One of Marrakech’s original boutique riads, Dar Attajmil has only got better with age. The cosy four-room riad, set in a superb location on quiet Rue Laksour, offers travellers an instant immersion in medina living with impromptu music concerts in the patio and relaxed cookery sessions with the house dada (cook).
Tucked in a quiet corner, just off a main souk thoroughfare, Dar Attajmil has a superb location, just five minutes’ walk from the Djemaa el-Fna. It’s also very easy to find, making it a great place for first time visitors to the old city. You can pick up a taxi at nearby Bab Ksour.
Unlike classic riads, which are centred around an internal garden, this dar has a central patio, furnished with golden Berber rugs and aubergine-coloured lounge chairs which sit beneath a sculptural banana palm. It’s small, intimate and cosy with snug bhous (seating nooks) filled with plump sofas, giant lanterns and Asian artwork. To one side an enclosed salon is stacked with interesting books and caters to winter dining, otherwise head up to the crenellated roof terrace, which is fringed with hot pink bougainvillea and sun-loving climbers that snake up across the pretty pergola.
Italian owner Lucrezia Mutti and her staff offer guests a greatly warm and caring welcome. They have been working together for years so the house genuinely has the atmosphere of a family home, and guests appreciate the unfussy, personal style. Don’t leave without trying one of Fatima’s half-day cookery courses, she is famous for them now, and they are a fantastic cultural experience. Otherwise, indulge in hammam – there’s one on the roof terrace – or pick Lucrezia’s brain over a cup of mint tea. She’s been here for years and knows all the nooks and crannies of the old city. Pool access is available at a nearby hotel.
The four bijou guestrooms are snug in size but are thoughtfully kitted out and stylishly decorated in gentle earthy colours. Everything exhibits Lucrezia’s eagle eye for detail from the crisp cotton sheets and gentle woollen and silk coverlets to Deco writing desks topped with leather bound travel journals. Bathrooms in creamy moulded tadelakt (polished plaster) are small and perfectly formed with showers, hammered copper sinks and details in classic zellij tiling.
This dar gets high praise for its beautifully executed home cooked meals, which vary between classic Moroccan offerings and Italian classics. Breakfast is a bountiful buffet of fresh fruit, pancakes, homemade cake and brioche, served either on the roof terrace or in the salon in winter.
The cooking class with Fatima Ezzahra is also highly recommended. One of the first cookery classes to be offered in the old city, it has been carefully honed over the years and is composed of an informative morning shop in the lively Bab Doukkala food market, and then a lesson in the delightful subtle-filled first-floor kitchen, covering a four-course Moroccan meal. Participants also get a recipe book to take home with them.
Not suitable.
Two of the four rooms can accommodate a cot or an extra bed at a charge of £18 per night, but it is a squeeze.
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