There are few places that live up to expectations as much as Marrakech. It’s loud, it’s vibrant, it’s hot, it’s chaotic and – above all – it’s magical. And behind the doors of its finest accommodation lies another realm of excellence. When you’re done investigating sparkling trinkets in hidden-away alcoves and dodging the scooters that zip through the medina, you can sit and watch the world go by with a steaming glass of fresh mint tea or a cold orange and a plate of caramel dates. If you’re travelling from the UK, it is without a doubt one of the biggest culture shifts you can enjoy so close to home, and the experience will leave you changed – open-hearted, adventurous and longing to explore more of what makes Morocco special.
When it comes to where to stay in Marrakech, you’re spoiled for choice by an abundance of paradisical options, from ornately decorated riads that offer a hidden and unexpected sanctuary right in the thrum of the medina to countryside residences on the outskirts of the city with sprawling gardens, swimming pools and wildlife and inner-city hotels with some of the best hammams in the world (if you’ve never tried a hammam, you must – it’s not your average spa treatment). Many of our favourites are also home to exceptional restaurants serving traditional Moroccan fare and huge suites, large enough for families.
We’ve tried and tested the best hotels in Marrakech to compile a list of recommendations we really believe in. This is our list of favourites.
For more inspiration on where to stay in Morocco, visit the prettiest riads in Marrakech and the best hotels in Morrocco. Ruby Deevoy
For more inspiration visit:
Best hotels in Morocco
Prettiest riads in Marrakech
Best places for winter sun
Best city breaks in Europe
How we choose the best hotels in Marrakech
Every hotel on this list has been selected independently by our editors and written by a Condé Nast Traveller journalist who knows the destination and has stayed at that property. When choosing hotels, our editors consider both luxury properties and boutique and lesser-known boltholes that offer an authentic and insider experience of a destination. We’re always looking for beautiful design, a great location and warm service – as well as serious sustainability credentials. We update this list regularly as new hotels open and existing ones evolve. For more information on how we review hotels and restaurants, please look at our About Us page.
Izza
Spread across seven interconnecting riads in the less decorous part of the old medina, this newcomer is an intriguing proposition. Owned by tech-focused London investment firm Neon Adventures, which also bought the home of the late American socialite- designer Bill Willis a few doors down, the riad is inspired by Willis and a certain classic Marrakech aesthetic, but is also a space for forward-looking digital art. It’s a labyrinth of little corridors and creaky, carved chestnut doors. One opens to a moody tea room with black glossy tiles and a red velvet sofa; across a courtyard is the black-and-white Bill’s Bar, which echoes Willis’s iconic design for Rick’s Café in Casablanca. There’s a cute coffee shop with jewel-tone emerald zellige tiles and bits of brushed gold. Up a narrow set of colourful stone stairs is a walnut-clad library, with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, rolling ladders and worn-in leather chairs. Perhaps Izza’s biggest USP is its £5 million art collection, including prints of Sebastião Salgado’s Amazonia NFT series and screens showing works such as Turkish-American artist Refik Anadol’s machine-learnt shifting sands. The futurism contrasts with framed letters from Yves Saint Laurent and the fact that the 14 rooms are named after expatriate bon vivants of yesteryear: Cecil, Jack, Talitha and so on. One has a modern cubed staircase and kitchenette; others are narrow, with wall-to-wall beds mixed with vintage furniture and Moroccan wood carvings. Some of the courtyards have little plunge pools, and there’s a beautiful rooftop that feels like a secret garden refuge, with day beds and an excellent locavore restaurant. Chloe Sachdev
Fairmont Royal Palm Marrakech
