Peacock Pavilions

The place

Peacock Pavilions is a small design hotel in an olive grove just outside Marrakech, in the village of Douar Laadam off the Ouarzazate road. It stands on eight and a half acres, five of them olive trees, and was designed and built by the American author and designer Maryam Montague and her husband, Chris Redecke. It sleeps fourteen people in two pavilions and two tented bungalows, and for a wedding the owners describe it as right for about forty guests or fewer. If you want a tiny, beautifully styled wedding weekend with your closest people and a house full of colour, it is one of the most personal places near the city.

Background

Maryam Montague writes about Moroccan design, and the property is her showcase: patterned walls, hand-painted furniture, embroidered textiles, Moroccan antiques and bold gold-on-black wallpapers in the bedrooms. The couple built it as a family home that became a boutique hotel and retreat centre, and they have hosted weddings in the olive grove for years. The team plans the whole stay, not only the wedding day: meals, outings into Marrakech, a henna party or a hammam for the bride's friends, and the brunch the morning after. That makes it feel less like renting a venue and more like being looked after by people who love the place.

Setting and photographs

The olive grove gives your pictures soft, silvery light, and the property has been styled by someone who thinks in images. A long table set under strings of lights and pink bougainvillea at the edge of the grove, a pool lined with striped cushions in front of an arcaded pavilion, earth-red walls and a path through the olive trees: every corner is a frame. Inside, the bedrooms with their gold wallpaper and the salon full of framed prints make strong getting-ready photos. Ask your photographer to use the hour before sunset in the grove, when the light comes through the leaves.

Ceremony and reception

Vows are exchanged in the Secret Garden, an open-air ceremony space in the grove. Cocktails and canapés follow around the pool or in the Grand Salon, and dinner is served under the stars in an outdoor dining area set up for celebrations, with a menu the chefs build around your tastes, three or four courses with Moroccan wines. The team can add an Andalusian guitarist for the ceremony, Gnaoua musicians, a belly dancer between courses, a fire-breather and even camel photographs. The kitchen is in-house. Plan for about forty guests at most, and ask how the evening ends, since you are in a quiet village.

Who it suits

It suits elopements, vow renewals and small weddings of 10 to 40 guests who want a designed, colourful, very personal setting and a host team that plans the days around the wedding. It suits couples who like to take over a whole place for a long weekend with their closest family and friends. Many couples arrive early and make a week of it: the team runs hen days with a hammam and a henna party, champagne brunches, belly dancing lessons and movie nights on the property. It does not suit a large party or a guest list that expects a hotel with many rooms. Most foreign couples marry legally at home first, so the ceremony in the Secret Garden will be symbolic, which leaves you free to write it exactly as you want.

Accommodation

The property sleeps fourteen in two pavilions and two tented bungalows: the Atlas Pavilion has two en-suite bedrooms, the Medina Pavilion three, and the two luxury tented bungalows one each. Its published rates are 575 dollars a night for the Atlas Pavilion, 850 for the Medina Pavilion, 275 for a single bungalow or 525 for both, and 1,900 dollars a night for the entire property, breakfast included, with a three-night minimum. Fourteen beds hold the couple, the parents and the closest friends; the owners suggest housing other guests in the guesthouses nearby.

Getting there

Douar Laadam lies on the Ouarzazate road south-east of Marrakech, beyond the Palmeraie, about twenty-five minutes from the medina and around half an hour from the airport. The team can coordinate airport pick-ups and transport for guests staying elsewhere, which matters on a rural road at night. Spring and autumn are ideal for dinner in the grove; in winter the evenings are cold, so plan blankets and heaters or move dinner into the salon, and in summer keep the ceremony late in the day.

Costs

Peacock Pavilions publishes its accommodation prices: 1,900 dollars a night for the entire property with breakfast, about 1,750 euros, and three nights at least, so the house for fourteen comes to around 5,250 euros for a long weekend before taxes. The wedding itself is priced as a package built around your plans, covering the ceremony set-up, dinner, drinks and entertainment. For 40 guests, a three- or four-course dinner with wine and music is likely to add 4,000 to 8,000 euros, on my estimate. Ask for the wedding package in writing, with what is included for the ceremony, the dinner and the brunch.

Prices here are grounded estimates from published rates, direct enquiries and what couples report paying. Treat them as a starting point and confirm the exclusive-use and per-head figures in writing for your own dates.

Verdict

Peacock Pavilions is one of the most charming places near Marrakech for a small wedding: a styled olive grove, a team that plans the whole stay, and prices on the table. Its limits are its size, forty guests and fourteen beds, and a village location that asks for organised transport. For an elopement or a wedding of close family and friends, few places are as personal. If your list is a little larger, compare it with Fawakay Villas, which sleeps 30 and takes up to 100 for dinner.