Dar Doukkala

Grandly retro riad with shades of vintage Art Deco

Mix shades of Art Deco with exuberant Gothic and you get Dar Doukkala. This richly retro riad – described by its owners as a guest palace – combines sleek curves and vintage decor.

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Know It All

Hit the spot
Five minutes from the souks and Djemma el Fna square. 

Come here for...
• A 1930s Casablanca vibe – you could see Bogart and Bergman meeting here. • Richly retro interiors with an Art Deco slant. • Palatial, high ceilinged bedrooms.

Amenities
There's a mellow Art Deco lounge with a roaring fire in winter and a well stocked library. You'll also find a hammam and massage room.

Good to know
It's for fans of vintage, not cool and contemporary.

Bedtime...

Bedrooms 
Four rooms, two suites

Special features
Every room has a working fireplace, a large bathroom with a tub for two, Art Deco style furniture and CD player with a library of chill-out albums.

Pillow Talk
Palatial Suite 3 sports deep Art Deco armchairs, a vast bed and private terrace. The top floor suite is a sprawling 70 sq m with a balcony over the pool.

Eat & Drink

Dining in
Dinner at Dar Doukkala is cooked to order and to taste – so feel free to request Moroccan or European fare, as well as your favourite dessert. The chef also happily caters for vegetarians and special dietary requirements. Regular dishes on the menu include traditional tagine of lamb with seasonal vegetables, calamari and seafood casserole, chocolate fondue and fresh fruit tarts. We dined in the lounge by candlelight around a roaring fire on a cool winter's evening – a wonderfully atmospheric setting.

Breakfast
Full breakfast with delicious Moroccan pastries is served until midday.

Room service
Available morning and evening.

Activities

See & Do
Explore the winding streets of the Medina, or admire the exquisite stucco work and Arabic inscriptions of the Ben Youssef Medersa, one-time home to the great theological thinkers of the Middle Ages.

Other big sights include the nearby Museum of Marrakech,  housed in a 19th century palace, the Koutoubia mosque with its classic minaret,  the colourfully tiled Saadian tombs and the flower-filled Majorelle gardens. Your hosts will be happy to arrange a trip to the nearby Atlas Mountains, where you can saddle up a donkey and visit remote Berber villages.

Spa
Unlike many in-town riads, Dar Doukkala has its own pool terrace for sunning and cooling off. You can also book a choice of in-house treatments – whether traditional body massage or muscle relaxing therapy. Steam away in the hammam, then spoil yourself with a manicure or pedicure.

Diary Dates
January
Marathon de Marrakech
Runners dash to the Palmeraie district and back from Djemma el Fna square.

December
Rub shoulders with the stars at the Marrakech International Film Festival.