Dar Al Hossoun's earthy Hammam & Spa in Taroudant

Dar Al Hossoun – an earthy Hammam and Spa

in Morocco’s welcoming city of Taroudant

Dar Al Hossoun hotel and spa is a tranquil oasis of greenery, set amongst acres of olive groves. Harmoniously designed around an exotic sunken contemporary garden, this beautiful hotel has been crafted using natural materials such as wood and baked earth giving it a warm and earthy ambience.

Together, with roaming peacocks, plodding tortoises and purring cats, Dar Al Hossoun is one of those places where you feel immediately at home and a deep connection to nature. It combines timeless wholesome Moroccan elegance with the contemporary.

The estate is managed in an eco-responsible manner.

The hotel is located 4km from the historical walled medina of Taroudant.

You do not need to be staying at the hotel to take enjoy the spa. I was staying locally in an Airbnb just a twenty minute taxi journey away.

Dar Al Hossoun hammam and spa

A variety of treatments are on offer including the hammam, traditional scrubs, massages, body wraps and beauty treatments.

I opted for a two-day spa package. It consisted of:

Day 1 – a private hammam and exfoliation, followed by a relaxing massage
Day 2 – hammam body wrap and relaxing massage

The experience was invigorating, relaxing and emotionally nourishing.

The therapists were professional and provided excellent massages.

Hammam

The sand coloured adobe styled hammam, heated under floor by wood fire is in the ‘beldi’ style – which is a Moroccan word meaning traditional, rural and natural.

This was my first private hammam and although I’d experienced a communal hammam just a few weeks prior, this was an altogether very different experience.

Immediately upon laying down on the central wooden bench, I could feel myself relaxing into the warm environment.

Hammams generally follow the same procedure of washing with olive soap and exfoliation, which you can read about here.

You can either opt to have an assistant or do the exfoliation yourself. In this case I opted to have an assistant.

The assistant took great care and from the first ladle of warm water that was poured over me, I felt in very safe hands. She was quiet and caring in manner, but fully in control enabling me to relax and immerse myself into the experience.

A flow of emotions – empress, child, woman

With each ladle of warm water and scrubbing, I felt myself shifting emotionally as I fully let go into the experience.

Initially, I felt like a Roman Empress, luxuriating in the feeling of having someone looking after my body from head to toe. Where was my servant to feed me grapes?

This then dissolved into a long forgotten childlike feeling of being looked after. There is something very primal about the act of being washed. When, as adults, are we washed from head to toe? I felt a childlike innocence and my heart softening and connecting to an essence of myself that I’d not felt for a very long time.

I was then instructed to stand, and with my feet planted firmly on the solid earthenware tiles, my emotions shifted again as my body continued to be scrubbed and the warm water cascaded over my skin. I felt deeply womanly and a strong sense of my feminine strength. As though my innate feminine power and confidence was re-emerging.

This felt like an important insight for me, following the challenges I’d experienced in the previous two years, where I’d felt a very definite loss of connection with my soul.

I closed my eyes, and allowed all thoughts to evaporate with the heat of the hammam and pure presence permeated.

Allowing yourself to be with the experience

With the swirl of each emotion, during my hammam, I felt a gentle loosening of mental and emotional barriers. A subtle rebirthing moving from the sentiment of being Empress like, to a palpable connection with my inner child and then the re-emergence of my womanly power.

I don’t expect all my hammam experiences will elicit such a flow of emotions, and I expect it was more to do with where I am at on my current healing journey. However, I do think that the act of being cared for in this way touches an aspect of ourselves that speaks intuitively to our heart and to the core of who we are, which can be profoundly touching.

Hammams are a very intimate experience. Laying, sitting and standing in front of a complete stranger whilst they wash and scrub you, places you into a vulnerable position. I think that if you enter into that vulnerability fully, the shield of our outer personality is given permission to drop away for a little while and with that an opportunity to be fully present in the experience.

Hammam body wrap

On my second day in the hammam, I had a body wrap which I was told was made from mud, chocolate and roses which would penetrate deep into my skin and nourish it thoroughly.

I again, lay on the central wooden table, this time on a plastic sheet. I was smothered in the mud mixture and then wrapped in the plastic and left to slowly cook in the heat of the hammam. I wondered if I may turn into Turkish Delight.

It was hot, but not too hot and it was surprisingly relaxing (despite being wrapped up!)

The assistant periodically checked me. She bought me a glass of water, that I took sips from as she held the glass to my mouth because my arms were encased.

After about 30 minutes, I was unwrapped and then thoroughly washed and rinsed off. It accumulated with a refreshing bucket of cold water being tipped over my head – and back to reality I came!

My skin was positively glowing.

Smothered in mud and wrapped up to bake!

Full body massages

I had a full body massage on each day following the hammam treatment.

Each massage was with a different therapist, and both were very good.

The natural tones of the massage room were lit with candles and felt inviting.

I’m a lover of massages and try to get them wherever I am. I find them immensely relaxing and restorative. In addition, with the emergence of nerve pain in my legs and chronic pain in my sacrum, massages help with soothing away some of the symptoms. I, therefore, try to have them regularly.

I felt that both therapists were experienced and were able to connect with my body and sense what I needed. I really like a firm pressure when I have a massage and both therapists applied just the right amount and also confirmed with me that it was acceptable.

Overall, two professional unhurried relaxing massages.

Making the most of the gardens

After the treatments, I lounged in the gorgeous contemporary gardens. I found myself a cosy reclining chair in amongst the lush greenery and ordered a freshly squeezed orange juice.

The hotel staff were very hospitable and told me to take my time and to enjoy the gardens.

You are also able to use the pool at an extra cost.