Through the tangle of Essaouira’s medina, the air is warm with leather and spice, and cats doze on faded, sun-bleached carpets. Down a narrow alleyway, the only clue is a great wooden door, worn smooth with age and painted a vivid Yves Klein blue.
Step through it and the clamour of the souk falls away. The light dims, the air turns cool, and past a small boutique glinting with Berber silver, a tray of fresh mint tea waits as if you were expected.
This is Villa Maroc , often called Morocco’s first riad hotel, and, three decades on, a family institution finding its way into a new generation’s hands.
In the late 1980s, British surfer James Waley fell for Essaouira and took on a single riad in the medina. Mounia Ezzaher ‘s parents came a few years later.
Her father had known the town since boyhood: the small blue fishing boats rowing in at dusk, light glowing gold over the water. It happened over a conversation in one of its salons: when Ezzaher’s parents asked whether the riad was for sale, the answer came back on a torn scrap of paper, a price pencilled across it.
A week later they had signed; two months after that, Villa Maroc was home.
Now encompassing four riads, the hotel has just 21 rooms and no two are alike. Each has the intimacy of a home long loved, furnished with antique pieces, worn textiles and original artwork collected over the years. The rooms feel gently out of step with the present: no television screens, only sweet pastries set out in embossed metalware, orange-blossom soap and the call of gulls over the harbour.
Beyond the rooms, the house unfolds slowly: a cool warren of staircases, courtyards and shady corners made for losing an afternoon in. The roof terrace climbs in levels over the ramparts towards the water and palm-fringed coast.
The whole riad seems to exhale and wants its guests to do the same. “I want them to feel very in Morocco – like they can take a break,” Ezzaher says.
The aim is to show the country in every detail, giving Villa Maroc a spirit entirely its own.
Much of that spirit can be attributed to a marriage of two temperaments. Ezzaher’s mother is Swiss, her father Moroccan. “It’s a running joke in the family: Moroccan hospitality and Swiss precision,” she says. Between the two sits a rare kind of ease.
That same duality carries through to the table. Dinner is served around an intimate, candle-lit courtyard, with seats low and drawn close.
Each evening brings a different set menu, with no choices to weigh, built on the conviction that Moroccan cooking runs far deeper than the tagine most travellers know. On the night Schön! alive dined, that meant spiced oranges with black olives and garlic, followed by slow-cooked goat, so tender it fell from the bone.
Removing the choice, as Ezzaher sees it, allows guests to surrender to the meal, and to meet dishes they would never think to order for themselves.
Much of what is on the table comes from the family’s own acreage. Drive inland, through open, sun-worn country, where wild horses roam free, and the olive groves appear.
This is the Domaine, the family’s other life’s work: an olive and argan farm with its own mill. Ezzaher’s mother, unconvinced by the local olive oil, took to travelling with her own bottle from Tuscany; her husband, an engineer with no background in farming, resolved to outdo it.
He learned the craft from producers in Spain and Italy. What began as a private project is now a working estate, producing more than 20 tonnes of oil last year, pressed from trees harvested between October and December.
Over time, that pride settled into something quietly principled. Nearly everyone who works the land comes from the surrounding villages. Even the waste closes a loop: the crushed olive stones are dried and burned to heat the pool at Les Jardins , the family’s contemporary sister property nearby. It was never badged as a sustainability drive; it simply made sense.
Left: a wild horse and Right: Mounia Ezzaher and her father, both at Domaine Villa Maroc
Now the story passes onto the next generation. Ezzaher is now General Manager, after her parents stepped back this year with an unhurried handover no manual could capture.
She had, she says, “dreamed about taking over since I was a little girl”: not to remake Villa Maroc, but to build gently on what was already here. If anything, she wanted to give the place’s long history its due: there was, she felt, “such a big story to tell”.
In the end, it is the slowness that stays with you. Mint tea that arrives unprompted; the afternoon light pooling in the worn reds of a Berber rug; the call to prayer rising over the medina as evening settles. Villa Maroc has never chased the times, only grown more surely into itself. That, long after the blue door has closed behind you, is what you carry home.
Find out more about Villa Maroc here and Domaine Villa Maroc here .
edit. Huma Humayun images. Courtesy of Villa Maroc
Serenissima. Away from the crowds, Hotel Cipriani offers the luxury of privacy. belmond.com
What do a bartender, the entrepreneur behind Sea Containers, a famous architect and George Clooney have in common? The answer is Hotel Cipriani in Venice, the star-studded venue that has been synonymous with la dolce vita for almost 70 years. To understand its story, however, we must travel further back than that…
Back in 1927, a Bostonian by the name of Harry Pickering walked into the bar of the Hotel Europa-Britannia in Venice, which he often frequented. Unfortunately, he had run out of funds, but a young – and rather generous – bartender lent him 1,000 lire to purchase a ticket home.
It was not until 1931 that Pickering returned, but when he did, he paid back his debt fourfold. The bartender, born in 1900 in Verona, was called Giuseppe Cipriani.
He used the cash to open his own bar, which he named after his American benefactor.
See the full feature now only in Schön! alive .
The place to be. The hotel’s pool – the largest in Venice – is the symbol of the city’s dolce vita
A legacy project. Peter Marino in the newly designed reception area
Room with a view. Hotel Cipriani’s site boasts 270-degree vistas of the water. The Dogaressa Signature Suite, for example, affords a beautiful view of St Mark’s bay.
Get your print copy of Schön! alive at our Schön! store and at Amazon . Download your eBook .
words. Huma Humayun images. Courtesy of Belmond
Dana Lixenberg, Daniel Arnold and Feng Li for Rimowa.
