Garden Design Retreat in Marrakech with Bob Bell

JOIN BOB BELL ON HIS

MOROCCAN GARDEN DESIGN RETREAT

14th – 18th March 2027

5 days / 4 nights

Few places on earth offer quite the same garden inspiration as Morocco. The country’s relationship with plants, water and outdoor space runs deep, from the geometric precision of centuries-old Islamic garden design to the bold, sculptural schemes of contemporary landscape artists who treat horticulture as an art form in its own right. And with water increasingly precious and temperatures rising across the globe, the principles behind Moroccan garden-making, drought-tolerant planting, shade, structure and sustainability, have never felt more relevant. Led by acclaimed landscape architect Bob Bell, this retreat takes you inside all of it: the historic gardens, a special visit to a space where art and landscape exist in constant conversation, a zellige workshop, and a design session where you’ll start to map out how to bring it all home.

RETREAT HIGHLIGHTS

Discover Marrakech’s most beautiful gardens with acclaimed landscape architect Bob Bell as your guide
Four nights at El Fenn – named on Condé Nast Traveler’s Gold List 2017, 2021, 2022 & 2024
Explore the city’s finest gardens that showcase everything from historic Islamic planting traditions to contemporary plant-filled schemes
Learn about planting in arid landscapes, environmental sustainability and integrating sculptural and textural elements into your garden
Tour a private art foundation where art is in constant relationship with its surrounding landscape
Experience a hands-on zellige workshop and explore the use of different stones, tiles, and materials in Moroccan garden design
Design your own garden concept during a workshop with Bob
Just 16 places available on this bespoke retreat
All meals, pre-dinner cocktails, wine with dinner, airport transfers & transport are included
Enjoy time for yourself to discover more about your passion for gardens & forge new friendships with people who share it

“Morocco provides a unique combination of age-old traditions and modern creative energy. It’s a dream destination for me and I can’t wait to discover it with people who are passionate about design.“

Bob Bell has spent his career doing what most gardeners only dream of, creating landscapes that are as structurally considered as they are wildly beautiful. After training at Cornell and cutting his teeth at one of America’s most celebrated landscape architecture firms, he built a reputation for pairing exuberant planting with precisely crafted hardscape: custom metalwork, stonework, light. His work has been featured in Architectural Digest, Vogue and the Wall Street Journal. In Marrakech, he’s in his element.

Together, you’ll explore a city that has been perfecting the art of the garden for centuries. You’ll visit our pick of the finest outdoor spaces, from those that honour the traditions of Islamic planting design, with their emphasis on geometry, water, shade and scent, to those pushing horticulture into genuinely contemporary territory. A highlight will be a special visit to a garden where art and landscape are inseparable, a place where sculpture, installation and planting exist in constant relationship with one another, and where the boundaries between horticulture and art dissolve entirely.

You’ll also get hands-on in a workshop, learning how tile, stone and material can define and elevate an outdoor space, and how Morocco’s extraordinary craft traditions can translate into ideas for your own garden at home. Throughout, Bob will be guiding you through the principles that underpin great garden design: colour and structure, planting for arid climates, environmental sustainability, and the integration of sculptural and textural elements. There’ll also be a dedicated workshop session with Bob to help you develop a concept for your own space, so you leave not just inspired but with something genuinely useful to take home.

Between all of this: four nights at El Fenn, all meals included, pre-dinner cocktails, wine with dinner, and a group of like-minded people who share your passion. The friendships made on retreats like this have a habit of lasting.

The retreat is limited to just 16 guests.

Prices start from €3,783 / £3,275 / $4,450 per person for a large room (joint occupancy, single occupancy available) and includes all meals, pre-dinner cocktails and wine with dinner, all excursions and transport, plus airport transfers. Flights and travel insurance are not included.

YOUR RETREAT ITINERARY

Day 1

We’ll collect you from Marrakech airport and bring you straight to El Fenn, where a signature welcome lunch awaits. The afternoon begins with a guided tour of the hotel its history, its remarkable art collection and the story behind its rooms before walking through the medina and exploring one of the city’s most famous gardens. In the evening, come together as a group for welcome cocktails on our rooftop before sitting down together for a traditional Moroccan sharing feast.

