Riad Tarabel

This beautiful guest house opened in 2007, close to Jemaa el Fna square in the medina, and with just 10 rooms, it feels like a special enclave, away from the bustle just beyond its gates.

A true labor of love, the house was bought by Leonard Degoy, who had spent holidays in Marrakech for fifteen years before deciding to buy a riad. He hired the architect Romain Michel Menière to transform it into his ideal fantasy retreat. While maintaining the original Arabic layout and proportions, Menière and Degoy have brought a Provencal elegance to the property. (Tarabel is the name of his family chateaux in the south of France and many of the antiques and paintings came from the region.)

Dainty iron garden furniture sits in an alcove off of the central courtyard where orange trees scent the air. In another corner sits a vintage rattan chaise shaded by a giant umbrella and next to it rests an antique birdcage. Regional decorative details like latticework and tadelakt walls have been subdued by a neutral palette of beiges and grays. There are many colonial influences but the overall atmosphere is that this is a private home, with only ten rooms and suites. It is the kind of place that plugged-in artists, photographers and designers retreat to and then pass along as a favorite address to their friends.

There are lovely salon rooms, which are perfect for drinks or curling up with a book, a tiny hammam, a small pool and a rooftop terrace where meals can be served. (There’s a housekeeper and cook who look after guests.). A spa is in the works for December 2017. I hope that it keeps its highly personal, intimate feeling, though, because that—and its Provencal-Moroccan aesthetic—is what sets it apart.

A perfect place for a few couples, a family or anyone seeking total privacy.