Riad Elizabeth

John and Elizabeth Gilbey gave themselves two choices with there chosen purchased Riad. “Do we renovate... ? or knock it down and start from scratch”. 2,000 Donkey carts later a flat footprint that identified where the Riad once stood and an old rotten door was all they could see for their money. A blank canvas presented opportunities and far reaching advantages over the renovation route. Elizabeth took to her drawingboard; John looked for a building contractor and slowly but surely an extraordinary re-birth materialised on an ancient dusty building plot that any Architect would be proud to put their name against.

There is “No accounting for Taste” it is true. One man’s cure is another man’s poison. Taste changes with the fashion of the time and considerations to what’s in Vogue. It is taste that divides opinion on choice, which naturally includes a vacation destination.

“STYLE” on the other hand is a whole different ball game. The elements, that add real style, are fundamentally maintaining continuity, throughout a concept, without diluting the overall visual impact. Style is an art in itself.

Well done John and Elizabeth….. when it comes to understanding style, spatial awareness, object placement then Riad Elizabeth is up there with the best. Franco-Italian 50’s decadence meets Abstract expressionism automatically transcends, beyond the taste comment, to a setting that Ingmar Bergman would be happy to cast Audrey Hepburn and the likes of Irving Penn and Norman Parkinson would have enjoyed as a back drop for Art of Travel 1950’s calendar girls.

Discovering that John and Elizabeth are “the artists in residence” I was keen to demonstrate my understanding of their influences….. the schools of Paul Klee, Mark Rothko, Jackson Pollock or indeed any within the collection of Peggy Guggenheim…… only to find that these names meant nothing. Indeed… Riad Elizabeth has been designed, constructed and furnished off the back of “raw talent” and a natural sense of style.

The attention to detail is very evident throughout. Even with day-to-day equipment, I found myself staring even the air-con, LG Art Cool, a reverse-cycle cassette that looks more like Bang & Olufsen. Bedside iPod docking station alarm clocks, wi-fi, Conti Italian coffee machine etc. all add to the chic experience.

John and Elizabeth are not trying to simply attract the Coco Chanel and Mary Quants of this world, on the contrary, at starting room rate of 80 Euros per/night, the doors are more than open for all to enjoy.

The walls that surround the Medina of Marrakech have openings (Bab, means door) access to Riad Elizabeth is via Bab Kechich (bab ke shish) or as John reminds his clients “it’s Shish Kebab, pronounced backwards”. As such…. quite easy to remember. Bab Kechich is a pleasant double arch entrance which looks vaguely like the McDonalds chain logo on Elizabeth’s hand drawn map which she arms with each client. There is a real community of Artisans, busy at work, in the vicinity and souk bashing right up to the D’ Jemaa el Fna is the clients first doorstep challenge. John escorts those who want to gain a sense of bearing before braving it out alone.

With Elizabeth one finds a muted overtone of control, steadfastness and composure, a reassuring trait for any individual to possess. This translates very well into the attainment of Riad Elizabeth’s staff and the consequent staff/guest relationship. Elizabeth chuckles “when Riad Elizabeth was finally built and furnished we were struggling to find staff in the immediate vicinity who demonstrated the strong international language skills, which are vital, for our clients. One day there was a knock at the door and a pleasant young girl with fine demeanour introduced herself. “I am looking for work and I speak English”. Instantly and without hesitation I extended my hand, shaking the girls, and announced You’re Hired ! Unbeknown to me that was in fact the only sentence that she knew in English….. but she is progressing well and I admire her tenacity”.