an oasis in the Marrakech Medina

What’s the buzz? When it opened in 2004, Le Farnatchi was essentially a five-suite bed-and-breakfast, albeit a palatial one spread across three splendid 18th-century riads. Everything about it seemed perfectly judged, and it soon became my favourite hotel in the world.

Over the years it’s acquired another six buildings, doubled the number of suites and added a restaurant and a strikingly beautiful, yet miraculously inexpensive spa (massages from less than £35). This spring it makes its biggest expansion yet, when it adds five new rooms, and opens a gym and, pending the necessary permits, a rooftop pool.

British hotelier Jonathan Wix, who founded 42 The Calls in Leeds and The Scotsman in Edinburgh, bought the first riad as a holiday home. It’s now run by his son James, who says the latest expansion was in part driven by concerns about affordability. “I’ve been staggered by the increase in worldwide hotel rates and wanted a better-value option without compromising our standards,” he says. “The new rooms will have the same amenities, linens and level of comfort as the suites. They’ll just be very slightly smaller and more modern, especially the bathrooms.”

Location, location, location Halfway down an alley in the oldest part of the labyrinthine Medina, 100 metres from the spectacularly beautiful Madrasa Ben Youssef, it feels deliberately hard to find, and its big black door bears neither a name nor a number. But don’t fear locating it: the room rate includes a taxi from the airport. Cars are banned from the Medina, but someone, along with a porter, will meet you at the nearest drop-off point and guide you on foot.

Once inside, you’re ushered into the first of a sequence of courtyards, this one dominated by a green-tiled fountain-fed pool. There’s no formal check-in, just the offer of mint tea and tiny biscuits, after which you’re shown to your room, where the guest-registration forms are on the desk for you to complete at leisure.

Checking in The suites are unusually spacious for Marrakech (between 45 and 75 square metres) with quintessentially Moroccan decor: tadelakt plaster on the walls; zelij tiles and rugs on the floor; expanses of intricately carved stucco, much of it original, along with moucharabieh fretwork and carved wood. There are marble baths and basins in the bathrooms, which are romantically lit with perforated metal lanterns.

I’ve stayed four times (always on my own dime). Indeed suite number 8 is beginning to feel like the ideal second home. While all are beautiful, this suite has an open fire in its sitting room, a balcony on which to have breakfast and, off the bedroom, a very private patio with a tree full of songbirds. The only thing I’d improve is the lighting.

The new rooms, housed in an adjoining historic house, average about 35 square metres and have quintessentially Moroccan interiors that Wix and his family designed and shopped for themselves.

What really impresses is the attention to detail. For example, the unexpectedly comfortable slippers, yours to take home, are suede Moroccan babouches, and they keep a wide a range of sizes to ensure you get a pair that fits. And while there may not be coffee makers, kettles or minibars (a complimentary pot of mint tea is only ever a phone call away), canapés are delivered to your room at 6pm and turndown happens only once you’ve gone out to dinner, however late.

What to do? The souk is minutes from the hotel, as is the always diverting House of Photography. And all the main historic sights are within walking distance. I’d also recommend a couple of hours in Gueliz, the 20th-century “new” town built during the French Protectorate, not least for Comptoir des Mines, a superb 1930s building that now houses a contemporary art space with an enlightening exhibition programme.

Around the corner from the gallery, you’ll find Botanika, the Moroccan cosmetics brand’s flagship store. It supplies the superb organic products found in Le Farnatchi’s bathrooms where, alongside shampoo and conditioner, there are six bottles of differently scented gels (including neroli, fig, citrus) in every shower.

What about the food? The hotel restaurant, Le Trou au Mur, specialises in less familiar local dishes, though there is a tagine of the day and couscous is served (as is customary) on Fridays. Tangia, for example, is camel or beef braised slowly in a terracotta pot with preserved lemons, saffron and cumin; or try the tride: layers of shredded pancakes, lentils, chicken and herbs.

There’s also a short, reasonably priced list of Moroccan wines. “Ones I enjoy drinking,” says Wix, who has written instructive, entertaining and admirably honest tasting notes. (Some, he concedes, are an acquired taste, “but there are now some very good ones”, including the minerally Meknès gris they sell by the glass.)

Other guests? Scarlett Johansson, Angelina Jolie, Russell Crowe and Daniel Craig, who took over the whole place for a birthday party, are among those “who’ve allowed us to use their names”, says Wix, who is very present and aims to welcome every guest in person. Craig, for the record, “was absolutely charming”.

Such is the layout of the hotel with its many staircases, sitting rooms and alcoves, however, that you scarcely see other guests. On a Monday last month, though, the restaurant was busy with French and Italians and animated by a party of US expats with impressively fluent Arabic.

And the staff? Enchanting, all of them. Since I’ve been coming, the entirely Moroccan team seems largely unchanged, suggesting it’s a happy place to work.

The damage Double rooms cost from Dh2,950 (£237) per night, including a generous Moroccan breakfast of fruit, homemade yoghurt, flatbreads, pancakes and shakshuka — eggs poached with peppers in a spiced tomato sauce. Suites cost from Dh4,200.

Elevator pitch A palace in all respects bar its prices.

lefarnatchi.com

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