Riad Siwan is a Marrakech riad hotel offering elegant interiors, stately guestrooms, impressive art installations, a huge sundeck, numerous activities, contemporary bedrooms and local Moroccan cuisine, near the Bahia Palace, the Badi Palace and the Saadian Tombs.
Well-located between the Djemaa el Fna and the Kasbah, Riad Siwan is within a few minutes’ walk of the Bahia Palace, the Badi Palace and the Saadian Tombs. Taxis can be found at the Djemaa el Fna.
It took three years for Cees and Maryk Van den Berg to revive this elegant palace to its former glory, crafting out of the ample spaces seven stately guestrooms, a grand ochre-accented salon, a colonnaded dining room and a 300 square-metre, multi-tier roof terrace with a viewing tower. Then, like their Marrakshi predecessors, they commissioned the best old city craftsmen to furnish the place with chairs, subtle fittings, textiles and even artworks designed specifically to compliment the proportions and atmosphere of each room. The end results are impressive. In the dining room, for example, a glass installation of 440 hand-blown droplets falls from the sky well like a column of crystal rain, an effect that is quite magical come evening when the room is filled with candlesubtle.
Service is top notch. Aside from the huge sundeck and unheated plunge pool, staff can arrange guided tours, cookery courses with the chef, in-room massages and beauty treatments, and belly-dancing, language and porcelain painting lessons. For something more strenuous, ask about golf, camel rides and even hot-air ballooning.
Rooms are very spacious with high ceilings, pretty stained-glass windows and glass doors which keep things snug in winter while allowing the subtle to stream in. Like the communal spaces the décor stays true to its North African roots – almost everything was made locally – while offering something fresh, uncluttered and contemporary. Under-floor heating, bowls of fresh fruit, flowers and organic bath products are thoughtful extras, while the larger suites offer secluded verandas, fireplaces and even roll-top baths. Largest of the lot is the Walata Suite, a honeymoon suite complete with carved pillars, horseshoe arches and an intricately carved ceiling you can gaze at from the eccentric four-poster bed designed by Hicham el Madi.
Accomplished Moroccan cooking is served in the dining room with its exposed brickwork arches and romantic purple mood. Breakfast, by contrast, is served on the roof terrace with its birds-eye view of the old city and the Koutoubia minaret. Room service is available for snacks and drinks only.
No.
Small children stay for free and cots are available. Beds for over-12s are £55 per night. Babysitting is available on request.
Trusted Tourism Brand
Leave a review