Four historic Moroccan riads to book now

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Faire le tangerine in style

It’s said this is the oldest guesthouse in Tangier. Dar Nour – “house of light” in Arabic – certainly lives up to the promise of its name, with a hilltop position inside the medina and a roof terrace that has views over the whole city, the Strait of Gibraltar and the Bay of Tangier. Each of the 13 rooms and suites, spread across five interconnected houses, is quirkily decorated: in the Kahena suite you’ll find naif drawings and a wabi sabi mix of tiles; in the Hafa suite, a soothing pale-blue escape.

There are all the requisite poufs, ottomans, and Tuareg mats throughout, plus a few suzanis and vintage 20th-century garden furniture and lamps for chic good measure. The breakfast – as per riad style, included – kept me going all day, with traditional amlou and marmalades and msemen (the traditional square Moroccan pancakes) complimented by a full patisserie; every evening there’s aperitif hour at 6:30 on the roof, with the music thumping. And up the road a few steps is Dar Nour’s sister restaurant, Le Salon Bleu, with an all-day menu that’s ideal for grazing on the go across town.

Laidback vibes and labyrinthine charms in Essaouira

Dar Nour purports to be the oldest riad-hotel in Tangier; Villa Maroc, a stone’s throw from the ocean in wind-swept Essaouira, is instead the oldest in continuous operation in Morocco, dating back to the 18th century. It’s also one of the most atmospheric places I’ve been on the country’s coast, though far from as full-bore luxurious as the more famous L’Heure Bleue Palais (until not that long ago Villa Maroc was the itinerant surfer’s favoured address, back when Essaouira was a town on the international circuit).

Villa Maroc has a simplicity of design, a delightfully complex layout, and real character, not to mention one of the absolute best bang-for-your-dirham spa-hammams on the Barbary Coast. Its maze-like progressions – multiple storeys, stairs, courtyards and covered alcoves – and 21 rooms give it more the ambience of a hotel than a riad.

Dinner is on the roof terrace in summer, and next to one of the many fireplaces in winter. The southern beaches stretch one way, Essaouira’s lovely little medina the other; and you’re next to Place Orson Welles, which makes getting a cab a cinch – something you’ll want to consider, given the owners also now operate a country retreat, Les Jardins de Villa Maroc, which is ideal for a poolside lunch and afternoon loll.

Alluring gardens and aesthetic pleasures in Fez

Four-hundred-year-old Riad Idrissy takes its name from the descendants of the 8th-century founders of Fez, the city that’s often called Morocco’s spiritual and cultural capital. The Fassi-style palace is inside the medina, and layered with traces of the generations that lived in it, from the ornately carved halkas in the main courtyard to tile floors and ceilings painted by hand.

A years-long, labour-of-love restoration was overseen by designer Robert Johnstone in 2010; though the five suites opened to guests in 2012, the riad continues to evolve, with new pieces constantly shifting in and out of spaces. Johnstone acquired the historic gardens next door, renovating them as well; guests of Idrissy have free use of them (there’s a café-restaurant inside, popular with travellers making the Moroccan-city style rounds).

The suites themselves are as unique one to another as in a house, quirks and all: a tall Baldachin bed here, a lush shaded balcony there. The requisite roof terrace is the chill zone for drinks.

Inventing the game in Marrakech

Le Farnatchi opened in 2005, and has been a solid success ever since. The reasons are many: a deep medina location that’s within easy, if labyrinthine, walking distance to the famous Ben Youssef madrassa, Jemaa El Fnaa square and the excellent Maison de la Photographie museum, among other sites.

Then there’s the pleasing ratio of courtyards and sitting rooms to suites (there are 10 of those – quite large, by Marrakech standards); the cosy, traditional décor; and the assiduous oversight of co-owner James Wix, who with his wife Alex also runs a local touring outfit called Wix Squared. The suites themselves are large, often across two levels, with beautiful tile-and-tadelakt bathrooms and, in many cases, fireplaces; several have private sun terraces.

The spa is a knockout, with marble hammams and its own garden patio; the gourmet restaurant, Le Trou au Mur, offers less-known Moroccan fare along with a few international dishes (quinoa salads, pulled lamb burgers, a bit of dim sum, a “Berber” shepherd’s pie).