A recent mention of Jnane Tamsna is in the Tatler 2005 Travel Guide. In 'Totally Riadical', Daisy Finer writes: "Jnane Tamsna is Meryanne Loum-Martin's latest project, comprising three boho-cool villas in the country. the gardens, filled with mint and oleander, smell delicious, and rooms are decorated with textiles from Senegal, Berber rugs and Asian silks". ~ MLM

In “Latest flame” (Condé Nast Traveller UK, March 2002), Sophy Roberts says, “Like its sister property, Jnane Tamsna is in the Palmeraie, an area of 180,000 date palms covering 13,000 hectares, 15 minutes’ drive from the city centre. Guests can take the entire main house, which sleeps 20, or book its 10 rooms individually. The House of the Traveller in the garden has five suites and Dar Illane, also in the garden sleeps four in two rooms. The style of each property is very different. The main house is like a Moorish country hacienda, a patchwork of courtyards flanked by a maze of arches, decorated with old photographs, rugs and objets d’art. Dar Illane is more Moroccan Zen, with simple ivory-coloured, polished plaster walls and floors, while House of the Traveller suites are a medley of Islamic interior styles, drawn from West Africa to North India, each with a candlelit bathroom and open fire in every room.”

Jnane House living room

In “Private Palaces” (Australian Gourmet Traveller, July 2002), Susan Sully says of Jnane Tamsna, “It's easy to lose track of time and just sink into the hedonistic beauty of these places, where swimming pools beckon and bougainvillea-shaded nooks provide the ideal spot to read or nap. Sophisticated meals begin with cocktails sipped on verandas, or on a roof top where the night sky shimmers with more stars than seem possible. Dinner is often served outdoors on linen-clad tables set up on the lawn and lit by lanterns and torches. The cuisine, like the decor, combines European elegance (delicate cream of fennel soup) with Moroccan verve (chicken and olive tagine, the fluffiest imaginable couscous and vegetables straight from a garden tended by Loum-Martin's husband, Gary Martin).”

Table setting on veranda

In “Morocco Readies for its Close-up” (Wall Street Journal Europe,  October 2002), Lanie Goodman writes, “Meryanne Loum-Martin and Gary Martin ... are looking to offer tourists a chance to explore Moroccan culture, history and architecture. Although there are many cultural tours on offer in Morocco, the Martins have a solid reputation in the community for their sense of style, their appreciation of the culture and for tours that are considered informative and engaging.”

“Herwig Bartels, the former German ambassador to Morocco who now runs a guesthouse in Marrakech called Ryad El Cadi, said that Mrs. Loum-Martin was “the first one to create a new type of tourism that appeals to affluent Western society. She has contributed enormously to the style of Marrakesh - not only through her sense of design but also by hosting art exhibits at her restaurant. You won't find that anywhere else.”

In “Just Back from Morocco” (Departures, December 2002, www.departures.com), Laurie Werner writes,  “Dar Tamsna, Meryanne Loum-Martin's extraordinary villa that rents in its entirety, has been popular for over a decade. Last spring, she opened Jnane Tamsna, a trio of houses on a six-acre estate in the Palmeraie, just 15 minutes from urban Marrakech. The rooms are done mostly in classic Moroccan style - brass lanterns, wooden tables with inlaid mother-of-pearl, lots of pillows - with contemporary furniture by local makers and pieces by Loum-Martin herself, such as the intricate cast-iron bedframe in the Touareg Room. The surrounding gardens and orchards, which supply the kitchen with ingredients for all meals, were designed by her husband, ethnobotanist Gary Martin. (The couple offers scientific, culinary, or anthropological tours of the country). You can rent the 17 rooms individually, rent a house, or take over the entire estate.”

See the i-escape website (www.i-escape.com) for these and other reviews of Jnane Tamsna:

“Surrounded by acres of date palms and a sprawling orchard, vegetable and herb garden, the 10-room guesthouse is an oasis of hushed courtyards, faded Berber rugs, candlelit lanterns, improbably perfumed flowers and unsurpassed hospitality. Minutes away the seductive chaos of the medina beckons with its tangle of souks selling everything from live chickens to spices brought up through the Sahara on camelback ...”

The Independent, November 2002

“Jnane Tamsna: Morocco’s style queen and her ethno-botanist husband have created the place to stay in Marrakech”.

The Australian, March 2002

“Jnane Tamsna, a magical private enclave of villas... For seasoned visitors to Marrakech there is only one way to stay in the city: in a private residence... Which is why sophisticated style-maverick Meryanne Loum-Martin created Jnane Tamsna, an estate comprising three villas that will delight first-timers and those who have already stayed at her family house, Dar Tamsna (Brad Pitt, Donna Karan, Giorgio Armani among them).”

Sophy Roberts, Conde Nast Traveller UK, March 2002

“Dar Tamsna, two luxury villas in Marrakesh’s palmeraie, long considered North Africa's most prestigious villa let, is a firm favourite of David Bowie and Iman, and a regular in Tatler’s travel polls. Jnane Tamsna is the latest villa from Dar Tamsna’s creator, Meryanne Loum-Martin... As enduringly chic as Marrakesh is, it does not get much more chic than this.”

Independent on Sunday, January 2003