Sketching with Donna Maria Taylor

29 January - 8 February 2025
From £745 plus 2500 MAD
(about £200)
Book early for bargain tickets!

Just perfect. The surroundings are beautiful and peaceful. The eco design is welcoming and relaxing. Rooms are very well appointed and comfortable. Staff are very welcoming, nothing is too much trouble. Food amazing- delicious and healthy. I cannot praise this place enough.Anne Parry Jan 2024 

 “Just a quick note to say how much we love La Maison Anglaise. It is the tranquil and beautiful oasis we’d hoped for. The staff are brilliant. What a special place you’ve created! ” Ric Sykes Jan 2024 

This brochure provides you with lots of information about the venue, the bedrooms, the activities, how we design your holiday to meet your needs, your tutor, the likely itinerary and what is included in the cost. Please read on to the end!

The Venue  Well known for magical meaningful holidays, excellent food and exceptional staff, this award-winning set up relocated in 2020 to a stunning sustainably-run eco-lodge with a chlorine-free pool and permaculture gardens. Located on the south side of the ancient town walls of Taroudant, which enjoys the best winter climate in Morocco. Enjoy an exceptional menu of local healthy food.  

It’s just brilliant. I love it – the whole vibe in the well-designed garden, the buildings, and the sustainable aspect of it all. The staff are incredible, all caring, kind, diligent and willing to do whatever it takes to make your stay perfect. The food is truly delicious, fantastic for vegetarians and meat-eaters too, as well as offering tea/coffee at any time by helping yourself. Relaxed, with the smell of the beautifully planted garden at night, and a well-stocked library so I can read all day long by the pool. Heaven!”  Jane Duncan Rogers January 2024 

Bedrooms The comfortable, beautifully appointed rooms are cleverly designed to be cool in summer and warm in winter. All have ensuite bathrooms, their own terrace and garden and can sleep two or more. A limited number are allocated for single occupancy. More details of rooms here 

Heartful Holistic Holidays which offer a wide choice of authentic activities run by amazingly knowledgeable English-speaking guides. Explore the fascinating culture and landscapes, use our library, our small spa, swim or simply laze in the sun. 

Optional activities include cookery, walks, visits to local families and charitable projects, wildlife, massage, shopping and several other choices. Little visited by tourists, the local souks offer an exotic traditional atmosphere. 

Located within 30 minutes’ drive of the contrasting mountain landscapes of the majestic High Atlas and the extraordinary Anti-Atlas (beyond which lies the Sahara). We are also only an hour’s drive from the Atlantic coast.  

Feel safe and cared for thanks to the care of loving, experienced English-speaking staff, good medical facilities, excellent WiFi, safe drinking water and being on the edge of a small, relaxed and friendly town with few tourists.  

“La Maison Anglaise is really beautiful, impeccably kept and nurtured by you and your delightful Moroccan team there. All of the staff, without exception were wonderful – helpful, courteous and so very happy all the time. They looked after our every need, and nothing was too much trouble for them. The gardens are a real delight, the pool is gorgeous, and the meals were all delicious. The trips out and other activities that the staff took us on were a treat, and we all felt very safe with your careful drivers and guides”. L Turner, May 2023 

Why choose an art holiday with us?

We have been organising group holidays since 1998. Our venue has a variety of lovely spaces for sketching, drawing and painting, including the tiled circle in the gardens, the spacious 64 sq metre activity room and a very large tiled roof terrace, lovely at sunset and sunrise. 

Read more about our Art Holidays here 

“I have organised, attended and facilitated many group events in a myriad of locations around the world over the last forty years…I found the ideal setting.  It is small enough to maintain intimacy whilst having the spaciousness to accommodate privacy. The bespoke planning and vision which created this venue, inspired by Jane’s deep knowledge of the needs and requirements of small group holidays and workshops is evident in the care paid to every detail.” 

Katy van Haeften – personal development tutor.

Summary

Cost: £ 745 plus 2500 MAD (about £200) per person in shared twin/double room

A 10 night holiday: 7 nights at La Maison Anglaise with 1 night in the desert and 2 nights in the spectacular Anti-Atlas mountains.

