As with all the furnishings and decoration in Riad Siwan, everything has been specifically designed and made by local craftspeople for each individual room. From the richly woven curtains and bed linen from the atelier of Brigitte Perkins, to the toiletry containers in the bathroom, hand-made by Myriam Mourabit, by way of elegant chaise longue, cascading lamps, ancient sculptures and contemporary art, everything comes together with an eye to the finest detail. Spacious bathrooms of marble, polished granite and tadelakt, the traditional lime plaster of Morocco that gave the walls of palaces and hammams their
lustrous finish; private terraces; painstakingly hand carved wooden latticework screens of the mashrabiya, allowing you to look outward on life without being observed; glass doors for cooler months so you can be at ease in your room while still being able to enjoy the pleasure of the central garden. No detail has been overlooked that will make your stay at Riad Siwan remain with you long after you have left Marrakech. The Riad has been designed so that the ground-floor bedrooms are screened but still open to view the gardens.
A cozy suite of softer tones, with a rug of rich reds, pinks and orange to add colour. Two of the triplet arched doors give access to recessed cupboards to give storage space without invading the
room. The bed is antique Colonial, and the chaise longue adds a touch of loucheness to this charming suite, which also has a private veranda overlooking the garden.
Rich purple and orange, with tinges of grey and luxuriant maroon give this twin room on the first floor a luscious ambience, especially when the warm Moroccan light filters through the curtains. A traditional bay window with a hand-carved screen
of cedar-wood, a mashrabiya, keeps you hidden from public view while allowing you to watch the world outside. In cooler months you can curl up in front of a cosy fireplace.
The ‘African’ room. Soothing, mellow blends of muted yellows and brick red complement the masculine tones of the furnishings in this double room. Stark ancient African artefacts pair perfectly with the lush rug under your feet and as you recline in the leather
sling-seat chairs you can imagine yourself out on the high veldt. The mashrabiya that overlooks the plant-filled patio, an oriel window of hand-carved wooden latticework, adds space and light to the room.
Qamar means ‘moon’ and to reflect this, the ambience of this special room is the silver of moonlight and the rich purple of shadows cast at night. This spacious room allows for spacious pieces, and the high-back chairs are as much a work of art as are splendid for relaxing on in front of the fireplace.
An exotic silken chaise longue sits in the traditional b’hou, with its glowing cedar-wood ceiling, a perfect place to while away the time when you aren’t enjoying your private veranda overlooking the garden.
The starlight bathroom ceiling continues the theme of the moon and a night of romance, as you lounge in the deep roll-top bath, the surface of the water scattered with rose petals. The bathroom also has a large walk-in shower. There is a separate toilet and walk-in closet.
The original mellowed cedar-wood ceiling and the soft greens of this ground floor room blend perfectly with the garden and the rose petals scattered in the fountain, just a step away from your private terrace.
Warm tones are added by the muted purple drapes of the four-poster bed and light cascades from a chandelier of conical lamps. Thick curtains keep the room warm as well as provide intimacy at night; day-time curtains and glass doors allow the warm Moroccan light to enter while guarding your privacy at other times.
For winter months there is an open fireplace to curl up beside. The spacious bathroom of red and grey marble, with dusky red tadelakt walls, has a deep Victorian-style roll top bath and a large walk-in shower.
A ground floor twin room of warm reddish tones highlighted by touches of yellow, this peaceful room allows you to relax your eyes from the dazzle of the souk, but with elegant points of decoration, such as the Berber jewellery and contemporary Moroccan artwork that maintain your presence in Marrakech. Day-time curtains provide privacy while being fine enough to
allow you to enjoy the garden. For cooler months, glass doors keep out the chill but not the view. By night, lush curtains and a four metre hand-carved cedar-wood door cocoon you in your own romantic world. Tan Tan can be converted into a double room with a 180x200cm bed.
The ‘Honeymoon Suite’, and, for greater privacy, the only room not facing onto the patio. Intricately carved pillars, a beautifully decorated ceiling, and horse-shoe arches make no doubt that you are in a Moroccan home. A chaise longue to recline on, deep chairs reminiscent of the colonial era to settle in, upholstered in
saffron fabric to add a robust touch to the room, and an open fireplace make this the perfect romantic hideaway, but the piece de resistance is the wonderfully eccentric four-poster bed designed by Hicham El Madi.
