Dar Jabal Amman, Amman

We arrived as the call to prayer rolled across the hills from a hundred minarets at once, that particular Amman sound, and the city's honey-coloured stone caught the last of the sun. Dar Jabal Amman is a 1950s villa just off Rainbow Street, set into the slope of Jabal Amman, its limestone façade softened by bougainvillea and a pair of old olive trees. A host met us at the gate with sweet mint tea and the unhurried courtesy that Jordanians make look effortless. From the entrance terrace the whole amphitheatre of the city opened up: the Citadel on its hill opposite, the Roman theatre below, the white houses tumbling down every slope in the gathering blue dusk.

The room

Our room kept the bones of the old house: thick limestone walls, an arched window with a deep sill made for sitting, a floor of pale local stone. The decoration drew entirely on Jordanian craft, a hand-woven Bani Hamida rug in deep reds, cushions of Madaba embroidery, a lamp of Hebron glass that glowed amber at night. The bed was firm and well dressed, the linens crisp. The bathroom was compact but considered, with Dead Sea salts and a good rain shower. Best was the window seat, where we took our morning coffee watching the city wake across the valley, the light moving slowly down the opposite hill. It felt less like a hotel room than a corner of a gracious family home.

Amman gives up its beauty slowly, hill by hill; this terrace hands you all seven at once.The Suite Edit

Service & food

Service is where Dar Jabal Amman truly shines, warm, personal and quietly proud, the staff genuinely pleased to send you off well-fed and well-advised. Breakfast on the roof is a feast: za'atar man'ousheh, labneh, foul medames, olives from the family's own trees, and cardamom coffee poured from a long-spouted dallah. There is no full restaurant, but the kitchen will prepare a simple Jordanian supper of maqluba on request, the upturned pot of rice, chicken and aubergine delivered with theatre. The rooftop becomes the gathering place at night, hookah smoke curling under the stars, the city glittering below. For everything else, Rainbow Street's cafés and grills are a short walk uphill.

The verdict

Dar Jabal Amman is for the traveller who treats Amman as a destination rather than a stopover to Petra, who wants to read the city from its hills with a knowledgeable host close at hand. Rainbow Street, the downtown souqs and the Citadel are all within reach on foot, and the hospitality is the genuine article. The honest caveat is geography: Amman is built on steep hills and this house sits partway up one, so every outing involves a climb home, and there is no lift inside the villa either. Travellers who relish a city on foot will love it; those who don't should keep a taxi number handy.