Review of Zamzam Riad, by Vitali Vitaliev

It takes a powerful sat-nav – or a dedicated escort – to locate Zamzam Riad in the winding narrow streets of Marrakesh’s medina. In this respect, the riad aptly reflects its name, which in Arabic means "a holy water well in the desert". Just like with the well in the desert, finding it is definitely worth the effort.

All your worries end the moment you step into Zamzam’s inner courtyard, dominated by a tall and thick palm-tree stretching up well above the roof, crowned with a solar battery: yes, unusually for Marrakesh, this British-owned riad is trying to be eco-friendly by partially powering itself with the energy of the sun, of which there’s never a shortage in Morocco.

Zamzam’s reality is such that – in its décor, facilities and prices – it bears more resemblance to a five-star boutique hotel than to a traditional riad. Lavishly furnished with French and Moroccan antiques, Berber carpets and local artefacts, it boasts of a state-of-the-art spa, complete with a pool, solarium and hammam, offering all sorts of therapies, massages and body treatments.

There are no rooms in Zamzam, only suites, and all seven have marble bathrooms, vast (the size of an average medina square) beds with Egyptian linen, iPod docking stations, Wi-Fi access and Yahya design lighting. Despite all these similarities, each room – sorry, suite (including the somewhat dubiously-named “Harem”), has a different layout, different furnishings and a distinctly different feel.

The first guests I saw on entering Zamzam were a Dutch couple immersed in studying the secrets of Moroccan cuisine. The riad runs Moroccan cookery courses, so alongside having a relaxing holiday beak, you can learn to cook a classic couscous or a tagine in a traditional Moroccan cooking style – over hot coals and with a Mukla.

The course starts with a visit to a souk where guests-cum-students are encouraged to choose their own cooking ingredients as long as the latter are both locally produced and organic.

I had a chance to try the Dutch couple’s culinary creations (aubergine and tomato soup with mint leaves, cheese bread similar to Georgian Khachapuri) for lunch and can testify they were absolutely delicious, particularly when washed down with a surprisingly good Moroccan red wine…

After such a hearty meal, one would be tempted to hedonistically procrastinate in one’s suite through the hottest hours of the day until the evening, when the heat subsides and it is time to relocate to the riad’s spacious roof terrace, with views of the nearby Atlas Mountains.

Apart from the mountains, the terrace also overlooks a cemetery and a pharmacy, which has clearly failed the cemetery dwellers and therefore is no longer required by them. One is bound to be having such philosophical (or rather pseudo-philosophical) thoughts in the end of a restful hedonistic day while having an unhurried dinner on Zamzam’s magnificent roof terrace under the stars…