Inside Marrakech’s New 14-Room Boutique Hotel, Izza
There’s an alchemy of traditional craftsmanship and contemporary art within the walls of this destination
Compared to the frenetic nature of the Marrakesh medina, where the air is filled with the murmur of vendors and the beeping of mopeds as they zig through the narrow streets, Izza feels like a breath of fresh air—a garden of peace that transports you from the noise and swallows you into an inner labyrinth guided by art.
In the mid 20th century, the Red City became a hub for hedonistic intellectuals and creative freedom seekers in search of a color-filled, bohemian lifestyle. This included Bill Willis, one of Marrakech’s most famous architects and a renowned socialite, who visited the city with John Paul Getty Jr. Willis fell so deeply in love with the vibrancy of Marrakech that he decided to spend the rest of his life there, living in a property only a couple of blocks away from the recently opened Izza. Soon enough, he became the leading light of Moroccan-style interior design, bringing to life many important mansions in the city including Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé’s Villa Oasis and Guy and Marie-Hélène de Rothschild’s Dar Zuylen.
Willis’ signature became a fusion of modernist principles with a deep appreciation of traditional Moroccan elements ranging from flamboyant tiles to carved woodwork, majestic fireplaces and locally sourced materials to support local craftsmanship. Nods to this style are evident throughout Izza, both figuratively and literally, complete with a mix and match of vintage, traditional and contemporary art. Bill’s Bar is perhaps one of the most notable tributes to the architect, with a number of artifacts and stories of the socialite’s notorious life hung across the walls, as well as a trompe-l’œil floor (which mirrors that of Rick’s Bar featured in the film Casablanca) and tadelakt walls that replicate those found in Willis’ home.
In every corner of the hotel, design seamlessly blends traditional Moroccan craftsmanship (evident in the beautiful brass lighting, intricately hand-cut zellige tiles and richly woven rugs) with vintage and mid-century Italian furnishings. Regarding the latter, elegant Murano chandeliers from the 1950s feature in the bedrooms. Each of the fourteen rooms, named after and inspired by Morocco’s counter-culture icons of the past, maintains this concept while also embodying their own unique identity.
Art is at the core of the hotel: both a source of inspiration and vision for the future as well as a way to support and encourage artists and emerging creatives. It is enriched with a collection of 300 works of art worth over five million dollars, acting as a “museum in the medina.” The gallery consists of contemporary Moroccan works as well as one of the largest physical collections of digital and generative art from around the world. Venturing through the space is a mesmerizing experience. There are large-scale photographs from Leila Alaoui’s renowned “Les Marocains” series, nine “motion portraits” by Ethiopian artist Yatreda, a magnificent AI creation by Refik Anadol displayed on a two-meter screen and inspired by millions of images captured by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter telescope, as well as 24 photographs from Sebastian Salgado’s evocative “Amazonia” series.
Run by Chef Ahmad El Hardoum, the hotel’s terrace restaurant also embraces the coexistence of tradition and contemporary. It’s an ode to Moroccan cuisine revisited with European and Mediterranean influences. The menu consists of sharing plates balancing seasonal vegetables, meat and fish sourced locally.
It has taken eight years to complete Izza, yet it comes as no surprise considering all the interconnected elements that work together like parts of a puzzle. The result is a complete picture where each attribute has been placed exactly where it’s supposed to be.
What are your thoughts?