RIAD ENIJA (above)
Rahba Lakdima
Derb Mesfioui 9
Tel: +212 44 44 09 26
www.riadenija.com
12 bedrooms
Restaurant & Bar
Spa
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Spring 06 / Places
/ Marrakech
Caravanserai /
Riad El Fenn /
Riad Enija /
Riad Farnatchi /
Riad Mehdi
Riad Enija
Ten years ago, Swiss hotelier, Ursula Haldimann, and her Swedish husband Bjorn Conderdings bought a 280-year-old property in the Medina, and set about refurbishing its three palace houses. With his credentials as a UNESCO architect, and her experiencing running hotels and shops in Switzerland, it was a match made in heaven. They restored the first two houses in about two and a half years, and then opened the third in 2004.
"We didn't want to add any more rooms, as it was very important to keep the original beauty," explains Haldimann, about the colourful 12-roomed hotel named after their daughter. Carved cedar ceilings, mosaic floors and wall paintings were restored to their former glory by her husband, leaving Ursula to be imaginative with the interior design. "I actually loved the place without any furniture. The Moroccan furniture culture is not particularly interesting as historically, all the attention was paid to the decoration of the house itself." But far from designing anything spartan, no furnishing flourish has been overlooked in the furbishment, whether it's a chair by Mark Brazier Jones, or a Tom Dixon lamp. With suite names such as 'Lion', 'Harem' and 'Chameleon', it is some indication of the fantasyland she has created. Every room is entirely different, with all manner of whimsies and design pieces, such as painted wooden furniture by Chantal Saccomanno, Jacopo Faggini lamps, Andre Dubreuil tables and chairs, Alain Girel ceramics, and fabrics from Brigitte Perkins. And, with a different palette in each room, details such as glassware from Le Verre Francais and Daum are the perfect colour-coded finishing touch. Other feathers in Riad Enija's flamboyant cap include a restaurant serving Moroccan and international cuisine, and a small spa, but the hotel is set to reach full fruition at the end of this summer, when it opens an additional riad house with an extra two suites, and a much longed-for pool. |
