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Riad Botanica

The Story

Sustainability

Sustainability is literally and physically built within our DNA, sustainability and efficiency are the key design aspects of Riad Botanica. At Marrakech’s heart is a thriving 10th-century-old Medina featuring Riad’s (homes) boasting a wide array of design of a central courtyard-surrounded homes. The Medina has stood the test of time are filled with many aspects that ensure seamless comfort and an elevated level of enjoyment of spaces. We think travel can be a force for good, not only for the soul and spirit but to connect deeper with community.

Here at Riad Botanica we are uniting delicious locally sourced food and supremely comfortable mattresses with an incredible design guest house/hotel experience. Our aim is to connect cultures and inspire more conscious travel. A place where locals and travellers meet. Therefore we are committed to being a Guest House/hotel that won’t treat the planet like a hotel.

"We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children."

Riad Botanica's Courtyard

Courtyards are amongst the oldest architectural footprints humans have used in buildings, and they have been the cornerstone of traditional Islamic architectural principles. As part of the renovation design we reshaped the flow of the existing courtyard to compliment the original orange tree gardens and incorporated passive solar design. This traditional practice is being adapted to modern sustainable designs around the world. The natural light that enters each room through our internal courtyard also improves the quality of indoor lighting and makes the space feel more spacious and open reducing the amount of electrical light fittings.

Riad Botanica’s internal courtyard promotes passive cooling as we incorporated a swimming pool into our Riad. This also created the perfect microclimate, which enables the courtyard to help moderate the temperature of the Riad and in the guest rooms. The pool enhances the natural cross ventilation occurring (cross ventilation is a natural phenomenon where wind, fresh air or a breeze enters upon an opening, and flows directly through the space and exits through an opening on the opposite side of the building - where the air pressure is lower). The pool provides additional humidity into cross ventilation this air cooling reduces the need for artificial cooling and reduces the temperature of the whole Riad.

Interior Design

Riad Botanica boasts a distinctive interior design fusing both Australian Artdeco with Moroccan Artdeco. Featuring wallpaper digitally printed from Florence Broadhurst collection. These are handprinted in Australia using State-of-the-art energy-efficient printers FSC certified transfer paper OEKO-TEX® ECO PASSPORT and GREENGUARD Gold certified water-based inks. To compliment we have chosen vintage pieces that support our look and the deeper values of sustainability. Furthermore we work with local craftsmen, carpenters, artists, metalworkers and basket makers to provide all our furniture, fixtures and fittings. Who said you can't blend style and sustainability? @fouraroundtheworld_

Energy

During the renovation we changed and upgraded all the electrics and plumbing throughout the Riad, to support the infrastructure and to enhance our focus on sustainability. We have continued to install LED lights throughout the Riad and played with the traditional light fixtures to ensure we still capture the magic and romance of these hand made brass lights - they all now boast a modern LED twist so they shine in all their glory- however they are now more sustainable. @myestile captured this magical moment of our LED lights

Doors & Windows

Some of the challenges faced by traditional doors and windows in Riads are their poor ability to support energy transfer. So we added bespoke modern door casing to provide insulation for our huge traditional doors, paired with extra thick double sided velvet curtains in order to reduce the heat and cooling loss. We are keenly aware that 85% of all loss of heat and cooling escapes via doors and windows.

Food & Glassware

At Riad Botanica, we use 100% recycled glassware and our dinnerware is all locally designed and made. Our food is locally sourced, we only buy seasonal produce and what is at its best in the market. We believe you are what you eat, so its important to us to ensure we prepare daily and use everything we purchase. All of our food waste is split up to what can be donated to local charities, shared with staff and or given to animals.

Signature Fragrance

Air Aroma strives to be as environmentally friendly as possible. All of Air Aroma’s fragrance bottles and cartridges are 100% recyclable to minimize our contribution to landfills. Our scent diffusers consist mainly of durable aluminum, which, of the most commonly recycled materials, is the only material that is 100% infinitely recyclable. We make products that are built to last, with many diffusers still operating after being in use for over 10 years.

Towels & Soaps

Sustainability is a community effort. Therefore, we invite our guests to be mindful of their towels and robes and ask each guest to help hang them out to dry so we can reduce the impact of laundering. In our bathrooms, guests enjoy refillable shower gels, shampoo and conditioners in locally made recycled glass bottles. We are proud to work with Natus who, like all of the brands we work with, are committed to sustainability using Argan oils and low-impact environmental ingredients. We pride ourselves on using beautiful linen which is of the highest quality and locally sourced therefore we offer a full bed linen change every two nights so as to further reduce our environmental impact.

" They say Paris is for lovers, we say Marrakech is also for lovers of design and culture."

Spaces for you to

Relax & unwind

Chill

by the Pool

Enjoy a dip and chill by the pool underneath the big orange tree in our courtyard. We have daybeds and benourain oversize cushions.

Sip

Moroccan Mint Tea

Proudly served by our staff, you could master the art with a tea-making session or simply just enjoy a cup and read a book.

Eat

Lunch or Dinner

We have a deliciously fresh and healthy menu catering to all food lovers, and we can cater for Gluten-free and Vegetarians.

Sun

bake on roof terrace

Marrakech enjoys over 200 days of sun a year, and our rooftop is designed for sun lovers with sun lounges a day bed, tunes and rooftop bar.

Lunch & Dinner

We offer al a carte and serve a two-course lunch and or 3-course dinner seasonal and fresh daily.

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