For several years I had visited Asni (staying at the Kasbah Tamadot) with a girlfriend. It was just an amazing experience. Within minutes of being in the Atlas Mountains you felt the benefits of clear air, blue skies, white snow-capped mountains and peace. A holistic experience. On my first trip I took a walk through the mountains, slipped an broke my wrist. This accident did nothing to diminish my growing love of the country. The help and care that I experienced was fabulous. We still know Adbul who helped me down to Marrakech to get my wrist set and also know his family, mother, brother, sisters, cousins and now his wife and children. In fact we are friends ten years later with many of the people I met on that first trip. I thought it was time to introduce Alex to the Atlas Mountains. Within a short space of time, she too was in love with the area. On this trip, quite unexpectedly we visited a plateau in the Toubkal National Park. A small development of 13 private villas and boutique hotel was in the early days of construction. The views were just so beautiful, the tranquility was almost palpable. And we knew that we had found our second home. At that stage it was just a skeleton but we could see that this contemporary low-lying building was going to be a fabulous retreat from the hurly burly at home. The developer, a British company, MHK International, and the architect, Nick Gowing, seem to have captured the essence of the Berber village nestling in the mountains without being a pastiche. The private gardens would provide a sense of security and privacy while the communal gardens would provide a scenic link to the other villas and the proposed hotel. The hotel amenities would also be offered to the villa owners and their guests so the villa, although in the middle of the plateau, would not be cut-off from civilisation. And then there was that view. How could we walk away? Our villa, at the end of the development has the best aspect of all!