Surrendering to Dar Ahlam’s rare rhythm is akin to participating in immersive theatre, with unprompted poolside pomegranate juices, candlelit Berber tents for secret suppers and personally addressed hand-penned scrolls or other gifts at bedtime. Teyssier’s past lives as a theatre actor and event planner keep him challenging traditional hospitality as a disrupter and storyteller: every soul-stirring scene is art-directed and choreographed to enchant, with delicate, tactile interiors, seductive scents and unexpected curios at every turn.
Spells at the hideaway are more magical than ever, with the handful of rooms in the North African castle joined by spacious suites at the edge of the Louis Benech-landscaped grounds. Thierry Teyssier re-envisaged the 200-year-old ochre kasbah and its rammed-earth ramparts to honor its Berber heritage with authenticity, elegance and an unrivaled romance.
This rare palm-framed fantasyland near Ouarzazate, whose name translates from Arabic as “House of Dreams,” was conjured 20 years ago from the wild imagination of a Parisian creative.
