1Albruary f3.30

IETTER THE

DEUONUE KiIOWLAYGROUND OF THEMARTEST BOHOS

)ETER PAil MAl{/HY GROW UP WHENOU CAN HAVEUN FOR EVER?

**hrsI TALE OF THE MAFIA

DOJII,S DAUGHTERMANHATTAN'S SHOCKING

NEW SOCIAL HIT

THE A.ZOF SPASWHERE TO GET

LAID.BACK

RUTHES SHE THE ]'IEXT GARBO?

Happy hookahIt's smokin' in the funkyold medina ofsays Lucinda

Marrakesh,Bredin

you'll even find the frontdoor. It took many phonecalls to Herwig Bartels, theformer German ambassador,before I reaiised I had beenstaring all the time at one

Clockwise from top/eft, a bedroom atRiad Madani.A bedroom at Riad

Kaiss. The courtyardof Riyad El Cadi

has a cluster of rooms that once

belonged to the harem. Perfectfor nanny and the children.

Riad Noga, on another tinyside street, doesn't attempt tobe the last thing in sophis-tication but, like its owners,ex-banker Norbert Furnon

I

hree years ago, the idea of stayingwithin the city walls of Marrakeshwould bring on an attack of thevapours. There was La Mamounia,

of course, but that had seen better days and,like a beached cruise ship, it had a lobby thatthronged with tour groups and luggage. Thetraditional solution for the creative aristocracy(Xavier Hermös, Charles Boccara) was to stayin the Palmeraie on the fringes of the city. Withvast villas and swimming-pools surrounded bywalled gardens, it kept the city at arm's length.

How fashions change. To escape the gloomymonths in Britain for a dose of pure exoticism,the medina, the heart of the medieval city nextto the souk, is now the chic choice. You stay intraditional Moroccan townhouses called riads,some of which date from the 14th century.Almost all notable riads have several featuresin common. They are small, with 12 rooms atthe most, and are buiit around an internalcourtyard. They often have pools and usuallyserve food, but on request only. While theservice is attentive, it doesn't try to cover allbases around the clock, so don't expect com-plicated cocktails to arrive on a silver tray.

Until you walk into a riad, yo:u have noidea what you'll find. In fact, given the layoutof medieval Marrakesh, you don't know if

136

of the four entrances to his Riyad El Cadi. Robertsandhiswife,GabrieleSpäth,it'sjollyAfter being led down a dogJeg passage, and comfortable. The rooms are sma1l but

reassuringingly moderne in grey tadlakt, a there are wonderful views from the terrace.glazed chalk plaster, you arrive in a ravishing Norbert (a nephew of Tiny Rowland) is ancourtyard with a 16th-century fountain in the indefatigable host.centre, slrrrounded by orange and lemon trees. Christian Ferrö, a Parisian architect, is pri-Herr Bartels's collection of Berber textiles and marily concerned with style. It took him threeMoroccan woodwork is displayed to great years to renovate Riad Kaiss, and there is aeffect and there is an airiness and a sense of Gallic ölan throughout. The dark salon lookscivilised order, a great contrast to the anarchy particularly exotic and would be a goodoutside the gates. Only two hours after Jasper place to bring out a hookah pipe. The eightConran checked out of El Cadi to stay in bedrooms are more Provengal, with wrought-the Palmeraie, he begged to be allowed back. iron beds and crisp Chamb6ry sheets.

Two minutes walk away,. another subfusc $The joy of the rlads is that they reflect the

door leads to Riad Madani, personalities of their owners.

;äH,#:.ä"::ff#:J:i:: DtrTAILS 3*I'I}äT#J§Jru:üTJJalone in Marrakesh. Reno- RIYADELCADI:single, fill it with your own guests.vated by a former French from f70, including This tiny riad (it only has threeambassador to Indonesia breakfast.RIADMADANI: rooms.l has a whitewashedand his Brazilian partner, double,from€160, courtyardwithfourorangetreesMadani is remarkable for its including breakfast. RIAD and two salons with marblesize (the gardens must be NOGA:double,from basins and superb carved ceil-among the city's largest) and fl00,includingbreaHast. ings. When I visited, a partyits dazzling art collection RIAD KAISS: double, was being prepared. Lighted(Chinese scrolls, Picasso fromfl00.DARZELLIJ: flares, drifts of rose petals andlithographs, 19th-century double, from f96. For tables laden with Moroccanphotographs).Theroomsare UKreservations,contact delicacies were being laid outwonderfullyvariedandthere Western&Oriental under a starry night sky. Iis a pool on the roof. It also {tel: 020 7313 6600} simply didn't want to leave.