Inside IZZA
We didn't stay at IZZA. We just walked through it, had lunch on its rooftop, and left slightly changed. That's how good it is.
Marrakech has always felt like a city that exists slightly outside of time. The Medina pulls you in through a maze of souks, tiled fountains, and sensory overload — until suddenly there's a door. A heavy, unremarkable door. And behind it? One of the most extraordinary hotels either of us has ever stepped inside.
We're talking about IZZA. All caps. It demands it.
The IZZA Library — one of seven interconnecting riads that make up the property | Credit: IZZA
Not a hotel. Not a riad. Not an art gallery. All three.
IZZA comprises seven interconnecting riads in the heart of the Medina, and it works in a way that genuinely shouldn't be possible. Over 300 pieces of digital and print artwork (valued at more than £5 million) line the walls of a centuries-old Moroccan building. Tranquil courtyards, swimming pools, a spa and hammam, a rooftop restaurant called Noujoum, and a ground-floor bar named after the man who inspired much of the whole place: Bill Willis. Oh, and it holds One Michelin Key status. Naturally.
The Bill Willis Bar at IZZA | Credit: IZZA
Bill Willis, Yves Saint Laurent, and the original freedom seekers
IZZA's 14 rooms are named after the creative freedom seekers of the 1960s and '70s: the people who came to Marrakech and made it their own. Yves Saint Laurent. Grace Jones. Jack Kerouac. Allen Ginsberg. Marianne Faithfull. Cecil Beaton. Talitha Getty. Icons who were drawn to this city's light, heat, and sense of radical possibility.
The spiritual anchor of the whole place is Bill Willis, the late American socialite and interior designer who made Marrakech his home and left a lasting imprint on the city's design language. His influence is felt throughout: geometric tilework, layered textiles, arched doorways, jewel-toned colour palettes. Walking through IZZA feels less like checking into a hotel and more like being welcomed into the home of someone with extraordinary taste and absolutely no fear.
Credit: IZZA
Credit: IZZA
Aicha Benazzouz, Creative Director
Aicha Benazzouz, IZZA's Creative Director, came to the project as its interior stylist during the hotel's years-long renovation — a process that involved connecting seven adjoined properties on a quieter stretch of the Medina. She now oversees the entire operation, which functions as both hotel residence and living museum, conducting tours of the property daily. Her passion for the art and the city is infectious.
She describes the icons who inspired the rooms as people who "all took something from the city — the colours, the smell, the architecture, the design, the art — and all of them inspired the city." For Aicha, being at IZZA goes deeper than a job: "To be surrounded by so many artworks and artists is a form of nourishment."
Aicha Benazzouz, Creative Director | Credit: IZZA
NFTs in the Medina — yes, really
Here's the thing we were absolutely not prepared for: IZZA is home to what is shaping up to be one of the most expansive permanent exhibitions of generative and digital art in the world. Inside a centuries-old riad. In the middle of Marrakech.
The collection has been built with partners including fellowship.xyz, a leading contemporary and digital art gallery, and prominent NFT collector Studio137, alongside pieces from IZZA's founder's own private collection. The result is a genuinely mind-bending experience. You turn a corner expecting another beautiful Moroccan tilework feature and instead find yourself face-to-face with cutting-edge digital art.
Les Marocains by Leila Alaoui — one of the local artists whose work is displayed throughout the property | Credit: IZZA
We had never really thought about NFTs as something that could exist in physical space like this — as art you encounter, walk past, sit with. It shifted something. One of those travel moments where a place genuinely changes how you think about something.
Credit: IZZA
More than a hotel: IZZA and Marrakech
What really got us, beyond the beauty and the art, was learning how deeply embedded IZZA is in the actual life of this city.
Associate Artists Programme
IZZA supports 17 Morocco-based artists over two years, providing time, space, resources, and introductions to international galleries — with the aim of helping artists get signed. It's not a display case for local talent; it's a genuine career pipeline.
izza.com/art-and-design ↗The Amal Centre
IZZA offers apprenticeships to students from the Amal Centre, which trains local women in hospitality and catering skills. They provide kitchen training, and offer restaurant meals to students — many of whom have never eaten in a restaurant before.
amalnonprofit.org ↗Pikala Bikes
A not-for-profit offering guided bike tours of Marrakech while providing income for young Moroccans. IZZA makes financial donations and recommends it to every guest.
pikalabikes.com ↗Noujoum: The rooftop that earns its Michelin Key
We ended our tour with lunch at Noujoum, IZZA's rooftop restaurant. It was the perfect full stop to the afternoon. The space is beautiful: low cushioned seating, sheer curtains catching the breeze, and large-format photography covering the walls. The food is locally sourced, elegantly executed, and genuinely delicious.
The grilled octopus with zucchini mousseline, pepper caponata and quinoa was the kind of dish you think about for days afterwards. The perfect place to decompress after the Medina — unhurried, beautiful, and entirely its own world up above the rooftops.
Clockwise from top: Noujoum rooftop entrance; dining terrace; terrace bar; dining under Sebastião Salgado's photography; grilled octopus with zucchini mousseline and quinoa | Credit: IZZA
Pick your icon
IZZA has 14 rooms, each named after one of the creative icons who made Marrakech their own:
The fourteenth is Izza herself: a private riad with its own kitchenette and the iconic cubed staircase that has become one of the most photographed spaces in the property.
Credit: IZZA
The Izza room — a private riad named after the original Berber host, complete with kitchenette and iconic cubed staircase | Credit: IZZA
Rooms from €220/night (approx. £190) up to €840/night (approx. £725)
All rooms include: daily à la carte breakfast · airport transfer on arrival · 45-minute spa treatment
