What: The Dar Ahlam "House of Dreams" is a luxury guesthouse on the edge of the Moroccan desert.

Where: On the Saharan side of the Moroccan Atlas Range.

Why: This restored mud-brick fortress has eight suites and three villas decorated by a team of Parisian designers. Pricey knickknacks from Bali and India contrast with the medieva-lesque four-turret exterior. Architects Hervé Morand and Adam Glazewski created a maze of passages that open unexpectedly onto ter-races overlooking snowcapped mountains and the surrounding 4,500-acre palm grove. The kitchen offers light Moroccan-spiced sumptuous menus by two top French chefs, as well as desserts dreamed up by famed French pâtissier Pierre Hermé. There is a heated T-shaped stone swimming pool, and jacuzzi and Turkish (or Moroccan) baths for indolent pampering. Thai massages and Moroccan mud scrubs are also available.