Riad

A riad is the classic Moroccan house turned inside out, high blank walls on the street side, a lush garden courtyard with a fountain at the center, and rooms opening onto it from every floor. The word means "gardens" in Arabic. Since the 1990s, hundreds of historic riads in Marrakech and Fes have been bought and restored into intimate boutique hotels, usually with just 4 to 12 rooms. The most famous: Royal Mansour (a cluster of 53 private riads designed for the King of Morocco), El Fenn, Riad Enija, L'Hôtel Marrakech by Jasper Conran. Booking a whole riad for your group is one of the great luxury-travel tricks, you essentially rent a small palace.