Jnane Rumi

At Jnane Rumi, the lobby is effectively a garden. Palms rise above the lawn, a red football sits in the grass, cushions wait by the pool and somewhere nearby breakfast is being assembled on a brass tray. Marrakech is only a short drive away, but in this corner of the Palmeraie the city seems to arrive filtered through leaves, birdsong and mint tea.

The house was originally designed by Charles Boccara, the Tunisian born architect whose work helped shape modern Marrakech. His hand is still visible in the thick walls, shaded passages, carved cedar, scalloped arches and deep windows that make the garden part of the architecture. Later, the villa belonged to Paul Pascon, the sociologist whose work on rural Morocco and post independence society made him one of the country’s sharpest observers. A good past, in other words: architecture first, thinking afterwards.

Dutch owners Gert Jan and Corinne van den Bergh have turned the estate into an eleven room retreat without sanding away its eccentricity. One room is a bold cobalt blue, another plays with dusty pink, bathrooms mix green zellige with brass and marble, and the furniture looks collected rather than ordered by the metre. Berber rugs, wicker chairs, antiques and contemporary art make the place feel personal, occasionally theatrical, never stiff.

Food is part of the mood. Expect msemen, eggs, yoghurt, fruit and mint tea in the morning, and Moroccan inflected cooking by chef Karin Gaasterland later in the day, served where the weather suggests. Do not come for palace grandeur or grand hotel choreography. Come for shade, colour, privacy, good taste and a house that still behaves like a house.