We were lucky enough to enjoy a lunch and a tour of El Fenn during a recent trip to Marrakech. We entered the oasis of calm from a busy street in the Medina, through a designer boutique, and were escorted to the rooftop – where the design, colour and view of the Koutoubia Mosque is nothing short of spectacular. Everything about El Fenn is unique – the aesthetics, the atmosphere and the art. No two rooms are the same, guests are treated as family, many returning year after year to try a different suite.
El Fenn is all about a home from home experience and it springs from the fact that the two original owners didn’t plan on opening a hotel at all. In 2002, Howell James and Vanessa Branson were hunting for a holiday house in Marrakech. At the end of a long day, the close friends walked into what was then a near derelict riad. By the time they left an hour later, they were on the way to owning not just one Marrakech home – but several. Unknown to them, the main building (today centred on the courtyard that houses our reception) was being sold with a string of smaller properties – some with only one or two rooms. It was only when Howell, a former permanent secretary in the Cabinet Office who has also held senior positions at the BBC and Christie’s, and Vanessa – an art collector, gallerist and patron – signed the sale papers that they realised just how much house they were getting. They took a leap of faith and decided to open a small guesthouse.
Vanessa and Howell’s original vision was to use the large scale rooms as a backdrop for strong colours, the abundant artisan skills found in Morocco, deep baths, powerful showers, handmade beds, luxury linen, and delicious, simple food. Mixed in would be serious contemporary art and striking mid-century modern furniture. El Fenn opened its doors in 2004 with six bedrooms, soon gained a cult following and expanded into neighbouring properties. The next phase of El Fenn’s life came in 2011 with the start of a two-year refurbishment that built on the original look and feel. In 2020, El Fenn expanded into two neighbouring riads to create new rooms, a new roof top pool and the ground floor bar. In 2022, we completed the development of ‘Colonel House’ – adding ten more rooms and suites and linking our main building with our former annex to bring the whole of El Fenn under one roof for the first time.
With its trademark blend of cool and a distinct feeling of home-away-from-home, El Fenn now stretches across 13 interconnected riads and spans 2,700 sq meters of the Marrakech medina. Today El Fenn has 42 rooms and suites, plus a 1,300 sq meter rooftop. The hotel’s drama and decorative abundance has earned it a reputation as one of Marrakech’s most beautiful hotels – with Architectural Digest calling it ‘Instagram gold’. Paintings, colours, fabrics, furniture and spaces are constantly being repositioned, reinvigorated or reinvented so that each time you come back, you’ll find something new.
We were shown around the exquisite hotel (spanning 13 interconnected riads) by the informative general manager Karim Irrgang, whose passion for El Fenn is infectious. We sampled lunch – an explosion of Morrocan flavours, and cocktails on the rooftop bar, which were sublime. Mixologists are on hand to craft the perfect sunny day creation. You could easily spend the whole afternoon here, away from the hustle and bustle of the Medina.
As you wander through the collection of riads, the vast collection of art accentuates the striking decor. Art and culture is a key thread in the fabric of El Fenn. Co-owner Vannessa Branson brought pieces from her private art collection to hang in the hotel when it opened, and today works by contemporary artists including Fred Pollock and Antony Gormley hang throughout El Fenn. To experience Marrakech is to be immersed in its colour, vibrancy and artisanal heritage and El Fenn’s interiors reflect this. Think saturated colours, bespoke details and bedrooms filled with art, and pieces of classic mid-century design. There’s something to see everywhere you look, you leave feeling refreshed – and more than a little inspired.
For more information visit El Fenn’s website
