Pampered Like a Princess at Royal Mansour Spa

Pampered Like a Princess at Royal Mansour Spa

Updated on April 22, 2023

I did it. I bared all to be pampered like a princess at Royal Mansour Spa. I was bathed like a baby. And I liked it.

Marrakesh Must-dos for a Girl’s Day Out are what I call the 3 Ss — souk shopping, Jemaa el- Fnaa Square, and a scrub.   By day, the largest market in Africa hops with henna and monkeys and snakes, Oh My.  And by night, pop-up food stands serve with a shake (aka) belly dancers. But to really Go Moroccan, after a day of dodging noisy motorcycles, pushy peddlers, and some pungent smells, globe trotters can wash away a world of care.

Royal Mansour
Royal Mansour Spa
Bouquets at Royal Mansour
Royal Mansour Spa Entrance

For locals through the ages, public bathhouses, like those found in Turkey and Rome, are places to steam to release steam weekly. Those covered head-to-toe on the street disrobe and socialize here, but for those too shy to go public with strangers, private spas and hotels are ways to test the waters.

My first two hammams were with three friends at two different private spas. While those experiences were good, this Goldilocks found the third bed at my last close encounter—the slab of stone on which the washing takes place—to be just right. It’s not surprising that at Royal Mansour Spa, a luxurious mini medina of private riads built by the king’s decree, one will receive regal treatment.  The spa is open to the public for those wanting to splurge.

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massage room
Massage room

Up to a party of six can receive hammams simultaneously. I went solo, but a party it was nevertheless. Whether your fantasy is to be Jasmine preparing for Aladdin in Arabian Nights, or a mom, who after years of bathing little ones and watching the Disney version gets to rediscover her own child within, letting go under waves of water is wonderful.

First I was given a plush robe and slippers to walk from the dressing room to the entrance of the hammam across the hall. At the cold pool where the hammam begins and ends, the attendant took the robe from my shoulders and led me to a warm, king-sized slab of stone. She filled a silver bucket of water from a beautiful basin, poured it on me, and left me to stretch out and steam.

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Stone bed and silver bucket
My stone bed and silver bucket
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Next, she lathered me with black soap and olive oil, sabon beldi, and left me as my skin became more supple for what was to come. Slippery like a seal or mermaid, I waited, till it was time for her to scrub off my scales.

She untied a gold bag that contained an exfoliating glove or kese. She told me to turn over and sanded my back side from scalp to heels, then my front side from forehead to toes, taking layers of peeled skin till silk was exposed underneath. Next, she covered me in local Argan oil with honey from the Maroc Maroc line. On my face, she used a mix of Argan oil and powder. I was rubbed with aromatic Vallée des Roses cream, and on my hair, she used almond shampoo, then an orange masque for conditioner.  More buckets of warm water.

Maroc Maroc products at Royal Mansour
Products sold at Royal Mansour
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Chanel at Royal Mansour

We walked back toward the frigid pool for a final dip, but first, she instructed me to take a tepid shower with multiple nozzles. Wrapping me in the robe, she led me to the “relaxing room” where I had my own tented bed to sip mint tea served by the waiter. Or was he just a dream?

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Royal Mansour spa
Mint tea and a bed to rest on at Royal Mansour
Royal Mansour

Like Scarlet O’Hara at the Wilkes’ picnic, I was encouraged to nap. Unlike her I obeyed.  Outside my curtain, birds sang about the balcony. After my rest, I sat by the pool and thought about how good it felt to feel be like a little girl again. Arms raised and lowered to be dressed and undressed. Back massaged, and my hair caressed. I left smelling of oranges, roses, and almonds. And feeling pretty.

Thank you, Royal Mansour, for the invitation to tour your haven and for the hammam.  Indeed, the experience was a whole new world.

Royal Mansour
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Cindy McCain

I'm Cindy McCain, Southern Girl Gone Global, who flew from my empty Nashville nest to write/teach for three years in magical Marrakesh, Morocco and the Caribbean. Now back in Nashville, I'm still sharing tales, tips, and takeaways from living abroad, exploring 27 countries, and finding treasures in my own backyard. My travel/lifestyle blog offers destination itineraries and reviews of stays, spas, restaurants, and excursions; recipes/books/movies that transport; and life lessons I'm still learning as a single mom who is both a Stage 5 Clinger and a Gypsy Soul. It's a celebration of letting go of fear, holding tighter to faith, and finding freedom in roots and wings. Featured in Yahoo! News, US News and World Report, Expedia, Orbitz, StyleBlueprint, SheKnows.com. Named in Top 35 Baby Boomer Blogs to Follow in 2020-2023 by Feedspot, Top 50 Travel Blogs of 2016 by UK’s Market Inspector and recipient of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce Journalism and Hispanic Community Award.

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