A truly historic riad palace, with a spectacular garden full of fruit trees and song birds. The hotel boasts lavishly furnished lounges, a secluded pool patio and six large and richly decorated rooms that conjure fantasies of One Thousand and One Nights.
Easily accessible on Rue Sidi el Yamani, a quarter mile from Bab La Ksour, where there’s a taxi rank. Here you are on the doorstep of the souks and up-market Mouassine, five minutes from Le Jardin Secret, the Musée des Confluences and the Djemaa el Fna.
This old city mansion was built in the early 20th century by a Fassi merchant, Al-Amrani. The interlinking patios, salons and terraces still reflect the wealth and upward mobility of the family, who were traders in crystal and furniture. The house is still filled with many of their heirlooms: a curved English sofa with ball-and-claw feet, fanciful Venetian chandeliers and crystal lamps, and embroidered wall hangings.
Subsequent owners have added Art Deco pieces while the current owners, the de la Vauvre family, have contributed a large collection of Eastern paintings. The highsubtle (and centre) of the house is undoubtedly the mature garden in the main patio, which is one of just a few true riad gardens surviving in its original form. It is divided by zellij pathways and centred on a scalloped Carrara marble fountain.
The riad is extremely large and the garden is a historic gem. There’s also a decent-sized, unheated pool in a secluded adjacent patio alongside a two-person hammam that is original to the house. Facing onto the garden are two large, cosy salons, one for dining in during winter and a second extravagantly furnished lounge with a grand piano, which is stocked with fascinating books about Marrakech and is hung with some nice Eastern artworks.
Finally, the house is capped by a vast terrace where you can sunbathe, dine or exercise in a small fitness area. The staff is constantly dashing about, cleaning and serving in the restaurant. The front reception can also help organise all manner of excursions, taxis and restaurant bookings.
If you’re harbouring dreams of Scheherazade, then look no further than the Harem suite with its extensive zellij tiling, 20-foot-high cedar wood ceiling and 19th-century copper canopy bed, which was inherited from the original owners of the house.
The mix of Moroccan and European furnishings – Venetian mirrors, Chesterfield sofas, Fassi embroidered cushions, inlaid Persian marquetry – is also original as the Al-Amrani family liked to mix and match, much like contemporary-day cosmopolitans.
Bathrooms are large and a mixed Moroccan-European style, tiled with intricate zellij and fitted with contemporary whitewear and a few claw-foot tubs.
The riad has a full-service restaurant that is open from Monday to Sunday (excluding Sunday lunch). Non-guests are welcome for lunch and dinner, which can make the riad busy in high season. Lunch in the ancient garden in summer is delightful with tables tucked beneath the trees.
The menu is short and subtle, focusing on French salads and Moroccan finger food. Dinner is a fair three-course Moroccan or French meal, featuring typical dishes such as tagine and tanjia or entrecôte and chicken in mushroom sauce. Breakfast is fairly perfunctory and includes a fruit salad, yogurt, bread and jam, and a choice of eggs.
Not suitable.
Children under four years old stay for free, while additional beds cost €30/50 (£26/£44) per night for children under/over 12 years old. That said , he riad isn’t easy for very young children given all the stairs, the unfenced pool and all the antiques and art objects littered around.
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