Connect with nature in Morocco's beauty spot, which can be as active or as laidback as suits, all while enjoying the breathtaking backdrop of the Atlas Mountains. Just 20 minutes outside the bustling heart of Marrakech, the landscape starts to change – countless olive groves, tall leafy palms and fragrant argan and lemon trees. The distant views of the Atlas Mountains paint the scene, but the grand arch at the entrance sets the tone of sheer majesty. Through the iconic swinging doors, towering ceilings, marble accents, plush furnishings and an endless sense of chic glamour greet guests. Every corner is a postcard-worthy shot, with bold, vibrant prints reflecting Morocco's ancient yet alive heritage. The main bar, Le Bar, dressed in a sleek black-and-gold scheme, feels like a scene from a James Bond film. Jaw-dropping Moroccan chandeliers add to the extravagant spirit. Outside, 570 acres of lush green landscape await, showcasing Marrakech’s horticultural prowess, and are also home to an 18-hole golf course and a pampering spa. It’s the ultimate base for wellness seekers, romantic couples, families and culture vultures keen to experience the crème de la crème of Marrakech’s idyllic rural scene. Alexander Ron
Selman Marrakech
Reminiscent of an ancient summer palace built for a prince and his horses, this hotel reads like a love letter to Marrakech, complete with grand stables and Arabian stallions dotted around the palatial Ottoman architecture. It turns out that’s not far off from the truth; the son of the founder, Abdeslam Bennani Smires, wanted to combine his love of hotels and riding (he’s a show jumping champion as well as maestro hotelier). Decor is Arabian by way of Hermès; the equestrian theme permeating throughout the dark wood and leather studded furnishings, Mapplethorpe-esque black and white equine photography, as well as the paddocks that define the resort's layout. The rooms themselves are wonderfully considered, with large beds, tiled dining tables and sofa nooks, divided by hand-carved wood panelling and decorated in traditional Moorish style, with monochrome Zelliges tiles juxtaposing the plush, warm-hued furnishings.
There are several restaurants spread out around the resort. A favourite of mine was Pavillion, located between the horse paddocks, for breakfast. There’s live music from traditional Berber musicians while waiters ask you how you like your eggs. Do make sure to stroll up to the stables themselves – grand, black and gold colonnades for the 20-or-so Arabian horses. Come sundown the table to book is at SABO, helmed by multi-starred chef Jean-François Piège.
The overall impression, despite the five star service, impeccable rooms, spectacular kids' club, and first rate spa, is not one of a hotel, but of a private home, hired for a particularly lavish celebration. Everything here is personal, warm, joyous, and inviting. Do make sure to stay for the Sunday brunch, where the entire resort descends to the paddock area for jolly mariachi bands, a parade from the horses, and free-flowing Champagne. A home away from home, if your home is an Arabian palace. Charlotte Davey
Caravan by Habitas Agafay
The rocky sparseness of Morocco’s Agafay desert has long attracted travellers wanting a break from the sensory explosions of Marrakech. It’s an ideal landing spot for the Habitas group, which since 2016 has been setting up its minimalist, sustainable eco-retreats in places like Mexico, Namibia, and Saudi Arabia. Their oasis among the lunar dunes eschews bells and whistles in favour of communal vibes and engagement with nature – or “luxury for the soul,” as founders Oliver Ripley, Kfir Levy, and Eduardo Castillo calls it. They have now applied their ethos to Agafay’s 41 Berber-inspired tents and lodges. Each en suite tent – solar-powered, with eco-bathrooms – embodies stylish pared-downness: no minibars or TVs, just wooden floors and earthy cream and ochre tones reminiscent of the regional rock. Like all Habitas retreats, Agafay uses light-impact building materials as much as possible, either upcycled or sourced locally, which are designed to blend into the landscape. Weekenders escaping European cities sink into pouffes and Berber rugs inside the communal glass-wrapped lounge. On the semi-open dining veranda, beneath raffia lamps, they tuck into lamb slow-cooked in the underground oven before knocking back market sangrias by the open-air bar, silhouetted against the Atlas Mountains and flame-red sunsets that give way to heavenly constellations. This is what travel is about – less guilt and more meaning amid tranquillity, good conversation, and cleansing nature. Noo Saro-Wiwa
El Fenn
Featured on our 2024 Gold List of the best hotels in the world.
