Where we stayed · Marrakech

Riad
Botanica.

A house in the Marrakech medina, built around its courtyard. The pool among the plants, carved plaster and wood above it, our room, and lunch at the riad.

3 min read

Seen from above, one of us resting on a daybed beside the courtyard pool, among potted plants

Carved white plaster around a wooden window screen, with the courtyard pool below

Introduction

A riad is a house built around an open courtyard, turned inward rather than towards the street. Riad Botanica, in the Marrakech medina, keeps to that plan.

This page covers what we saw and photographed during our stay: the courtyard and its pool, the carved plaster and wood around it, our room, the salon, and the table at lunch.

If you are planning the city itself, our Marrakech guide covers the medina, the gardens and a day in Agafay. This page stays inside the riad; for room types, rates and services, the riad's own site is the reference.

01 — The courtyard

Seen from above

Many of our photographs were taken from the floors above, looking down. From there the courtyard reads almost like a plan: a pool set into the floor, a star pattern in the tiles, trees and potted plants arranged around the edges, daybeds beside the water.

Plants fill much of the courtyard, from the trees rising through the open centre to bougainvillea in pots at the water's edge, and because the courtyard is open to the sky, the light on it changes through the day.

Carved plaster and wooden screens frame the openings above, so the courtyard is also what you see from inside the house.

The courtyard from above: a pool with a star motif in the tiles, trees and plants around it

From an upper floor, one of us standing in the courtyard below

One of us beside the courtyard pool, next to tall carved wooden doors

02 — Inside

Our room, and the salon

Our room had a wide bed with a carved wooden headboard and deep red bedding, with only a few other things in view.

In what we saw, doors, ceilings and screens are worked in wood and plaster, and the colours stay warm and deep: red, green, and the white of the carved plaster.

The riad also has a salon, with a long green sofa and cushions: an indoor place to sit when the courtyard is in full sun.

Our room: a bed with a carved wooden headboard and red bedding

The salon, with a long green sofa and cushions

03 — The table

Lunch at the riad

We had lunch at the riad, at a table laid beside the pool: a white cloth, black-and-white plates, gold cutlery and napkins embroidered with the riad's initial, then salads and small dishes brought out together.

Our pictures show the setting more than the menu, so we leave the dishes to the riad itself. If you would like lunch there, check directly with the riad whether it is available during your stay.