Korakia Pensione offers a unique and relaxing getaway from day-to-day reality. Crafted after a Mediterranean-style pensione, Korakia blends the silhouette of Tangier with a whisper of the Mediterranean.
Built in 1924, Korakia Pensione, originally named Dar Marroc, was the former hideaway of Scottish painter Gordon Coutts. The villa served as the venue for Coutts to re-create his earlier life in Tangier by employing a wide variety of architectural features that promoted a Moroccan décor.
A visionary with a dream to re-live his art-filled Moroccan days, the flamboyant Coutts did not stop recapturing his physical existence in Tangier with Dar Marroc, but his social existence as well. Coutts hung his paintings in the library, where he regaled his guests with tales of adventure. Dar Marroc quickly became a gathering place for musicians, visiting artists such as John Lavery, Agnes Pelton, Nicolai Fenshin, Grant Wood, and celebrities such as Rudolph Valentino and Errol Flynn. It is rumored that even Winston Churchill has painted in the villa’s Artist Studio.
Across the street from Korakia is the Mediterranean Villa.
J. Carol Naish, an early silent-screen star and neighbor to Coutts, owned the 1930’s Mediterranean villa. The Naish property blends the charm of Southern Europe with North African accents throughout its structure. The main house boasts an impossibly romantic primary suite, high wood beam ceilings, an indoor/outdoor bathroom, and a massive fireplace.
Using a variety of textures and colors, the outdoor area of the Naish property lends an exotic feel to its poolside experience. Within the sun-drenched pool area itself, the villa and bungalows’ exterior walls greet visitors with a vivid blend of earth-tone hues, that range from deep ocher, rusts to tawny yellows and stone.
The Orchard House is a rare 1918 California adobe. Two 1940s steel windows have been welded together to create a dramatic pivoting window wall. The whitewashed stone wall encloses a grove of citrus trees.
Begin the day with a full-cooked breakfast in the Moroccan courtyard. Soothe your soul poolside, seek healing through yoga or pamper yourself with our spa offerings. Curl up with a vintage book from the library lounge.
Join a game of bocce ball or explore downtown Palm Springs on one of our bicycles. Relax and refresh with the Moroccan tea service each afternoon. Lanterns and fire-pits flicker, illuminating the heated pools at night. Classic and foreign films glimmer on a nearby screen. A Moroccan daybed beckons for stargazing. Nightly turn-downs are done in the European tradition.
Come and see why Forbes Traveler named Korakia one of the “Sexiest Hotels in America.”
A unique historic home in Palm Springs unites the privacy of a residence with the personalized services of a boutique hotel. Auric House is a lovingly reawakened 1930s Spanish Revival adobe ranch-style home in the Historic Tennis Club neighborhood, a short walk from Korakia Pensione. It is a large property with 6-bedrooms and 6-bathrooms.
Step across the threshold, and you’ll be transported to the early days of a newly glamorous Palm Springs in the 1930s, where the quiet of the afternoon is only interrupted by the sounds of your own guests in the courtyard’s Moroccan-style tiled pool. Auric House appears just as it did when it was central to the neighborhood’s social scene, the home of a prominent local hotel owner who was also the rumored inspiration for the Buster Brown comic strip character penned by his father. A rare example of a carefully preserved early Palm Springs home influenced by Mediterranean climes, its hand-cut stone floors and thick adobe walls are now the foundation of a contemporary, easy retreat.
The Orchard House is an original 1918 Adobe that features a full kitchen, private dining room, living room, king bed, and fireplace. The large wraparound courtyard offers a private citrus grove, a stone fire place and waterfall feature with an outdoor seating area. The large bathroom has a copper bathtub for two that also features a fireplace. Orchard House is located within the Mediterranean Villa of Korakia.
This beautiful suite is the center of J. Carroll Naish’s 1930’s villa. It is incredibly romantic, with high wood beam ceilings, wood burning fireplace, dining room, full kitchen, stone bathtub, a private open air shower and a Queen-size hand carved four-poster bed. Naish House is located within the Mediterranean Villa of Korakia.
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