Craft · 30 August 2025 · 5 min read
Tadelakt, polished by hand
Why the walls in your bathroom glow, and why they took a week to make.
Tadelakt is a lime plaster from the Marrakech region, traditionally used in hammams because it sheds water. Every bathroom in Al Ersa is finished in it.
Stone and soap
The plaster is laid on in layers, then compacted and polished for hours with a smooth river stone. Finally it's rubbed with black olive soap, which reacts with the lime and makes the surface waterproof.
Living with it
Tadelakt is soft to the touch and slightly uneven, like skin. It marks a little with time, and that is part of its beauty. Our craftsman, Si Lahcen, comes back once a year to re-polish the walls.
Written at Riad Al Ersa, Taroudant. Questions about anything here? Reception knows.
