This riad, one of the finest in Marrakech began as a legendary Moroccan restaurant in the 1940's. Today it is as an exquisite small hotel and its restaurant is still one of the most fashionable dining spots in the city. Located within the walls of the old medina close to the bustling Jemma El Fna, the riad is perfectly placed to explore the city yet an oasis of utter tranquility; private yet with an atmosphere of ease, pleasure and gaiety. Refreshing mint tea seems to appear from nowhere while you relax in the flower filled patios, the elegant terraces or the refined luxury of your rooms. There is another refreshing surprise for guests. Twenty minutes out of town in a glorious garden next door to the King's royal tree nursery is the riad's lovely private swimming pool. It lies fragrant and secluded behind high earthen walls, bordered by rosemary bushes, olive trees and roses with the Atlas Mountains in the distance. You can spend all day here, when you have had your fill of the city, lazing by the pool and lunching at the bar under the fig trees. The cooking lessons are in the Kasbah in the gardens by the pool. Classes are intimate, limited to no more than eight and everyone has their own workspace. The teacher is none other than a dada- a traditional cook with hands of gold. Aided by a translator the dada shares her ancient and precious knowledge. Secrets are passed on- a briouate dough or a flan aux amandes, a weightless couscous, a pastilla that melts in the mouth. Vegetables come from the hotel's kitchen garden - artichokes as tender as flowers, shiny eggplants, tomatoes the likes of which are no longer to be found - as well as coriander, mint, spices and fruit. Success is in what comes out of the oven, delicious food that you eat under the olive and fig trees. After a days cooking or exploring Marrakech sink into the hotel's sumptuous hammam perhaps followed by a massage or a mud bath and finish with dinner under the hand painted ceiling of the restaurant. However, the rooms are so beautiful that it may be tempting never to leave them at all.