Nestled in an old village and backed by beautiful mountains, Riad Ksar Ighnda is a newly built French-run inn is in the High Atlas Mountains, about 15 minutes from Ouarzazate. Built with Kasbah-like towers surrounding an inner courtyard, the fourth side is an attractive, yet derelict ruin of a former building. The riad was fully functioning, with new touches added even as we were guests there. A mosaic lined swimming pool, umbrella tables on the terrace surrounding it, and an outdoor fitness room housed under a Berber tent were all receiving their installation and finishing touches.  The beauty of this complex of rooms within the buildings, is the attention to detail, all of which is inspired by the Moroccan style. I was particularly fascinated with the terre du lac finish on the walls as well as the incised wainscoting and door surrounds decorating each room. The deeply carved exterior façade was also a work of art as were the ceilings of bamboo, laid in a squared diamond pattern. Iron work embellished the tower, the sweeping stairway to our room, #501, and the iron domed trellis in the garden, with low Moroccan seating covered with kilims and low tables of “silver” trays. A contemporary bar with seating on hammered “silver” seats was attractive, though their dining tables and restaurant service still needed fine tuning.  The riad’s management had not figured out how to deal with the area’s occasional electrical outages when it came time for Henry and me to leave. The electricity had failed and the credit card machine and telephones were not working. Our departure was delayed by the manager who insisted we follow her to a nearby hotel to sort out her problem that had the same problem. Fortunately, Henry had booked us through Bookings.com with a guarantee of payment on the room. Though waiting half an hour to sort this out, we returned to Marrakech with the confidence that all would be professionally handled. Even with this odd inconvenience, I couldn’t imagine a better place to stay in the area.

PHOTOS: Left Column: 1.The complex of buildings in the interior courtyard. 2. Shadows and shapes cast in the light of the setting sun, upon our arrival. 3. Detail: garden bordered with rosemary. 4. The fountain and interior courtyard.5. Detail: exterior façade with deeply carved architectural details. Center, Top: Exterior façade of Riad Ksar Ighnda. Center, Middle: A reference to Greece, the embellishment on the central tower. Center, Bottom: Architectural details with iron work and deep carving. Right Column: 1. The riad within the mountainous landscape. 2. Upper terrace, near our room. 3. Samir, a waiter in his attractive uniform, standing next to the central fountain. 4. The fourth wall: a derelict building adds an interesting dimension. 5. Detail: an example of  the bas relief carving  that decorated the wainscoting and door surrounds of each room in the riad.

JOURDAN ARPELLE-ZIEGLER                                        BACK TO MAP  PAGE