Jemaa el-Fna, the beating heart of Marrakech, welcomes us with its unparalleled atmosphere, a true street theater. We walk through the alleys to the heart of the medina quarter, enraptured by African and Andalusian influences.

One moment and here we are in Nyla. The riad surprises us with its multicultural soul, the typical traditional Moroccan house, once a luxury residence for members of the royal family or wealthier citizens, converted into a “maison d’hôtes“. The best to taste Morocco, in all its nuances. The architectural scheme is that of a typical Roman domus with the inner courtyard surrounded by a columned porch. The exterior is protected by large wooden gates that seem designed to isolate it from the hectic city life. This is indeed the first impact that Riad Nyla offers us, a well-deserved decompression, the transition from the rumbling outside noise to the quietness of the lobby.

We find ourselves in a patio with columns and a mosaic floor, overlooked by the rooms; in the center, a large pool holds Japanese carps, surrounded by the coolness of the plants. The welcome is typical of the place: a welcome with Moroccan green tea, fascination and discretion. The typical synthesis of Moroccan identity is enriched by stylistic and architectural inserts of western and classical origin, from the noble golden veins of Calacatta to the Pietra Piasentina on the floor. These coexist with local architectural features, such as the use of arches, carpentry with traditional patterns – moucharaby – and zelij, the white handmade ceramics of Marrakech, which combine to create a visual unity.

We leave our bags in the room and head for the wellness center, where we are struck by the choice of solutions aimed at offering a multifaceted and intense multi-sensory experience. Here Porfido Marrone ceramics on the walls and columns of the swimming pool combine with the green Moroccan zelij to create the suggestion of a warm cave where an underground river flows surrounded by vegetation. The black marble cladding the dome reproduces a starry vault, with its ivory veins like comet stars running through its full color. The sinuosity of the forms and the tactility of the materials allude to an archaic dimension, the recovery of ancestral rituals and gestures.

The restaurant also proposes the dual architectural dialectics of “tradition-cosmopolitanism” and “luxury-intimacy”. Every detail of the environment is carefully thought out. The mosaic on the floor echoes the golden veins of the Calacatta cladding the table as well as the hall counter; each compositional choice contributes to creating an atmosphere, a special world. Here you can taste typical Moroccan and international dishes, bearing an Italian touch.

We stay in the Kaïa suite, a luxuriously designed room, which is never overpowering. The interplay of color and texture alternates light shades and dark notes, golden and metal accents. The stylistic contrast in the mosaic floor is particularly stylish: ceramics in the shades Bruno (with an effect inspired by oxidized copper) and Avorio are worked in squares and reproduce the typical design of traditional Moroccan houses.
We find the ivory texture again in the bathroom, where the choice of re-proposing the circle as a pattern of stylistic continuity – here also in the shape of the washbasin – seems to evoke a desire for a return to perfect, pure forms. The surface of the vanity top feels as soft to the touch as a freshly plastered wall.

On the bedside table, before falling asleep, one last look at our to-do-list:

• Palais de Bahia: get lost in the LABYRINTH of rooms of “architectural craziness” wanted by the grand vizier, to prevent wives and concubines from meeting;
• Souq: streets of the medina, SHOPPING TOUR. To be savored like a good book, therein lies the history and soul of the country;
• Dar El Bacha: MASTER hand workers in the courtyards;
• Fondation Dar Bellarj: exhibition on Moroccan culture and ART; after doing, thinking;
• Hot-air balloon tour: A VERTICAL VIEW of the city! Weather permitting;
• Jemaa el-Fna by night: the heart of Marrakech, A MUST-SEE;

Silence immediately welcomes us. Just enough time for a smile and little more. A small yawn. Good night folks.

Jemaa el-Fna, the beating heart of Marrakech, welcomes us with its unparalleled atmosphere, a true street theater. We walk through the alleys to the heart of the medina quarter, enraptured by African and Andalusian influences.

One moment and here we are in Nyla. The riad surprises us with its multicultural soul, the typical traditional Moroccan house, once a luxury residence for members of the royal family or wealthier citizens, converted into a “maison d’hôtes“. The best to taste Morocco, in all its nuances. The architectural scheme is that of a typical Roman domus with the inner courtyard surrounded by a columned porch. The exterior is protected by large wooden gates that seem designed to isolate it from the hectic city life. This is indeed the first impact that Riad Nyla offers us, a well-deserved decompression, the transition from the rumbling outside noise to the quietness of the lobby.

We find ourselves in a patio with columns and a mosaic floor, overlooked by the rooms; in the center, a large pool holds Japanese carps, surrounded by the coolness of the plants. The welcome is typical of the place: a welcome with Moroccan green tea, fascination and discretion. The typical synthesis of Moroccan identity is enriched by stylistic and architectural inserts of western and classical origin, from the noble golden veins of Calacatta to the Pietra Piasentina on the floor. These coexist with local architectural features, such as the use of arches, carpentry with traditional patterns – moucharaby – and zelij, the white handmade ceramics of Marrakech, which combine to create a visual unity.

We leave our bags in the room and head for the wellness center, where we are struck by the choice of solutions aimed at offering a multifaceted and intense multi-sensory experience. Here Porfido Marrone ceramics on the walls and columns of the swimming pool combine with the green Moroccan zelij to create the suggestion of a warm cave where an underground river flows surrounded by vegetation. The black marble cladding the dome reproduces a starry vault, with its ivory veins like comet stars running through its full color. The sinuosity of the forms and the tactility of the materials allude to an archaic dimension, the recovery of ancestral rituals and gestures.