Everything from the yoghurt, bread and msemen, Moroccan pancakes, served for your roof-top breakfast, to the fish or pigeon pastilla and poulet au citron you enjoy in the ever-so-slightly-decadent dining room, is prepared in the kitchen of Riad Siwan. Where possible the staff used vegetables fresh from the own gardens a short drive from Jmaa el Fna.
The kitchen is the pulsating heart of any riad, and in the hands of Rabia your experience of Moroccan cuisine will make you a devotee from the first mouthful (and which will probably make you want to experience one of the cookery courses so you can take her secrets home with you).
If you were invited to Rabia’s home, as an honoured guest you would dine on dishes similar to those at Riad Siwan, but it would be no ordinary ‘home-made’ meal. Like most Moroccan ladies she learned the basics at her mother’s knee, but it was her experience working with top chefs at grand weddings and special events, where only the highest quality food is ever served, that honed her skills and made her the inspirational cook she now is.
The spices used in Moroccan food are what makes it so special, but it takes a long time to learn how to use them properly. Most people simply use Ras al Hanout, a mixture of spices, often made to a shop’s particular recipe, and some of these are very good.
But what most people don’t realise is that there are two types of Ras al Hanout, one that contains forty different spices, called lamrozzia and another with twenty-four spices, which is hotter.
To complement your meal the staff offer a selection of Moroccan wines, which, to most people’s surprise, are far better than you might imagine.
One of the most delightful artworks in Riad Siwan is to be found in the dining room – four hundred and forty droplets of hand-blown glass that appear to fall from an open roof like glistening raindrops. The rough horse-shoe arches of the central pillars cast
back to the room’s original use as a kitchen and store room, but soft tones of taupe and purple coupled with the burnished lustre of the tadelakt walls give a glow of romanticism to this beautiful room.
Whether for sun bathing, open-air dining, relaxing in the shady lounge area or cooling off in the pool, the spacious roof terrace is one of the places most favoured by guests to while away their days. Specially designed tiles on the sun bathing area make sure you won’t burn your shoe-less feet even at the height of summer, and the tucked-away pool has shady corners to enjoy while still luxuriating in its balmy waters. Climb the stairs of the tower (described by one guest as the Eye of Marrakech) and you are
standing at the highest point in the medina, other than the minaret of the Koutoubia Mosque, (no building is allowed to be taller). Turn 360º and you view the full aspect of the city, and off to the snow-capped peaks of the High Atlas Mountains. A full drinks and kitchen service means meals can be served on the terrace year-round, and there is always someone to make a glass of mint tea or bring you a cooling drink.
Massage will relax you from top-to-toe, but you should really treat yourself and enjoy her body scrub, facial and hair treatments, manicure and pedicure in the privacy of your own room.
Marrakech is a fascinating city, and you can spend days exploring the meandering alleyways of the Medina, where life continues to the same rhythm as it has since the days when the Red City was little more than a caravanserai on the Silk Road.
But there is so much more to experience using Marrakech as a base, and staff will be happy to arrange the following excursions using fully qualified and very experienced tour guides.
The trip from Marrakech takes nearly three hours each way but is worth every second when you reach the waterfalls.
With a ‘chef’s glass’ in your hand, for two to three hours (depending on the dish), Rabia, will guide you through a recipe for either lunch or dinner.
In the 16th century Essouaira was known as Mogador, the last view of the African continent the slaves who had travelled the notorious ‘Slave Route’ from Timbuktu.
A road leads as far as the village of Imlil itself these days, and while the mountainous area has become extremely popular for Marrakshi days out.
With its delightful river and the famous waterfalls of Setti Fatma, the valley is the ideal place to visit for a refreshing day out from Marrakech.
Ouarzazate carries the nickname, ‘the door of the desert’, and from there on out the rugged Sahara takes over.
The Ourika Valley is one of the few places in the High Atlas Mountains where you have the possibility of sighting a Barbary Macaque, the Barbary Ape of Gibraltar fame.
Riad Siwan is the perfect place to hold your special occasion or event.
An internal garden with a tinkling fountain and twittering birds, is central to the concept of riad life, and the salon has a direct view onto tall palms and cascading bougainvillea.
Tinmel no longer celebrates the traditional role of a functioning mosque, but its grandeur and eloquent design as uncovered by recent restoration…
RIAD SIWAN
n°28, Zanka AdikaRiad Zitoun JdidMarrakech MedinaMorocco