SEMBLANCE OR REALITY...

Photos : © Dar Sabra - DR

Are we in Mexico, in the sierra or a hacienda? No, we’re in the Kingdom of Morocco, at Dar Sabra, an oasis carved out of the heart of Marrakech’s mythical Palmeraie.

DAR SABRA: THE ART OF LIVING

Dar Sabra is a hotel where the art of hospitality, central to the Moroccan way of life, is cultivated in an avant-garde setting dedicated to contemporary art. With its bold cubist-cum-futurist architecture in the style of Mexican architect Luis Barragan, Dar Sabra is unique in its conception as a showcase for contemporary sculpture and works of art – monumental pieces designed “in situ” by internationally renowned artists. These works of art offer Dar Sabra’s guests a cultured detour where beauty goes hand in hand with goodness and well-being.

Tableau N° 1: art and architecture, the perfect match!

Photos : © Dar Sabra - DR

At the hotel entrance, Richard Di Rosa’s Cow winks at you in greeting. It sets the tone, for at Dar Sabra art interpellates rather than imposes! The restraint of the pinkish-ochre walls gives no hint of the spectacular staging lying within, orchestrated by François Chapoutot, the project’s founder, advised by art critic Gérard Xuriguera.

DISCOVERY. An international art collection. Contemporary sculptures carefully sited to be read in their surroundings easily.

The White Pyramid by Dutch artist Marc Brusse

Dar Sabra in letters by the Argentinean Leopold Maler

Their appeal is universal and timeless.

Mexican artist Rodrigo Solorzano’s powerful gorilla / Metamorphosis sculpture by French artist Guy de Rougemont

While decipherable by everybody, these works succeed in addressing each of us individually.

Tableau N°2: Settle at will.

Photos : © Dar Sabra - DR

A row of chairs with scrolled green backs like the croisiers of tree fern lines the terrace, inviting contemplation. A succession of baroque chairs, a profusion of cacti, a repetition of objects, African coins and ceramics by Erro – just some of the wonders which feast our eyes and give soul to the buildings they adorn.

ALIGHTING.

Whether standing alone or in a row, the chair remains the centrepiece of a picture composed at will, as and when you choose to settle.

The comfort of the deep, immaculately white sofa beckons to you, invites you to curl up by the fireplace in the winter salon.

Rather more stylised, the black wall seat, with its African touch, provides respite on summer evenings in the outdoor salon.

Tableau N°3: Chamber of all your desires.

Photos : © Dar Sabra - DR

In a setting of the utmost refinement, softness and restraint, the bedroom is the guardian of our sweetest dreams. Here in the private villa’s bedroom, the monastic note so conducive to restfulness is not without a touch of voluptuousness – fur hide draped across the foot of the bed.

RESTING.

“This voyage was merely a dream, we never stepped beyond the chamber of our thoughts.” André Gide, « Urien’s Voyage »

The exquisiteness of the Indian room

The carmine atmosphere of the Afghan room

The nomad rooms take us on motionless voyages to distant lands, those of our dreams as well as of our thoughts.

The authenticity of the Moroccan room

The zen-ness of the Asian room

Tableau N°4: Gently kissing the water.

Photos : © Dar Sabra - DR

Our gaze is permanently solicited and surprised as the landscape transforms with ever-changing light and shadow. Artworks are also transformed as the colours of their materials darken. The arch spanning the swimming pool – creation of Mauro Staccioli – forms an oval with its own reflection, red and perfect like a kiss. In the background, like a giant screen, the graffiti-covered wall by the well-known American artist Seen looms audaciously. It flares up, catching fire, drowning the walls in blood-reds.

BATHING.

The omnipresence of water: infinite pools for infinite pleasure.

The massiveness of the walls highlights the verticality of the columns by Japanese artist Saturo Sato. The pool for the nomad rooms perfectly echoes the architecture at Dar Sabra.

At the foot of a wave frozen in action, one of Peter Klasen’s “bathing beauties” stretches out as if on a pebble beach.

The private villa offers the ultimate luxury of bathing in privacy beneath the gaze of one of Erro’s heroines. The swimming pool for the suites in the new wing, blissful when the sun is at its zenith, equally magical by moonlight.

