P'tit Habibi

THE NAME MEANS LITTLE DARLING – and you’ll soon see what makes P’tit Habibi so adorable. From the petal-strewn splash pool on the top floor, the view across the rooftops of old Marrakech is a winner.

So too is P’tit Habibi’s cool white courtyard, where you can lounge on huge cushions, sip mint tea and enjoy a private cinema screening by starlight and flickering candles. With just four bedrooms, this intimate riad has all the feel of a private house – so you could always bring a few close friends and throw your own house party.

Tucked into the north end of the Medina, the house springs some surprises as you enter from the dusty city streets. Inside, clean-cut cool Nordic lines (architect owner Knut Hovland hails from Norway) are overlaid  with authentic Medina in a fusion of modernist and Moroccan.

Home from home

You'll love some of the details here – polished tadelakt floors, traditional Zellige tiling, exquisite hand-painted doors and wardrobes, and stylish fabrics.

Choosing your quarters for the night is a tough call. There’s the aptly-named Love Nest – just room for the two of you and the big crisply dressed double bed – or the pink Peruche room with its big vaulted bathroom and extrovert bird motifs.

The slinky White Room has a fireplace and French balcony as well as a deliciously private cushion-strewn daybed. The quirky-retro Wangarata suite meanwhile sports moose antlers over the bed, American pinball mirrors in the bathroom and ‘60s Moroccan photographs.

What else? There’s a cosy salon whose retro bucket chairs come decked in dayglo florals, and an open fireplace for cool winter nights. You’ll find shaded loungers up on the roof – perfect for stretching out with a book – and – should your own turtle dove desert you – a friendly pet turtle called Shukram. Play tunes on the iPod in the lounge, help yourselves to drinks in the kitchen, order in some pizzas or sit down to a home-cooked dinner… it’s your P’tit home-from-home. You'll almost certainly get chatting with your fellow guests.

First-rate hospitality is the other big pull at P'tit Habibi. Guests rave about the riad’s hosts Abdeloufi and Fatima, for whom nothing, it seems, is too much trouble. Whether it’s breakfast in the courtyard, champagne on the rooftop or a private courtyard screening of a Hollywood classic – your ever obliging hosts will be there to make it happen.

© Room for Romance