Villa Oasis Marrakech — Where Haute Couture Meets the Soul of the Ochre City

In Marrakech, there are places that escape the ordinary traveler. Places where history, art, and sensitive beauty merge into something that is not discovered by chance—only through the right doors, with the right keys. Villa Oasis is one of them.

Tucked away in the heart of the legendary Majorelle Garden, this private residence was Yves Saint Laurent's personal sanctuary for nearly thirty years. Today, it remains one of the most mythical addresses in the world—inaccessible to the common traveler, and that is precisely what makes it one of Marrakech's most coveted privileges. Through Exxure, its doors can open for you.

A legacy written in cobalt blue and gold

The story of Villa Oasis doesn't begin with fashion. It begins with painting, light, and a man's obsession with a country that deeply fascinated him.

In 1924, the French painter and explorer Jacques Majorelle arrived in Marrakech and was irrevocably captivated by the city. He acquired a palm grove on the outskirts of the medina and spent decades transforming it into an extraordinary botanical sanctuary—planting rare species from five continents, building studios and pavilions, and developing a unique shade of electric blue that would one day bear his name: Majorelle blue. A blue between cobalt and ultramarine, with an almost unreal intensity under the sun of the ochre city.

The villa he erected on these lands—originally named Villa Bousafsaf—is a meditation on contrasts: traditional Moroccan craftsmanship meets Art Deco geometry, carved cedar and hand-cut zellige tile unfold beneath arches washed in cobalt, amber, and gold. Majorelle lived and created there for nearly forty years, making the place the quintessence of his artistic universe. It was not a house. It was a living manifesto.

Upon his death in 1962, the property gradually fell into disrepair. Maintenance costs became insurmountable, vegetation ran wild, and buildings deteriorated. By the late 1970s, the site was threatened with property development—the complete erasure of an irreplaceable cultural treasure that could have been lost forever from Marrakech's memory.

Yves Saint Laurent and the Act of Salvation

In 1980, Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé intervened and changed the destiny of the property.

Deeply connected to Morocco since his first visit in the 1960s—a country that had shaped his color palette, his silhouettes, his entire creative language—Saint Laurent bought the property with Bergé to save it from demolition. This gesture, as much political as emotional, marked the beginning of a restoration undertaking of rare ambition.

This is followed by a meticulous resurrection, led by American architect Bill Willis and French decorator Jacques Grange: two masters of their craft, whose names are associated with the greatest interiors of the 20th century, working in concert to honor all that Majorelle had created, overlaying it with the refinement and sensitivity of a new era.

The villa is renamed Villa Oasis. Its rooms are furnished with Art Deco pieces sourced from around the world, exceptionally rare Moroccan antiques, precious textiles, and objects of deep personal significance to Saint Laurent himself. Berber ceramics are displayed alongside European designer pieces. Contemporary paintings converse with hand-carved woodwork. The result is not a static museum, but a space of extraordinary beauty – a place where each room is composed with the same intention, the same rigor, as a haute couture collection.

For Yves Saint Laurent, Marrakech was not a refuge from his work. It was its vibrant source. The ochres and terracottas of the medina ramparts, the obsessive geometry of zellige patterns, the play of light and shadow in ancient riads, the dazzling fabrics of the souks — all of this directly fueled his creations. The colors of his most famous collections, the draping of his dresses, the embroidery on his jackets: Marrakech could be read in them every season. Villa Oasis was the place where this alchemy took place in its most intimate, most essential form, far from podiums and flashes.

When he passed away in 2008, his ashes were scattered in the Majorelle Garden, among the plants he loved. A memorial now marks the spot—a silent and profound statement about where his soul truly resided.

 The private tour — an experience reserved for a select few

Villa Oasis is not open to the public. It never has been, and that is its uniqueness. Accessing this place requires more than a ticket—it demands the right contacts, the right timing, and a guide from the Majorelle Foundation itself, the keeper of the keys and the memory of the place.