Tableau N°5: nights more splendid than days.

Photos : © Dar Sabra - DR

In the newly created suites designed by architects AW2, interiors fuse with exteriors. Light floods through the large bay windows in a play of reflections, and, as if having broken in, the large ceramic face of a woman by Islandic artist Erro enters the room. This sensual and unexpected presence momentarily interrupts the serenity of the place in a splash of colour.

RELAXING. So step inside and relax in the inner garden of your room.

The olive tree and Erro’s composition have grafted themselves onto the room’s decor, juxtaposing Japanese print and comic strip. Just two colours, white and brown, were chosen to underline the purity of decoration and perfection of finish in these suites.

A precious box inlaid with mother-of-pearl, bath towels of the finest cotton… Great attention is paid to the beauty of every detail.

Tableau N°6: Luncheon in the sunshine.

Photos : © Dar Sabra - DR

As soon as the days get a little warmer, or when the sun is beating down, meals are taken in the garden, in the cool shade of the summer restaurant. Erro’s heroines make their presence felt once again on the walls. Barbarellas from another world, facetious and greedy, inviting themselves to your table for the duration of a luncheon.

FEELING SOCIABLE. Restaurant, bar, salon and dining room are all there for the sharing.

Their decor is consciously refined in order not to detract from the cuisine, an art which Saïda, the Moroccan cook, masters to perfection. The bar, lit up like a firefly, attracts creatures of the night. Let yourself be drawn to it, to quench your thirst on its sweet nectars.

Warm yourself by the fire in the indoor salon alongside a sculpture by gnaoua artist Tabal. The long dining-room table calls out for guests to gather round and celebrate.

Tableau N°7: The snow in the garden

Photos : © Dar Sabra - DR

As views of the garden stretch out before you at dusk, Peter Stampfli’s blue totem rises up in front of the floodlit expanse of the pool. Under cover of an olive tree, a gorilla, the work of Mexican artist Rodrigo Solorzano, is waiting to roar forward. The sculpture by Irish artist Michael Warren gleams like an alabaster column. One by one the sculptures dotted around the grounds come out like stars. As actors stepping out from the shadows backstage, they make their entrance in a performance of “Twelfth Night”.

AN EXERCISE IN PURE STYLE. “In the style of!” Dar Sabra was inspired by the work of the Mexican architects Barragan and Legorreta. The result is as unexpected as surprising!

In an intentionally stark setting, the linearity of the pink facade comes into its own, enhanced by the green of the cacti. Sections of walls and rectangles – a geometry that makes no concessions to curves. A structure of the utmost purity, emerging from its gangue as it cuts through the blue sky.

Upside down or right side up, the buildings line up, juxtaposed, unfurling in perfect harmony. Dar Sabra emerges from among palm trees and century-old olive trees like a futurist palace or an abstract composition painted by Paul Klee or De Staël.

WELL-BEING. At Dar Sabra, Where beauty converses with goodness and well- being

So let the spa take care of your well-being, indulging your every wish in a highly refined setting, entirely dedicated to beauty: contemporary hammams, massage rooms and a pool in which the portrait of the Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa is reflected – the work of his compatriot Pomar. Pedal away in front of large bay windows in the hightech exercise room before doing your morning workout and body-building sessions – a physical programme to keep you fit mentally, built upon day by day.

Photos : © Dar Sabra - DR

PRACTICAL INFORMATION.

Main House:

7 nomad rooms and a pool Main salon, Moroccan salon Reading rooms and games Large dining room Projection room

Private Villa:

2 bedrooms with a garden and pool

New wing:

8 suites with private patios Swimming pool and 8 solariums

In the grounds:

A large swimming pool An outdoor restaurant A bar

Well-being area:

Exercise room, a spa with hammams, massage rooms and pool.

Double room with breakfast from 250 euros per night Reservation : [email protected] Press contact, Paris : Françoise Kuijper

[email protected]

Tel : 06 63 11 62 24 / 09 79 39 09 43

Photographs free of copywright for press use

DAR SABRA Douar Abbiad, La Palmeraie 40 000 Marrakech. Maroc Tel + 212 (0) 524 329 172 ou +212 (0) 661 133 684 (open all year) www.darsabra.com