It’s easy to forget what a game-changer El Fenn was when it opened two decades ago on the edge of the medina with just six jewel-toned bedrooms, plumes of bougainvillaea and a rooftop that felt like a fabulous house party. It stitched itself into the fabric of the Red City and redefined its aesthetic with colour-clashing walls and lounges of thickly woven Berber and velvet fabrics, Moorish keyhole archways, and orange trees. Like the best hotels, it has moved – and expanded – with the times. Co-owner Vanessa Branson, founder of the Marrakech Biennale and a certified Marocophile, has gradually bought up the crumbling neighbouring riads to create a wondrous labyrinth of 13 interconnected buildings, three pools and 41 bedrooms in blush pinks, mustards and acid yellows. Some have zellige tiles, others hand-stitched camel leather floors and carved wooden ceilings, all offset with pop art and bright contemporary installations. Various sun-dappled courtyards lead to a new wood-carved annexe, which references traditional Arabic motifs in the latticework and stained-glass windows. I recently stayed in one of the “cosy” rooms, behind an ornate cedar door. On a hand-plastered traditional tadelakt wall hangs a contemporary dot painting by Moroccan artist Abdelmalek Berhiss, while a timeworn mother-of-pearl iridescent chandelier dangles above the bed. It’s nearly impossible to tell old from new, a result of using local artisans, natural fabrics and upcycled furniture. The open-air, guest-only Colonnade Café is dotted with olive trees; its modern spiral staircase, which connects the ground-floor boutique with the sprawling spruced-up rooftop, is a monument to Marrakech’s contemporary mood. mood. Yet amid the rooftop’s pool, sunbeds and pops of colour, the old magic of Marrakech endures. Chloe Sachdev
Le Farnatchi
An island of peace set within the walls of the chaotic Marrakech medina, it’s easy to see why Le Farnatchi has become a firm favourite for celebrities visiting the area who want to stay in the thick of it. Behind an imposing black, wooden arched door tucked away on a side street, you step into a serene courtyard, with a small emerald pool in the centre and balconies surrounding above. If you’re in the mood to sip coffee and play chess, head towards the back of the riad to find a polished marble square with cosy alcoves to recline in and covered areas with a chessboard for relaxing and playing. This is where you can come to unwind during cooler months, too, as there’s a fireplace that I’m assured does get lit in winter (although it’s hard to imagine in the 41-degree heat of summer!).
The small selection of nine suites is mostly found upstairs – they’re very quiet, despite the bustling location, with handmade beds, a living room area, dining balcony and a slightly discombobulating glass-bottomed shower.
If you’re looking for an acclaimed and reliable place to get great Moroccan food during your stay in Marrakech, the riad’s restaurant La Trou Au Mur sits directly opposite. You can dine here whether you’re a hotel guest or not. Head right up the spiralling staircase for rooftop dining, enveloped in the sounds of the call to prayer and the market down below. Here you can choose from an international or Moroccan menu, including a Tagine of the Day and other traditional dishes such as camel Tangia and saffron-infused Tride. Ruby Deevoy
La Mamounia
Featured on our 2023 Gold List of the best hotels in the world
This is where Charlie Chaplin and Churchill chose to hole up, and Hitchcock filmed The Man Who Knew Too Much. Reinvigorated by designer Jacques Garcia, it had a spectacular reopening in 2009. Retreat from the hubbub to the huge gardens, with their beekeepers, lemon trees, secret ice-cream parlour and the loveliest pool with a palm tree in the middle. The Sunday poolside brunch – tagines, grilled fish, pizza flatbreads – is excellent for hungry children, as is eating in Le Marocain to the sounds of a traditional oud (a bit like a lute). For a riad-style stay, there are three houses on the grounds, but the rooms with views out to the Koutoubia Mosque and over the rooftops of the Red City are the ones that give you the best sense of place. Pick up neon earthenware jugs, Berber-style rugs and baskets at New York designer Martin Raffone’s MaisonLAB in Guéliz.
