This is my lovely Italian friend
Prince Fabrizio Ruspoli's hotel -
La Maison Arabe-and he's had it for 30 years. It's simply beautiful because it's luxury but exactly what a villa should be in
Morocco.
I'd never ever stay in a
Novotel but
La Mamounia is still very special.
I love
La Maison Arabe because it's discreet, stylish yet quite grand. Prince Fabrizio is the most charming host and why I love the place is that he actually abhors the way Marrakesh and Morocco is going..such as seeing billboards for
Louis Vuitton or
Cartier and "duty free shops(bearing in mind of course Fabrizio is pals with the actual people who have these names as brands and he once took me to drinks at
Yves St Laurent's wonderful villa followed by dinner down a dark winding alley in the Souk where behind a battered door we entered the most wondrous villa and the hostess was
Madame De Gaul. It
was 1949 but she was a nice old girl.
The cost is cheaper than any 5 star boring chain hotel..and
DO NOT go near
Jasper Conran's disgraceful "Villa" hotel
which is not only
twee and DULL but Jasper (he's a nice bloke) had the temerity to think he could design tiles better than Moroccan craftsman have for centuries. Oh the arrogance of the British ! (
not you of course JK )
Tell him Hedda sent you. But he'll probably double the price as I don't think I paid my last bar bill.