Our daily commute probably doesn’t feel worthy of an entry in a travel diary, but Rimowa believes the journey from A to B doesn’t always have to be dull. For its latest campaign, the German Maison expands its ‘ Never Still’ leather collection with a series of compact silhouettes built for routine travel, following people through Amsterdam, Los Angeles and Shanghai.
Photographers Dana Lixenberg , Daniel Arnold and Feng Li track and frame the shortest daily journeys as stories worth documenting, finding beauty in the most ordinary moments.
The update introduces two rich colour choices: a deep, smoky Anthracite grey and a muted Mocha brown, both engineered from full-grain leather that naturally patinates over time. The signature Never Still Flap Backpack debuts in a smaller size in the new Mocha hue, featuring the house’s iconic embossed luggage grooves alongside a padded back panel and a suitcase attachment sleeve.
This joins a permanent large option in Anthracite, running parallel to the new Never Still Leather Duffle systems which land in large and medium configurations. For lighter transit, the collection introduces a compact, zipped Cross-Body Bag and the sleek Leather Zipped Tote, an entirely black, pebble-grained companion proportioned to hold a 13-inch laptop in place of a traditional briefcase.
The new Anthracite colour also makes its way into Rimowa’s Distinct collection, giving the leather suitcase a darker, smoky character. Made at the Maison’s historic Cologne factory, the Cabin combines its signature grooves with lightly pebbled leather, colour-matched aluminium corners, palladium hardware and a robust leather-wrapped construction designed to develop a unique patina through long-term wear.
Travel does not always mean boarding a plane or disappearing for a month; sometimes it means a train, a taxi, a walk across town or simply carrying everything you need through another very busy Tuesday. ‘Never Still’ is designed for all of it.
The expanded Rimowa leather collections are available now across global flagship boutiques and online. Find out more here .
photography. courtesy of Dana Lixenberg , Daniel Arnold and Feng Li for Rimowa words. Gennaro Costanzo
Lando Norris Formula 1 Driver by Theo Gosselin.
There isn ’ t a mountain high enough for TUMI not to climb in style, and that standard applies directly to its travel gear as well. For Autumn/Winter 2026 , the international travel and lifestyle label heads straight into the mist-covered, dramatic highlands of Scotland for a campaign inspired by the natural geometry of alpine terrain.
Teaming up with director Valentin Florian and photographer Theo Gosselin , the visuals capture Lando Norris , McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 driver and TUMI ’ s Global Brand Ambassador, alongside a travel partner, navigating jagged stone trails and winding northern roads. “ There is always another peak to reach, another goal to chase. That drive is something TUMI and I share and I feel it in every TUMI bag I carry, ” says Norris.
The season introduces a distinctly autumnal palette – including deep pine, alpine green, rosewood and sienna – across some of TUMI ’ s most established collections , tak ing direct cues from the Scottish wilderness. Deep p ine runs through the 19 Degree, 19 Degree Front Access, Harrison and latest-generation Alpha collections, while Alpine Green and Rosewood add warmer notes to Voyageur Nylon and Leather.
Alpha also gets a Forest Camo treatment, bringing a more tactical edge to its expanded range, while Alpha Bravo, Olas, Adatto, Belden and Nassau settle into earthy neutrals.
The 19 Degree collection remains one of the clearest expressions of TUMI ’ s approach to modern travel. Its sculptural polycarbonate cases combine a distinctive angular profile with lightweight construction, with the Autumn/Winter 2026 offering extending across carry-on, checked and front-access formats in Deep Pine and Salt.
Elsewhere, the latest generation of TUMI Alpha, introduced earlier this year, continues with the Dual Access Carry-On, Double Expansion Duffel, and TUMI Brief Pack in Deep Pine, Forest Camo and Grey Reflective. With a patented FXT ballistic nylon construction – a heavyweight synthetic fabric defined by its toughness – and practical organisation , the collection firmly focuse s on the realities of frequent travel.
“ This season is inspired by the quiet confidence of the Alps. Rather than chasing excess, we wanted to explore the idea of elevation through thoughtful design, ” says Victor Sanz , TUMI ’ s Creative Director. “ The collection reflects a sense of calm, precision and purpose, where every detail has intention and every product is engineered to perform beautifully . We wanted to translate this feeling through this autumn collection. ”
The technical layout of the luggage line introduces several structural updates across both classic and debuting shapes. The iconic 19 Degree line arrives in a lightweight, sculptural polycarbonate shell dipped in a rich deep pine hue, maintaining its heavy-duty performance across expandable carry-ons and massive checked trunks. For daily transit, the brand launches TUMI Axis, a streamlined, lightweight nylon system spanning four versatile everyday bags equipped with an everything-in-place compartmentalisation grid.
The lifestyle and womenswear segments round out the collection with a strong emphasis on premium texture play. The clean, architectural lines of the Harrison collection introduce tactile interest via European-inspired taupe and black woven leather panels, permanent cognac bomb é finishes, and two compact new shapes: the Macri small crossbody and the Thatcher sling backpack.
For women, the supple leather Voyageur Q Tote transitions seamlessly from a weekend escape to the workplace, joining the newly introduced, Italian-made Adatto Tote and the fluidly constructed Olas and Agent bags.
There is little excess in the Scottish landscape itself: stone, green, wild weather and open space. TUMI ’ s Autumn/Winter 2026 collection takes a similar approach, adding colour and texture without losing the functional edge that has defined the brand since 1975. Discover more here .
photography. courtesy of Theo Gosselin for TUMI words. Gennaro Costanzo