Travel: Morocco

• The spectacular pool at La Mamounia

The introduction of direct flights from Scotland to Morocco has opened up the opportunity to indulge in quite the most luxurious three-night, four-day mini-break imaginable at La Mamounia, the Dorchester of North Africa.

First, however, after a smooth flight in which the only complaint was the fact that Ryanair seats refuse to tilt back even an inch, we met the elegantly tailored chauffeur from La Mamounia who was waiting for us in the arrival hall.

Guests who arrange to be collected certainly arrive in style, nestled in the leather interior of a purring new Daimler. In fact, before we had even set off from the airport the driver had provided ice-cold towels and bottles of chilled mineral water.

We drove through the streets of Marrakech past camels, swaying palm trees, and orange groves, with views of the Atlas mountains and a city where every building is hewn from a pinkish ochre stucco. It appears that the French, always ones for attractive appearances, passed a mandate in the 1920s that all buildings were to be of this colour.

Once inside the hotel we were offered a salver bearing dates and chilled almond milk laced with orange flower water and honey. We were in heaven. After a short trip of only four hours we had found ourselves in a land that felt like that of 1001 nights, Sheherazade and Arabian princes, even if the geography was a little off.

The hotel is truly atmospheric; there is a signature scent of cedarwood, dates and roses that lingers in the air. We spent our three days by the pool, wandering through the lush gardens, drinking Moroccan mint tea, eating traditional dishes such as lamb tagine and pigeon pastilla - I even tasted lamb's brains, and no it doesn't taste at all like chicken, but rather of nothing at all; perhaps a dish of nihilism is required in the midst of sensory overload from time to time.

La Mamounia is the most famous hotel in North Africa with gardens as bounteous as Eden. In fact, the gardens which are fragrant with orange blossoms and roses and set among ancient olive trees came first as they were a wedding present from an 18th century Sultan to his son, Prince Mamoun. The hotel was built in 1923 and has hosted Charlie Chaplin, Kirk Douglas and Theodore Roosevelt among others. When Alfred Hitchcock came to the city to film The Man Who Knew Too Much he had his characters played by James Stewart and Doris Day stay in the hotel and it was here that Day sang Que Serra Serra.

Over the years the hotel has undergone two extensive renovations but the latest, and hopefully, final re-vamp took place between 2006 and 2009, when it re-opened after a $176 million refurbishment. Under the eye of Parisian designer Jacques Garcia, the faux Art Deco style has been stripped out and replaced with the work of local artisans using traditional materials such as ceramic tile work, marble, the city's famous tadelakt plaster and wood craft.

Winston Churchill, who visited La Mamounia during the Second World War and painted a picture of the Atlas mountains from his balcony, described the hotel as: "the loveliest spot on earth." Today the Churchill suite is a lavish split-level affair in which one of the former Prime Minister's original oil paintings hangs, while le Bar Churchill is a dark snug, redolent of cigar smoke, large snifters of brandy and cool jazz.

Jacques Garcia's reworking of this legendary hotel has been inspirational. He has seamlessly interwoven traditional Moorish heritage and craftsmanship with luxury, avoiding gold-raddled Dubai excess. The hotel also has a wonderful Hammam where a labyrinth of rooms are given over to a level of pampering unimaginable south of Heaven.

For the majority of tourists, at night all roads lead to the Jemaa El Fna, the main public square, which is a riotous melee of entertainers, food stalls and a carnival of local life. There were, however, snakes. Now, like Indiana Jones, I have an extreme aversion to snakes, so as soon as anyone, particularly a little boy of about seven, marched towards me holding a coiled cobra, my blood ran cold and I backed off, which only appeared to encourage them. I didn't quite break into a sprint, but speed walking has never been so appealing.

The best way to see the city if, like me, you fancy a whistle-stop tour rather than a day of tramping about, is to opt for a guided tour and Travelzest's Best of Morocco will show you the city in just three or four hours. The exoticism of Marrakech is still in place, even if the array of new western hotel developments now in the building stages will give you pause to ponder for just how much longer. As I've never been one to wake in the morning anxious for the first opportunity to haggle in a souk over a polished piece of brass or a carpet, however finely woven, I was content to spend most days in the hotel or its spacious grounds. At night we wandered along to the Sofitel Marrakech Les Palais whose terrace bar is a lively place to dine or hang out until the wee hours.

Yet it wasn't just the sheer luxury of La Mamounia that made those days so magical. The warm air of Marrakech is enchanted and as you stand on the balcony and listen to the call to prayer, which has echoed out five times a day for centuries, you can't help but feel a deep desire to return.

THE FACTS Ryanair fly from Edinburgh to Marrakech, twice a week on Saturday and Tuesday with flights from 59 return, www.ryanair.com

La Mamounia, Avenue Bab Jdib, 40 040 Marrakech, Morocco. A Hivernage Classic room costs from 6,000MAD (445) per night, excluding 50MAD (4) daily tax, (00212 524 388600, www.mamounia.com).

Half-day tours of Marrakech are approx 25pp including the guide, and use of a car and a driver. Travelzest's Best of Morocco (0845 026 4588, www.realmorocco.com)

This article was first published in The Scotsman on Saturday, August 28