Three Houses, One Soul; The Ryad Dyor

The neighbourhood of Sidi Ben Slimane El Jazouli, north of the medina, takes its name from a fifteenth-century Sufi saint, one of the city's Seven Saints. It is a living, residential quarter. Three riads stood back to back here for generations, each with its own courtyard, orange trees and zellige. One held the Ennafora fountain; another, two palm trees; the third, smaller, worked as an antechamber to the rest.

Yvonne Hulst, Dutch, and Alberto Cortés, Spanish, made their name in Ibiza designing luxury villas, she leading interiors, he arriving from fashion and furniture design. Together they founded Ksar Living. When they found the three riads, they did not see a property deal. They saw something irreplaceable: the truth of lived-in architecture. The decision was to merge all three into a single space, a labour of love and a meticulous renovation that took a decade.

Each of the ten suites was transformed one at a time, a constant negotiation between what had to stay, the vaulted ceilings, the carved cedar, the original zellige, the Ennafora fountain, and what could arrive from elsewhere: copper lanterns, Balinese mirrors, tadelakt bathtubs, Philippe Starck chairs, antiques gathered from across the world. The maallems remade certain tiles by hand where the originals could not be saved.

Three riads joined by shared courtyards and a shared rooftop. The first courtyard holds the plunge pool scattered with petals, bamboo, and a mirrored wall. The second holds the Ennafora fountain. The third is the main sitting room. Ten suites in total, the Berber, the Nour, the Sabba, the Basha Deluxe, among them. The rooftop, spread across three levels, is the most spectacular in the city.

There are hotels that look like riads. Ryad Dyor is a riad, that was transformed into a luxury hotel.

Ryad Dyor. Marrakech Medina. Ten suites. Available on reservation.