Beldi Country Club, Marrakech
As I sit here writing this during a rather cold and wet day, it’s comforting to transport myself back to June when I spent a rather idyllic day relaxing at the Beldi Country Club in Marrakech.
It was the last day of a 10-day trip to Morocco and myself and my husband Steve were excited to spend an entire day by a pool relaxing and simply reading our books. Arriving at the Beldi Country Club in our taxi, we were taken down a bumpy and windy lane and the entrance definitely masked what lay ahead at the bottom of the road. We were greeted by rows of trees and flowers, which led down to a long outdoor pool with comfy sun loungers surrounding it in both the sunshine and the shade. At the bottom were prettily laid tables dotted around a kitchen and bar area and we were pleased that we had lunch booked here that afternoon.
We chose a sun lounger each in the shade and settled for the rest of the morning reading our books whilst listening to only birds tweeting and the pleasant chatter of other guests. We didn’t even need to move off our lounger to get a drink, as there was a friendly waiter looking after guests around the pool and he kindly took care of our order.
For lunch we were seated at a lovely little table for two nestled into the trees, which was the perfect shaded spot for us and it felt intimate, yet you were still in a prime position for a spot of people watching. The table was laid with items that were made at Beldi Country Club, including the table linen, glasses and plates and all the vegetables and fruit on the menu were also grown on the grounds.
After ordering an Aperol Spritz each we had a look at the menu, which changes every day and is a very reasonable set offering of either 1, 2 or 3 courses. I decided to order the Tomato Salad to start, with Lamb & Apple Tagine for main, and Steve ordered the Tuna Spring Rolls followed by the Lamb Chops. The tomato salad was extremely fresh and the tomatoes from their garden were juicy and full of flavour, served with a simple dressing and some homemade bread on the side. The spring rolls had an Asian flavour and worked well with the spiced carrot and courgette salad on the side.
The tagine for main course was delicious with a fragrant broth, succulent meat and soft and juicy apples, which I’d never tried in a tagine, before but they were a nice addition. The lamb chops were chargrilled and had a nice smokiness throughout the perfectly tender meat, which worked well with the cooling yogurt sauce that accompanied them. Steve was too full for pudding but I wanted something to cool me down from the afternoon heat so ordered some homemade Coffee and Salted Caramel Ice Cream, which was creamy and delicious.
After lunch we were taken on a tour of the grounds. I knew there was a hotel and gardens but the place was much bigger than I expected it to be, with beautiful fields of the pinkest and most fragrant roses, rows of trees and plants, a large perfectly kept vegetable patch and another outdoor swimming pool reserved for hotel guests. The hotel itself was tastefully furnished with communal areas such as a large conservatory, which was adorned with tropical plants and palms and just oozed serenity.
We also saw where the glassware and tableware was made and the rug showroom, which even on a quick glimpse, I could see contained the most sumptuous Berber rugs. All of this can be bought on site and it’s somewhere I’d definitely like to visit again for a closer inspection!
We spent a lovely day at Beldi Country Club and it’s the perfect place to enjoy a day of relaxation with good food and great service. A must visit whilst in Marrakech.
Dotty Dishes was a guest of Beldi Country Club.
Beldi Country Club, KM6 route du Barrage, BP 210, Marrakech 40000, Morocco
