15-minute drive from the Medina, on the edge of a Berber village, is this charming retreat in the Palmarei. Overlooking olive groves and desert, with views across to the Atlas Mountains on the horizon, it is effortlessly hip, and utterly Moroccan.
A shining example of the simplicity of form that makes structures here so special, age-old building techniques have been complemented with modern design flair.
"The big challenge of building a hotel like this in Marrakech was that, at the time, it had a completely different concept," says the delightful Beatriz Maximo, manager, and the friendly face of Caravanserai. "When everybody was buying in the medina, Max Lawrence [son of Best of Morocco's Chris Lawrence] and father-and-son architects, Charles and Mathieu Boccara, were the first building something outside in a small village and with a beldi - a family house," says Maximo. "They retained the traditional Moroccan countryside spirit in the simplicity of the lines and decoration. It slowly became a more elegant, comfortable and chic, but always keeping the simplicity as orientation."
Charles Boccare is hailed as the pioneer of employing the now-ubiquitous marble-hard tadelakt process beyond the hammam. In the same way that he used the compressed mudbrick to create breathtaking features such as the domed bathrooms at Les Deux Tours in the early 1990s, the pale-pink, polished-plaster finish lends itself perfectly to Caravanserai's sprawling layout, with its steam-proof surface in its element in the hotel's impressive hammam and indoor plunge pool. The 17 bedrooms and living spaces all enjoy its signature smoothness.
Max and Mathieu are responsible for the hotel's interior design, which includes quirks such as a now-trademark pig sculpture next to the stunning central swimming pool. The furniture is mainly from young Marrakchi designers, mostly French, with lots of old doors from across North Africa and 'coffres' from the Rif Mountains, with a few Asiatic and African pieces thrown in. The most spectacular of the suites, one where the colour palette swerves off-piste, is the Majorelle Suite. Taking inspiration from the Yves Saint Laurent-owned gardens created by French artists Jacques and Louis Majorelle in the 1930s, it is a delightful bubble of bright cobalt blue.
Each room has its own terrace or garden, but billowing white muslin and cushion-laden cubbies and sunloungers scattered throughout the palm-fringed green grounds make communal alfresco relaxation just as alluring. And with the romantic restaurant coming to life in the evening, it is little wonder that during a stay here, guests find it hard to prise themselves away from Caravan Serai's style and tranquility.