This is precisely what Exxure makes possible.

Your private tour is led by a Foundation expert, who brings the villa's secrets to life with rare precision and passion: its architectural details, the choices that guided its restoration, anecdotes related to the personal items Saint Laurent surrounded himself with, the history of the artisans who worked there, and the particular spirit that inhabits each room, each hallway, each patio. It is a tour unlike any other—because it is for those who want to understand a place, not just see it.

The visit lasts about an hour. It concludes with a light snack—a welcome moment of pause after an experience that needs to be slowly absorbed, allowed to resonate.

Visits are strictly limited to five people. Photography is prohibited indoors. Children under 12 are not admitted. Times are rigid. These rules are not constraints—they are the conditions that make this experience what it is: intimate, contemplative, and truly rare.

Practical information:

– Reservation: at least two weeks in advance
– Payment: one week before the visit, by bank transfer
– Price: 50,000 MAD (donation to the Jacques Majorelle Foundation)
– Availability: daily, subject to the Foundation’s schedule
– Groups of more than 5 people: split into two successive visits

Extend the experience — Majorelle Garden and Yves Saint Laurent Museum

Villa Oasis It is not lived in isolation. It is part of an ecosystem of cultural richness that can be explored during an immersive day orchestrated by Exxure.

The Majorelle Garden itself—now restored and maintained with absolute rigor by the Jardin Majorelle Foundation—is one of the most enchanting botanical spaces in the world. Its shaded paths meander between jade-hued bamboo groves, monumental cacti standing like sculptures, and lotus-covered pools from which giant water lilies emerge. The buildings seem to vibrate in this impossible blue. The silence is broken only by the murmur of fountains and the song of birds. One immediately understands why Majorelle never wanted to leave and why Saint Laurent returned there tirelessly.

Adjacent to the garden, the Yves Saint Laurent Museum Marrakech—inaugurated in 2017 and designed by the architectural firm Studio KO—traces the arc of a creative life largely shaped by Morocco: his preparatory sketches, his iconic collections, the visual sources of his obsessions, and the repeated tributes to Moroccan culture that span forty years of creation. It is a museum of rare clarity and elegance, which illuminates the villa in a new light.

Together, these three spaces—the garden, the museum, and the villa—compose a complete and moving portrait of a man and the country that revealed him to himself. A full day can be dedicated to it, and it will never feel like too much.

Arrive from anywhere—our private flight option

For travelers coming from Paris, Barcelona, Geneva, London, or elsewhere, Exxure can arrange a round-trip private flight to Marrakech for an absolutely exceptional day.

Arrival in the morning at Marrakech-Menara Airport. Transfer by private vehicle. Exclusive visit of Villa Oasis. Stroll through the Majorelle Garden. Lunch in a riad in the medina. Discovery of the YSL Museum. Return in the evening.

One day. No itinerary fatigue. No check-ins, no check-outs. Just a carefully curated window into one of the world's most extraordinary cities, designed and delivered at the level you expect.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many people can visit at the same time?
Maximum of five people per visit. Beyond that, groups will be split into two successive sessions.

Is photography permitted?
Photography is strictly prohibited inside the villa. However, you are free to take photos in the garden.

Can the visit be combined with other Exxure activities in Marrakech?
Absolutely. Exxure can plan a day or an entire trip centered around Villa Oasis, including fine dining, crafts, a spa experience, a hot-air balloon ride, or any other exclusive experience you’d like to enjoy.

That's what Exxure does

We don’t sell tourism. We create moments that cannot be replicated—experiences that require detailed knowledge of the locations, relationships cultivated over the long term, and a true understanding of what luxury really means: not the price of something, but its absolute rarity.

Villa Oasis embodies everything we believe in. It is beautiful with a beauty that never fades. It is imbued with a history that transcends trends. It is, in the truest and deepest sense of the word, irreplaceable.

We would be honored to open our doors to you.