Includes:

  • Transfers from/to Agadir Airport at one designated time  
  • Accommodation in en suite twin or double bedroom; single occupancy on request 
  • Chlorine-free pool 
  • Substantial breakfasts and vegetarian evening meals (meat or fish at extra cost) 
  • Lunches on the first 6 days 
  • Tutored workshops – about 20 hours in total 

Excludes:

  • Flights (often under £100 return if booked early) 
  • Single occupancy supplement £20 per night 
  • Travel insurance (required)  

Payable in Morocco:

  • Tips
  • Meat or fish supplement
  • Tourist Taxes 41 MAD (approx £3.20) per person per night
  • Cultural Experiences & Excursions See details of prices and choices
  • Airport taxi transfers at times other than the designated flight

Best Holistic Ecolodge in Morocco 2023

Trip Advisor: Number 1 in the Taroudant Region 

Voted Top 10 in the World:
 Lonely Planet Eco Stays 2014 & VegeNews Vegetarian Holidays 2005

Responsible Tourism Trophy for Community Project Work 2009 

 

Your Tutor
Photo of your tutor Donna Maria Taylor

Read more about your tutor here. 

To Book or Express an Interest: Limited places available. Request a place at www.cecu.co.uk/book  We will then send you the payment schedule (split into instalments with a small initial deposit to secure your place).

Book early to get good flight prices, but please do NOT book flights until we give the go-ahead! 

More Information For FAQs go to www.cecu.co.uk/faqs 
Contact us: www.cecu.co.uk/contact or visit www.holidays-with-heart.co.uk
We will also send detailed pre-visit information after you book.  

Tissint desert camp
Chez Amaliya in Tafroute

PROVISIONAL PROGRAMME which will vary with travel arrangements, weather etc

There will be art classes each day and spontaneously at inspiring places.

Each day you may choose one of the optional activities on offer below. Anything listed as “optional” means it is payable locally and not included in the price. Please see our price list for costs.

Day 1 Arrival Day – Our drivers meet you from the recommended flight at Agadir airport late morning. Lunch, settle in, introductory talk and tour of the site. Optional massages. Optional tour around town walls by horse-drawn taxi. 
Day 2 Optional excursion: walking at one of 2 oases on the edge of the Anti Atlas Mountains with Said.
Day 3 Optional cultural experience: cookery lesson; massages; experiences our on-site solar powered hammam.
Day 4 Optional excursion: High Atlas Berber Villages – an insight into daily lives of villagers in the mountains with Rachid.
Day 5 Exploring Taroudant. Optional cultural experiences: shopping in the souk; massages; experience our on-site solar powered hammam.
Day 6 Optional excursion: walking and wildlife in the High Atlas Mountains with Said.
Day 7 Optional cultural experiences: henna tattoos. Finish shopping. Optional lunch out at a restaurant of your choice (lunch not available at our Ecolodge).
Day 8 START OF TOUR  All transport to the places listed below is included. Travel through the Anti Atlas Mountains to the desert camp: (4 hrs drive) via Taliouine the Saffron Capital of Morocco, where a cooperative can be visited. Picnic near a remarkable Berber castle. Night at desert camp near Tissint.
Day 9 Desert exploration. Explore the gorge & mountains nearby.  Desert Journey to Tafraoute (3 hrs 45 mins’ drive) Visit to Neolithic engravings en route. Night at Chez Amaliya, a small hotel with a pool in the beautiful Ameln valley.
Day 10  Exploring Tafraoute and environs. See lovely rock formations, including the Blue Rocks and Napoleon’s Hat. Optional afternoon visit to La Maison Traditionelle (small entry fee), a great place to celebrate local traditions incl music. Night at Chez Amaliya.
Day 11 Enjoy the beautiful scenery on your 3 hour journey back to Agadir Airport for early evening flight. Option to stop at ancient Berber “banks” (small entry fee) and to see the exterior of a remarkable hilltop Kasbah.

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