Like so many Moroccan properties, Jnane Rumi is hidden from view by clay walls and cascading bougainvillea, with no hint of the artistic canvas on the other side. Once inside, walking past textured olive trees and towering palm trees, there is an immediate sense of being welcomed into a space that is both private and welcoming.
Originally the home of the influential designer and architect Charles Boccara, Jnane Rumi has been brought into a new era by its current owners, Dutch art lawyer Gert-Jan van den Bergh and his wife Corinne, a somatic therapist and sculptor. Seeing the property as a natural meeting point between cultures, they have reshaped it into a vibrant gallery, a hotel, a home. Today, contemporary North African pieces sit comfortably beside European artworks, all thoughtfully selected under the eye of Moroccan artist and creative consultant Samy Snoussi.
Inside, the space balances history with fresh perspective. Boccara’s hallmark features – the brick-domed ceilings, sunlit loggias, beehive-style fireplaces, and gracefully arched French windows – have been carefully restored by architects Nicolas Bodé, Quentin Wilbaux, and Christophe Simeon. The overall atmosphere feels both timeless and subtly contemporary, as if caught in a effortless conversation between past and present.
Strolling through the grounds the following morning was a delight of discovery, passing by quiet corners inviting you to sit and read a book, and culminating in more social spaces around the swimming pool. Stumbling across the brightly painted handmade furniture from the north was the perfect place for a little coffee and conversation, before heading indoors for a more curated experience.
While the 13 guestrooms are clearly meticulously run as a small luxury hotel, there is also a sense of being welcomed into a home. This brings with it a looseness of time, a de-regulation, that is perhaps the ultimate luxury. This philosophy spills, most tangibly, over into the design of the public areas where there are no barriers between the working office space, the lounge, the kitchen – Jnane Rumi is an open space on all fronts.
While Jnane Rumi’s walls certainly display a joyful and eclectic collection of art – pieces that do cross continents and straddle the gap between the traditional with the contemporary. The carpets that trail through the rooms and corridors are just as captivating: that deep sunshine-yellow pile beneath the green ceiling, the geometric pink weft threaded with hints of turquoise in the warp – glorious!
While there are many broad and bold brushstrokes that run through the design, they are all framed and grounded by the quiet pink plaster of the traditional structure. The classic Boccara shapes and proportions are the perfect foil for the more playful elements. The colour palette is equally tempered by this, as bright and even acidic colours somehow still veer into the realm of earthy. There is a feeling of the colours coming from the same soil as the clay walls.
The owner Gert-Jan van den Bergh explains: “We’ve created a place where you can be completely yourself while experiencing the highest standards of comfort and authenticity. For us, travel should build bridges – through art, through conversation, through genuine human connection.”
The true luxury of taking time, immersed in an environment full meaningful, bespoke details. Jnane Rumi, has quietly got it right, leading its guests along the meandering path of slow luxury with a confidence that feels refreshingly unselfconscious, unhurried and not forgetting those fabulous carpets – all punctuated by some refreshingly off-piste splashes of colour!
Image credits: David Dumon / Jnane Rumi
