gorges with lunch under a tent, a hike in the Dades valley, the Fint oasis, Ouarzazate and Ait Ben Haddou, or a night at a desert camp reached by 4x4 tracks.

Our reading: Skoura sits where the two desert roads meet, the Dades road to Merzouga and the Draa road to Erg Chigaga. Two nights give you a full day in the palm grove; three, one more excursion.

Before you book

• Payment: for direct bookings, a 50% deposit confirms the stay, and the balance is paid in cash at the lodge on departure.
• Cancellation: free more than 15 days ahead; 50% between 15 and 7 days; the full amount within 7 days.
• Tourist tax: €3 per person per night according to the house's rate sheet, children under 12 exempt.
• Direct booking: 10% off from three consecutive nights, and a child rate for ages 4 to 11.
• Pets: not allowed.
• Wi-Fi: free in the shared areas.

Sabaro's view

Who it suits: families, for the family suite, the pool with its beach entry and the play area; couples who want a calm, well-kept stop between Marrakesh and the desert.

Strengths: only seven units, in a building set apart; a large garden with no traffic; a 5.0/5 Tripadvisor rating from more than 900 reviews.

Good to know: no spa, massages by appointment; Ait Ben Haddou is on the other side of Ouarzazate, a day trip from here; the balance is paid in cash.