Rising From The Rubble: Richard Branson On The Reopening Of Kasbah Tamadot

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The 2023 Moroccan earthquake devastated the country, but as Kasbah Tamadot reopens, Richard Branson tells C&TH about rebuilding and the resilient Berber spirit.

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What does it take to rise from the rubble? In Richard Branson’s case, it’s treating catastrophe as an opportunity to start afresh. ‘My approach is that, the day after a disaster, you get out a big sheet of paper and see how you can come back better and stronger than before,’ he tells Charlie Colville, from the newly rebuilt (and reopened) Kasbah Tamadot.

Kasbah Tamadot Is Back And Better Than Ever, Says Richard Branson

Light pours in dreamily from the open terrace, setting its terracotta walls alight with the ush of sunset. Asayss, the freshly opened restaurant at Kasbah Tamadot, is pleasantly quiet at this time of day – but its plush green sofas, owing cream curtains and walls full of eclectic Moroccan paintings prevent it from feeling empty.

It’s this peaceful lull – and the escapism it lends to guests – that has given Sir Richard Branson’s Atlas Mountain hideaway its cult status among luxury travel seekers. It’s almost hard to believe then, when looking out over the picture-perfect resort spread across the valley, that it was almost destroyed just over a year ago in Morocco’s deadliest earthquake in more than 60 years.

Asayss at Kasbah Tamadot

At least 2,960 people died and a further 2.8 million people from Marrakech and the areas surrounding the Atlas Mountains were affected by the cataclysmic event. ‘This valley was hit the hardest during the earthquake,’ Branson says quietly, contemplating the room. ‘It was never forecast to be an earthquake region, so there weren’t any preparations in place. It was just a horrible, horrible night. ‘Kasbah was full of guests – every room was taken – and we were very lucky that the walls withstood it. But the communities around us were really devastated. There were a lot of lives lost.’

The subsequent 13 months (since my visit in late 2024) have been dedicated to rebuilding the local area, aiding its inhabitants and bringing the hotel back to its former glory. ‘The Eve Branson Foundation [EBF] moved very quickly and did a lot of great work in the community when they desperately needed help,’ notes Branson. ‘The community is resilient, and it’s back on its feet again.’

‘We’re still very involved in this project,’ adds Houssain Bousouka, EBF’s president. ‘Most people are still living in tents, and after a year the tents are starting to become a little bit tired. We are giving more supplies, garments, food – especially in the isolated villages further up the mountains.’

Quick action in the face of natural disaster is something Branson – and, subsequently, all Virgin Limited Edition properties – has had to develop over time. The entrepreneur’s most famous retreat (and home since 2006) Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands is testament to that.

On average, a hurricane passes through Necker every three years. And, in 2017, Branson was on the receiving end of Hurricane Irma, a category 5 storm that destroyed most of the island’s buildings and vegetation. It took several months of rebuilding to get everything back on its feet.

But it’s experiences like these that have given Branson the mental fortitude to withstand anything else nature has to throw his way. ‘We’ve had pretty much everything – hurricanes, fire, earthquakes, diseases – you name it,’ he says. ‘But my approach is that, the day after a disaster, you get out a big sheet of paper and see how you can come back better and stronger than before.’

Richard Branson

For Kasbah Tamadot, that entailed working with the Berber community to help rebuild what had been lost in the earthquake. The EBF has raised over £1.2m for its Earthquake Emergency Relief Fund, and the hotel committed to staying partially open so that it could continue to support tourism to the surrounding areas.

And while one half of the hotel – the luxury Berber tents overlooking the Atlas Mountains – remained active, the other half was a hub of reconstruction for several months. But the efforts were certainly worth it.

Rather than just rebuild, Branson took the opportunity to expand. Alongside a restoration of the main building, six brand-new riads were built – bringing the number of rooms and suites from 28 to 42. With space to house ten guests, private pools and a rooftop lounge, the new suites are just a short walk from the hotel’s new dining destination.

And that brings us back to the room we started in. The hotel’s second restaurant, Asayss was built alongside the riads and fills the space of the former animal shed. Dislodged by the earthquake, the structure was eventually taken down – with the promise that something even better would take its place. ‘I love how we’ve been able to build such beautiful spaces from ruin,’ Branson says.

This is a mindset shared by the local people, he says. ‘The Berber community is made up of some of the most resilient people I’ve ever met. They’ve been through a lot – not just recently, but over hundreds of years. They’re living in some of the toughest regions, and they’ve somehow managed to survive and look after each other.’

It’s this tenacity and unwavering hospitality that likely makes Morocco a top tourist destination, despite the lingering remains of rubble that can still be spotted in its villages. ‘Morocco is booming,’ Branson points out. ‘Once people have discovered it, they come back time and time again.’

And when asked about fears of over-tourism, he tells us it’s not a worry for the locals; after all, we’ve only really hit the tip of the iceberg when it comes to discovering Morocco. ‘It’s a big place,’ he emphasises. ‘If you go into the centre of Marrakech, it’s bustling. Kasbah offers a foil: we find that people come up here for a slower experience – a different view of Morocco. They like to have that balance: the busyness of the city and the wide natural landscape of the mountains.’

Resilience has been key to Morocco’s – and, in turn, Branson’s – brand of tourism, and it shows just what can be done when a community comes together to rebuild itself.