Day 2

This morning you’ll head out of the city and into the foothills of the Atlas Mountains for a day in the beautiful Ourika Valley. On the way, we’ll stop at one of the most covetable tile studios will show you how their distinctive hand-pressed designs are made. From there, you’ll experience a private tour of a garden where horticulture and art exist in extraordinary dialogue, with sculptures and installations woven throughout a lush, layered landscape. The late afternoon is yours back at El Fenn to rest and reflect before the evening brings dinner at one of Marrakech’s most happening contemporary restaurants.

Day 3

The day starts with a breakfast workshop with Bob, who’ll set the tone for a day dedicated to the principles of sustainable and regenerative growing. You’ll then head to a working permaculture farm for an immersive visit, seeing how the land is managed, the crops grown and the philosophy put into practice with lunch served at the chef’s table using ingredients harvested that morning. The afternoon brings a private garden visit before you return to El Fenn for some well-earned time in the hammam. The evening ends at one of the city’s most beautiful and classic Moroccan restaurants.

Day 4

This morning you’ll visit one of the most iconic and celebrated gardens in the world and a place that has been inspiring designers, artists and plant lovers for nearly a century. The adjacent Museum provides a fascinating lens on the relationship between Morocco and creativity. After lunch in Sidi Ghanem, Marrakech’s thriving creative district, the afternoon is full of inspiration whilst you visit the ateliers and showrooms of some of the city’s most exciting makers: ceramicists, lighting designers, weavers, contemporary artists and more. The retreat closes with a gala dinner at El Fenn with cocktails, a celebratory menu and a final night to savour everything you’ve seen.

Day 5

After a final leisurely breakfast, we’ll transfer you back to the airport. Though if you’re not quite ready to leave, you can extend your stay with an additional night or two. The 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair begins on this day and it’s well worth sticking around for.

BOOKING

Booking opens on Tuesday 2nd JUNE at 10am

You’ll need to click on the button below to request a place and we’ll contact you to discuss room category.

A 50% deposit payment is required to reserve your spot.

Places are limited to 16 people and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.

EMAIL RETREATS TEAM FOR MORE INFO

ABOUT BOB

Bob Bell graduated from Cornell University before joining Oehme, van Sweden and Associates, one of the most influential landscape architecture practices in the US where he honed a distinctly lush, layered approach to planting design. Since founding his own practice, he’s become known for pairing exuberant, generous planting schemes with beautifully detailed hardscape: custom-designed lighting, metalwork, stonework and tile.

His projects have earned him features in Architectural Digest, Vogue and the Wall Street Journal, and a reputation as someone who understands that a great garden is as much about structure and material as it is about what grows in it. This May he was announced as one of Elle Decor’s Rising Stars in Landscape Design.

Marrakech, with its centuries of craft tradition and extraordinary plant life, is a place he knows well and loves to share.

ABOUT EL FENN

El Fenn opened in 2004 and has captured the imagination of a generation of travellers ever since with its trademark design: one part bohemian, another luxury, always a celebration of Moroccan craftsmanship. This unique feeling of home-away-from-home meets cool has seen it namechecked everywhere from Vogue to Architectural Digest. We’ve also been included on Conde Nast Traveler’s Gold List four times and The goop List 2024.

ACCOMMODATION

All our rooms feature our signature blend of traditional Moroccan artisanal decoration meets a mix of vintage and contemporary furniture and art from the El Fenn private collection. Colour-soaked and playful, each one is unique. You’ll also have access to our three swimming pools and gorgeous spa if you want to book some extra treatments.

Room categories include:

All prices are set in euros. Sterling and US dollar prices are approximate conversions based on current exchange rates and may vary slightly at the time of booking.

SMALL ROOMS – each of these colourful rooms has a king size bed and a walk-in shower.

Price for a small room, single occupancy only. €4,721 / £4,100 / $5,550

MEDIUM ROOMS – each of these more spacious rooms has a king size bed, small seating area, open fire and either an oversized bathtub or a walk-in shower.

Price for a medium room, single occupancy only. €5,135 / £4,450 / $6,025

LARGE ROOMS – larger rooms with a substantial indoor or outdoor seating area plus an open wood fire. Each has an oversized bathtub with a separate shower.

Price for a large room, single occupancy. €5,548 / £4,800 / $6,500

Price for a large room, per person sharing. €3,814 / £3,300 / $4,475

EXTRA LARGE ROOMS – the ultimate in El Fenn style. These huge rooms are sumptuously styled with a large lounge area, open fireplace and a separate large bathroom.

Price for an extra large room, single occupancy. €5,757 / £4,975 / $6,750

Price for an extra large room, per person sharing. €3,925 / £3,400 / $4,600