A refreshingly light, bright riad set in a restored foundouk (a travellers’ inn) which once sold babouche (leather slippers), but now houses five soothingly decorated suites set around a turquoise pool framed by sculptural palms and pretty graphic tiles.
Set just off Rue Tachenbacht in an accessible spot in the original neighbourhood of Kaat Benahid. Here, you’re a few hundred metres from the Maison de la Photographie, the Ali Ben Youssef Medersa and the Marrakech museum. The Djemaa el-Fna is half a mile’s walk southwest through the souks. Pick up taxis at nearby Place Moqf.
This riad almost has the feel of a Mallorcan villa, which isn’t surprising given your Spanish hosts Mauro and Julia. Inside, it is full of garden greenery and gentle, natural materials like lemon wood furniture, woollen textiles and shaggy lampshades made of dried grasses. Lifting the otherwise muted mood are the bright, patterned concrete tiles that zig zag throughout the house and add a note of playfulness.
Downstairs life revolves around the pool, with a winter salon to one side and an open-sided summer lounge beneath the portico complete with outdoor fireplace. Tiled stairs draw you upstairs to first-floor bedrooms and then out onto the roof terrace where guests lie snoozing on curvaceous rattan loungers.
Julia and Mauro are thoughtful hosts. They worked hard to create this comfortable, contemporary guesthouse and are always on hand chatting to guests and helping them organise all manner of old city and out-of-town adventures. Mauro (who trained in hospitality in Switzerland) manages the house and menus, while graphic designer Julia keeps tabs on the city’s ever evolving shopping and dining scene. There’s no hammam, but Julia has a long list of tried-and-tested spas and hammams to fit all tastes and budgets.
There are five spacious rooms, one of which is on the ground floor. They share in common lots of subtle, silky tadelakt (polished plaster) floors covered in creamy Berber rugs, and suspended ceilings hiding a nearly silent, high-tech heating and cooling system. Otherwise, they are furnished with a few well-chosen pieces (some vintage and some specially commissioned) that artfully mix Moroccan and European style. Most importantly, beds boast thick, comfortable mattresses covered in 1,000 thread-count sheets. Bathrooms are unusually generous in size for a riad, and are supplied with organic bath products and fluffy robes. Three of them have a bath and shower.
Breakfast is an absolute highsubtle, served either in your room or on the roof terrace beneath the pergola. It includes a feast of juice, jams, cake, homemade yogurt pots with fruit, pancakes and unusual savoury dishes such as shakshuka (baked eggs with spiced tomato and pepper sauce), all accompanied by quality coffee made in the Elektra Lever Press. Vegan and gluten-free diets can be accommodated with advance notice and, in fact, many of the lunch dishes are plant based.
For dinner, you can choose a Moroccan or Fusion menu, the former consisting of tagines and couscous (on Friday), while the latter might feature ossobuco with celeriac puree followed by a delicious date ice-cream.
No specific disabled facilities, but there is a ground-floor room.
There’s a minimum age of 14 years old and only double rooms are available.
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