Owned by a Belgian textile designer, this chic, 17th century townhouse is buried deep in an authentic part of the medina and offers striking accommodation in four handsome rooms kitted out with the owner’s luxurious linens and fabrics.
Located in the untouristy neighbourhood of Kâat Benahid, Dar Kawa is within easy walk of the Maison de la Photographie, the Ali Ben Youssef Medersa, the Marrakech Museum and the souks. From here it’s a 10-minute walk through the souks to the Djemaa el-Fna. Taxis can be hailed at Place du Moqf.
Textile designer Valérie Barkowski fell in love with Morocco nearly 20 years ago and bought Dar Kawa as her home. Thus it reflects her personal, understated style and houses many of the pictures, furnishings and artworks gathered from her travels around the world. Her overriding aim in the renovations was to let the building’s impressive architecture shine, and the monochrome palette of black and dove-grey against white certainly does that to dramatic effect. The other notable feature of the house is the sense of space – rather than cram in more bedrooms, guests can spread out on sofas and charpois (beds) on the roof terrace or in the pretty, tree-lined patio, winter salon or first-floor lounge.
Experienced manager Abdelhadi has worked with Valérie for 17 years while other staff members have similarly long track records. This means the house runs like clockwork and everyone is made to feel supremely comfortable. There’s a dedicated massage room on the roof terrace, and staff can arrange a range of excursions, picnics and tours. Airport transfers can be booked on request.
There are four rooms ranging from a snug double with an impressive four-poster bed to two mini-suites and the large, two-room Mumtaz Suite. All of them come with super comfortable beds, which are decked out in Barkowski’s delicately embroidered bed linens. Objects and artefacts from Valérie’s collection create an eclectic effect, while strong muted colours maintain a quiet, sober mood. Bathrooms come in sleek concrete tiles or polished tadelakt plaster and the three suites also have dressing rooms and separate toilets.
The food at Dar Kawa is as artful as the house with an enormous amount of attention paid to pretty table settings, fairytale subtleing and food presentation. Breakfast centres on a different fruit each day, along with sides of pastries and pancakes. Light lunches consist of unusual monkfish kebabs or sardines stuffed with mint; while dinners are a three-course feast of contemporary Moroccan dishes such as shrimp pastilla (shrimp layered between filo pastry) or beef tangia, spiced with cumin and preserved lemon and slow-cooked in a terracotta jar.
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The three suites can all accommodate extra beds (327 Moroccoan Dirhams/£26 per night extra).
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