Ryad Dyor

Rooms

Each of the rooms and suites has genuine design panache, ranging from gleaming brass door details to Starck chairs and beautifully sculpted stone basins. The owners have sourced furniture from Bali and Italy as well as North Africa, and you can tell that real care has been taken.

We were lucky enough to stay in Arab Superior Junior Suite. Glass doors open onto a skylit hall; an archway leads into the sand coloured bathroom with an enormous bathtub; a blue wooden door slides sideways to hide the wardrobe space (clever!) and reveal the bedroom. But the trump card of this suite is the private roof terrace, with sun loungers and trailing roses.

The other rooms are no less stylish or unique, though they may lack the outside space. The Ennafora Suites have tadelakt fireplaces; the double-bedded Basha Suite has a stunning 300-year-old hand-painted ceiling, and can link with a double-bedded Berber Suite, via a shared lounge, to make a fantastic family apartment. The Sabba Suite has an additional sofabed and a split-level sitting area.

In an adjoined neighbouring building there are 3 newer suites. On one side of the courtyard, the Nour Suites both have gorgeous bathrooms featuring gold showerheads, sinks and mirrors. Opposite them, the Azro Deluxe Junior Suite is enormous and has a lovely open-fronted sitting area overlooking the courtyard.

Features include:

• Air conditioning
• Coffee / tea making
• Fireplace
• Hairdryer
• Minibar
• Safe box
• TV
• WiFi

Eating

With advance warning, lunch and dinner can be served in your room, in the courtyard... almost anywhere, in fact. But we thought the nicest place to dine was on the roof, where rattan parasols shelter small metal tables from the sun; there's a sofa'd b’hou (loggia) for reclining with a mint tea afterwards. All meals are pre-ordered and ingredients are bought from the market in the morning; this reduces choice but keeps meals fresh and flavourful. Lunch might be a medley of seasonal Moroccan salads or oven-roasted sardines stuffed with tomatoes. Dinner could be harira (a Berber soup), a lamb pastilla or a chicken tagine served with almonds and lemons.

Breakfast, also served on the roof or in the courtyard, consists of fresh fruit, yoghurt, honey, pancakes, bread, a good selection of spreads, coffee or tea, and fresh orange juice. Room service can be arranged but is not 24 hours.

There are plenty of restaurants within walking distance, and manager Ibrahim is full of suggestions. Le Jardin serves Morrocan favourites plus a few western classics (like hamburgers) in an atmospheric leafy courtyard. If you're really suffering tagine overdose, Grand Café de la Poste, a French restaurant in the modern quarter of Guéliz, comes highly recommended (though it’s less atmospheric than medina restaurants). Be aware that alcohol is only served in some restaurants; try Comptoir Darnas for chic cocktails and fabulous entertainment, or head to Kosybar for sundowners.

Features include:

• Breakfast
• Dinner by arrangement
• Lunch by arrangement
• Restaurants nearby

Activities

• Explore the souks with a guide - they might take you to places on commission but it’s worth it for the fascinating historical detail they provide. They’re a great help when bartering too
  
• A 20-minute walk can get you out of the bustling medina and into the oasis-like Jardin Majorelle, blooming with cacti, yucca, bougainvillaea, white water lilies and weeping willows
  
• Enjoy the hammam - 2 therapists are on call most hours during the day for guests, though it’s best to give a couple of hours' advance notice
  
• Have a sundowner in the rooftop loggia overlooking the courtyard, as candles flicker around the petal-strewn pool below
  
• Sunbathe around the rooftop plunge pool - you'll need some respite after the sensory assaults of the medina
  
• Staff can organise trips into the Atlas Mountains or desert for those staying more than a weekend, as well as camel rides, golf or tennis in the Palmeraie
  
• The rooms are so beautiful that you’ll want to spend some time simply reading on your private balcony, or luxuriating in the enormous baths, some of which are big enough for 2

Activities on site or nearby include:

• Historical sites
• Private guided tours
• Shopping / markets
• Traditional cultures

Kids

To preserve the peaceful atmosphere, Ryad Dyor is an adult-only retreat.

For more family-friendly places, see our Kids Collection

Location

Ryad Dyor is in the medina (old centre) of Marrakech, in Sidi Ben Slimane, Morocco.

By Air:
Fly into Marrakech Menara (8km). Served by several airlines.

From the Airport:
The hotel can provide airport transfers on request. Alternatively, there are plenty of taxis on arrival or the airport bus that drops you in the centre. The journey time to the riad is about 20 minutes.

By Train:
The station is about 20 minutes away by taxi.

By Car
Having the use of a car makes exploring further afield easier although you really won't want to drive around Marrakech due to the narrow labyrinthine streets - far better to walk and get taxis. You can arrange your car rental before you go.

Detailed directions will be sent to you once your booking is confirmed through i-escape.