Maison MK, Marrakech review: Midnight at the oasis

Chloe Darling discovers an exotic Moroccan hideaway that even appeals to Jamie Oliver's tastes.

I've always been a fan of Jamie Oliver's food and now I know I share his taste in hotels, too. Like me, the chef was a recent guest at Maison MK, a newly opened riad in the heart of Marrakech. I think I can speak for both of us when I say that this is a jewel of a hotel "a drop in paradise" to use the correct translation of "riad". Or just plain "pukka", as Jamie would say.

The foodie star was in town to film a series on Moroccan cooking. With the pick of the city's five-star establishments at his disposal, he went for this discreet house, tucked down an alleyway in the old medina. The man has taste. Opened in April 2008 and owned by a London-based fashion photographer, Maison MK is a chic oasis from the craziness of Marrakech and yet just five minutes' walk from the snake charmers, plier-wielding dentists and fortune tellers of Djemaa el-Fna square. In other words, the best of both worlds.

Checking in on a Friday night after a swift three-hour flight from London (budget airline EasyJet makes Marrakech an affordably exotic UK side trip), I felt immediately at home. Just two storeys high and built around an open-to-the-skies courtyard, it has all of the luxury that you want from a good hotel but none of the red tape. Simply leave your bags in your elegantly romantic room (more on that later), kick off your shoes and head up to the rooftop for a gin and tonic and some star gazing. You won't be bothered by too many other guests. With only six rooms, the beauty of Maison MK is that it feels like a private club, offering impeccable service only to those clever enough to be in on its secret charms.

And those charms are many. From the minute you enter you're clearly somewhere special. A plunge pool in the centre of the courtyard is the heart of the house. Flanked by lounges and beaten-silver-topped low tables, it's somewhere to linger, watch the comings and goings in the riad and listen to the birds outside. Yes, birds. One of the many benefits of being in the heart of the medieval medina is that the narrow cobbled streets were built centuries before cars dictated road width. All you'll hear of the outside world are birds, locals chatting and the mullahs chanting the five-times-daily call to prayer from the surrounding mosques' speaker systems. From 6.30am. As I said, it's an exotic weekend away. You're clearly not in Europe any more.

Tucked off the courtyard are two cave-like rooms that were made for lounging. In one, velvet cushions in hot shades of orange and red are piled under a huge chandelier made of traditional Moroccan glass lanterns, cascading in three tiers from the ceiling. The effect is stunning. In the other room, books, magazines and a Wi-Fi-connected iBook are at the guests' disposal.

This technological attention to detail extends to the bedrooms, where iPods are loaded with ambient tunes, and a fully charged mobile is ready for you to take whenever you leave the house. A very nice touch.

That's if you can bring yourself to leave the bedroom. Mine felt like my own private den, all smoothly polished surfaces of traditional tadelakt plaster, luxurious rugs and bed throws, soft lighting and freshly scattered rose petals. The effect is sumptuous. And I wasn't even in the master suite I bet Jamie was. In there, pink and purple glass lanterns hang from the high wood-panelled ceiling, a canopy of aubergine silk hovers over the huge bed and there's even a fireplace for chilly Moroccan nights.

Useful though a fireplace may be, you're likely to get much more out of the rooftop sun loungers. Blue-skied and very hot on the February weekend that I was there (while London froze), Marrakech is an ideal choice for a blast of winter sun. Each lounger comes with its own straw sun hat (another example of the riad's clever attention to detail) or you can seek complete shade in the muslin-draped recesses of a cushion-piled daybed. Maison MK's roof overlooks surrounding houses, so not only do you have an unobstructed view across the city to the snow-capped Atlas Mountains in the distance but you also get to have a nose at everyone else's rooftop terrace. Safe to say that Maison MK's is the best.