The restaurant also proposes the dual architectural dialectics of “tradition-cosmopolitanism” and “luxury-intimacy”. Every detail of the environment is carefully thought out. The mosaic on the floor echoes the golden veins of the Calacatta cladding the table as well as the hall counter; each compositional choice contributes to creating an atmosphere, a special world. Here you can taste typical Moroccan and international dishes, bearing an Italian touch.

We stay in the Kaïa suite, a luxuriously designed room, which is never overpowering. The interplay of color and texture alternates light shades and dark notes, golden and metal accents. The stylistic contrast in the mosaic floor is particularly stylish: ceramics in the shades Bruno (with an effect inspired by oxidized copper) and Avorio are worked in squares and reproduce the typical design of traditional Moroccan houses.
We find the ivory texture again in the bathroom, where the choice of re-proposing the circle as a pattern of stylistic continuity – here also in the shape of the washbasin – seems to evoke a desire for a return to perfect, pure forms. The surface of the vanity top feels as soft to the touch as a freshly plastered wall.

On the bedside table, before falling asleep, one last look at our to-do-list:

• Palais de Bahia: get lost in the LABYRINTH of rooms of “architectural craziness” wanted by the grand vizier, to prevent wives and concubines from meeting;
• Souq: streets of the medina, SHOPPING TOUR. To be savored like a good book, therein lies the history and soul of the country;
• Dar El Bacha: MASTER hand workers in the courtyards;
• Fondation Dar Bellarj: exhibition on Moroccan culture and ART; after doing, thinking;
• Hot-air balloon tour: A VERTICAL VIEW of the city! Weather permitting;
• Jemaa el-Fna by night: the heart of Marrakech, A MUST-SEE;

Silence immediately welcomes us. Just enough time for a smile and little more. A small yawn. Good night folks.

Un attimo ed eccoci a Nyla. Il riad ci sorprende con la sua anima multiculturale, la tipica casa tradizionale marocchina, un tempo residenze di lusso per i membri della famiglia reale o i cittadini più ricchi, riconvertita a “maison d’hôtes”. Quanto di meglio per assaporare il Marocco, in tutte le sue sfumature. È questo infatti il primo impatto che ci offre Riad Nyla, una meritata decompressione, il passaggio dal frastuono dei rumori esterni alla quiete della hall.

Ci troviamo in un patio con colonne e pavimento a mosaico, sul quale si affacciano le camere; al centro, un’ampia vasca custodisce delle carpe giapponesi, circondate dal fresco delle piante. L’accoglienza è quella tipica del luogo: il benvenuto con il tè verde marocchino, il fascino e la discrezione. Ad arricchire la sintesi tipica dell’identità marocchina, inserti stilistici e architettonici di matrice occidentale e classica, dalle nobili venature dorate del Calacatta alla Pietra Piasentina a pavimento. Questi convivono con tipicità architettoniche locali, come l’uso degli archi, la falegnameria con motivi tradizionali, i moucharabieh e lo zelij, le ceramiche artigianali bianche di Marrakech che concorrono a creare un’unità visiva. Lasciamo i bagagli in camera e ci dirigiamo verso la Spa, dove ci colpisce la scelta di soluzioni mirate a offrire un’esperienza polisensoriale sfaccettata e intensa: la ceramica in Porfido Marrone su pareti e colonne della piscina si abbina al verde dello zelij marocchino creando la suggestione di una tiepida grotta dove scorre un fiume sotterraneo attorniato da vegetazione. Il marmo nero di cui è rivestita la cupola riproduce una volta stellata, con le sue venature avorio come stelle comete che ne attraversano la cromia piena. La sinuosità delle forme e la tattilità dei materiali alludono a una dimensione arcaica, al recupero di ritualità e modi ancestrali.

Anche il ristorante propone la doppia dialettica architettonica “tradizione-cosmopolitismo” e “lusso-intimità”. Ogni dettaglio dell’ambiente è ragionato con estrema cura. Il mosaico a pavimento riprende le venature dorate del Calacatta che riveste il tavolo nonché del comptoir dell’ingresso; ogni scelta compositiva concorre a creare un mondo, un’atmosfera. La cucina alterna piatti tipici marocchini ad altri internazionali, ma con un tocco italiano.

Alloggiamo nella suite Kaïa, un ambiente dal design lussuoso, ma mai sovrastante. Il gioco cromatico e materico alterna tinte chiare e note scure, accenti dorati e metallici. Particolarmente raffinato il contrasto stilistico nel pavimento lavorato a mosaico, dove le ceramiche nelle tonalità Bruno (con un effetto ispirato al rame ossidato) e Avorio sono lavorate a quadrati, riproducendo il disegno tipico delle case tradizionali marocchine. Ritroviamo la texture avorio in bagno, dove la scelta di riproporre il cerchio come motivo di continuità stilistica – qui anche nella forma del lavabo – sembra evocare un desiderio di ancestralità e di ritorno alle forme perfette e pure. La superficie del top al tatto è morbida come una parete appena intonacata.

Sul comodino, prima di addormentarci, un ultimo sguardo alla nostra to-do-list:

• Palais de Bahia: perdersi nel LABIRINTO di stanze della “follia architettonica” voluto dal gran visir, per evitare che spose e concubine si incontrassero;
• Souq: vie della medina, SHOPPING TOUR. Da assaporare come un buon libro, lì è la storia e l’anima del paese;
• Dar El Bacha: I MAESTRI artigiani all’opera nei cortili;
• Fondation Dar Bellarj: mostra sulla cultura e l’ARTE MAROCCHINA; dopo il fare, il pensare;
• Tour in mongolfiera: Una PROSPETTIVA VERTICALE della città! Tempo permettendo;
• Jemaa el Fna by night: il cuore di Marrakech, IMMANCABILE;

Il silenzio ci accoglie immediatamente. Appena il tempo di un sorriso e poco più. Un piccolo sbadiglio. Notte mondo.