Camel Caravan Three on my horizon, Morocco is one of the hottest destinations in the world. Luxury hotels and charming boutique properties are opening at an astonishing pace.

On the North-western edge of Morocco, washed by the Atlantic Ocean, there is a place apart – where wild birds still roam on gold-colored unspoiled beaches and stretches of the road see more sheep and donkeys than cars. A pristine land of sunlight-draped dunes and swathes of verdant hills that cross rural villages.

Choose a 4×4 car and comfortable shoes to enjoy your adventure at La Fiermontina Ocean!

Enchanting directions to the property from my landing in Casablanca: to arrive, take the Khmiss Sahel exit and then take the road towards the village of Dchier. You will find yourself on an unpaved road through an oak forest. Follow the unmarked 5 kilometers road until you see a chicken farm on the right.

Immediately after the farm, you will find the entrance to the hotel. Look for a majestic entrance with a concrete block gate: Welcome to La Fiermontina Ocean.

Images of Morocco generally depict medina alleyways, lofty Sahara dunes stretching for hundreds of miles, camels and stone riads ringed by palms and courtyards with small pools. La Fiermontina Ocean is the new Moroccan addition to the owners luxurious properties in Lecce, where they have La Fiermontina Luxury Home and La Fiermontina Palazzo Bozzi Corso, while in Paris there is La Fiermontina Vendôme, a scrumptious apartment.

Four unique properties reflecting the different souls of the Fiermonte family. Transporting their Italian glamour to this property, south of Tangier on Morocco’s west coast, it’s a beach front retreat just north of Larache. It’s set across a new resort and an old village, within a reserve, with more traditional hamlets nearby.

The Story: La Fiermontina Ocean synthesizes and reflects the life and personal journey of Antonia, grandmother of the owners Fouad and Yasmina Filali, and of her brother Enzo. Their life took them first from Italy to France and then to Morocco. The new hotel was born from the meeting between Antonia Fiermonte, a Catholic Italian in the 50’s, and the “Cadi”(Judge of the Islamic Law) Thami Filali, on their respective children’s’ wedding. That meeting would act as a bridge between the Orient and the Occident and would later inspire their grandchildren in this poignant endeavor in an untamed natural environment.

I’ve enjoyed a delightful stay at La Fiermontina Lecce, set in a walled olive grove with an outdoor pool on the edge of Lecce’s historic center, offering a haven for art lovers in a natural Italian garden environment. An oasis amid the creamy limestone Baroque architecture, Lecce, is also known as the Florence of the South.

Boutique hotel La Fiermontina is an homage to Antonia Fiermonte and the two artists who loved her.