24-Hour Room Service: Riad Noir d'Ivoire Marrakech

"Wow, Lulu, wow!" Jill Fechtmann's little lame cat is leaping lopsidedly around the courtyard, chasing shadows, her owner laughing. Lulu appeared on the doorstep of the riad when she was just three days old, and Jill nursed her back to health. She wouldn't have survived on the mean streets of Marrakech. Jill also has two rescued donkeys – and two dogs back in France, along with her cognac-producing husband, Jean-Michel. However, she's no dotty Mrs Doolittle. Jill is a talented interior designer who was born in England, lived in Swaziland for almost 20 years, and has been living in France for the last 12. And the Riad Noir d'Ivoire is not a sanctuary for stray animals but a glamorous haven for medina-bamboozled tourists.

Jill and her husband were looking for a holiday home in Marrakech when they stumbled on the dilapidated property and fell in love with it. It is now a bolthole that is World of Interiors-chic, yet homely and welcoming. The open courtyard centres on a small, milky-green plunge pool, huge-leaved palms at each corner. On one side is the bar, with elegant black sofas, curved leather chairs and an open fireplace. Back-lit alcoves house statues and other objets d'art. On the other side is the small restaurant.

A boutique off one end of the courtyard sells kaftans, babouches (traditional slippers) and local toiletries, while an English-style salon off the other has two deep white sofas, a bookcase stacked with novels ranging from Dickens to Dick Francis, a coffee-table piled high with Moroccan design books, and, on cold evenings, a roaring log fire. Suspended above the courtyard is a giant wrought-iron chandelier. Breakfast is served on the roof terrace amid the potted plants, slatted loungers and intricately carved pergolas.

LOCATION

Riad Noir d'Ivoire, Dar Yad Al Amane 31, Derb Jdid Bab Doukkala, Marrakech, Morocco (00 212 24 38 09 75; www. noir-d-ivoire.com). The riad is in the north-east section of the medina, near the Bab Doukkala Mosque, and around 20 minutes' walk to the Jemma el Fna.

Time from international airport: It's a 15-minute drive from the airport, then a 10-minute walk through the maze of alleyways. The owners will meet you and bring you back to the riad.

COMFORTABLE?

Seven previous guests have ordered beds identical to those in the riad's rooms, because they can't believe how well they've slept – despite the muezzin's early-morning call to prayer. There are four double rooms and two suites. Our room, the Elephant Suite, had a small Juliet balcony overlooking the courtyard, a huge fireplace over which was hung a painting of two elephants, and a display of African masks that Jill collected in Swaziland. The bathroom featured a huge, round beaten-silver bath tub and a monsoon shower.

Freebies: Mineral water and a bowl of dried apricots and roasted almonds. There are sunhats to borrow in the wardrobe, and a straw basket for shopping.

Keeping in touch: Before heading off into the labyrinthine alleyways, Jill gives you a local mobile phone programmed with her number and that of the riad. If you get lost, you just ring home and they come and get you.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Doubles cost from ¿€180 (£129), including breakfast. The Elephant Suite is ¿€280 (£200), including breakfast.

I'm not paying that: Riad Ariha (00 212 24 37 58 50; www.riadariha.com) has chic, whitewashed rooms in the Sidi Bin Slimane area of the medina, from €70 (£50) including breakfast.

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