Farasha Farmhouse
Marrakech has been abuzz with the arrival of new medina and Palmeraie hotels in the past year. But it’s this farmhouse embedded in an olive grove between the Atlas and Jbilet mountains, 45 minutes from the medina, that feels most like a gear-shift in the city’s hotel scene. The vision of husband-and-wife event stylists Fred and Rosena Charmoy – who have planned some of the most talked-about parties in town over the past 20 years – it’s the kind of in-the-know desert retreat you would expect to find in Ibiza or Joshua Tree. There are no flashy signs; instead the Hamsa, or Hand of Fatima, is etched on a rock to signal you’re close by. Long pathways sprinkled with argan nuts lead the way to the dusty-pink converted farmhouse. Inside, the smooth space looks like a sleek art gallery, with shimmering tadelakt surfaces. Vintage Italian sofas join pieces by local artists and craftspeople, from shaggy carpets by Beni Rugs to Amine El Gotaibi’s giant woolly art installations and coffee-table books handed down from the city’s legendary Vreeland estate. Of the three oversized suites in the main building, the two cavernous rooftop rooms are the best for views across to the mountain peaks. In the wispy gardens, an adobe house has been turned into a stylish casita, where traditional clay contrasts with oxblood and mustard zellige tiles. The 164-foot pool has huge daybeds between plumes of olive trees, where guests sprawl before drifting into evenings fueled by hibiscus sundowners and New Age cosmic chats. Chloe Sachdev
Nobu Hotel Marrakech
With a name as reputable as Nobu on the door, good service and an even better restaurant offering are practically scribed into the brickwork. Marrakech is the brand's first foray into Africa, and its interiors remain respectful of the location, capturing a different kind of aesthetic that sets it apart from its Mediterranean cousins. The location is one to celebrate. From here, you can walk to the medina and the souks, or arrange drivers to take you further afield via the concierge, who suggests tours to the Atlas mountains, desert picnics and cultural experiences like camel rides. The rooftop is as beautiful as the 360-degree views it offers, and watching the sun cast ombre shades of pink and orange across the sky before it sinks behind the horizon is best accompanied by a signature cocktail or a serving of mint tea – poured from an elaborate silver-tone pot, of course. Every bedroom is a suite bedecked in mahogany wood and rich furnishings. Sarah Leigh Bannerman
Read our full review of Nobu Hotel Marrakech.
Maison Brummell Majorelle
Despite being home to the colour-popping Jardin Majorelle, the Yves Saint Laurent Museum and Villa Oasis, the designer’s former residence, the Majorelle neighbourhood has never quite had a worthy place to stay – until now. Pitching up near Rue Yves Saint Laurent, close to the smart Gueliz quarter, Maison Brummell Majorelle is a welcome addition. From the outside, the dusty-pink modernist cube reflects the hues of the medina. Inside, it’s a sculptural masterpiece of clean, sloping lines, neutral tones and smooth surfaces. A follow-up to the tropical-modern Hotel Brummell in Barcelona’s Poble Sec neighbourhood, it took Austrian hotelier Christian Schallert three years to build this peaceful refuge, with its tadelakt spiral staircase and shapely, sinuous curves. Simple ceramic pots and paper lanterns are placed just so, with the crescent-shaped windows casting sculptural shadows. Each of the eight bedrooms is spacious, in shades of walnut, concrete and brushed brass; some have little balconies, day beds and views overlooking the speckled- grey terrazzo pool or, if you squint, the Jardin Majorelle. The sleek, ultra-contemporary hammam and steam room feel miles away from any sort of medina chaos, as does the ink-blue living room with its crisp architectural fireplace. Chloe Sachdev
Rosemary
Belgian ceramist, textile artist and all-round creator Laurence Leenaert has already been a key player in redefining a new Marrakech aesthetic with her Lrnce brand. Now she, alongside her husband Ayoub Boualam, has etched, chiselled and hand-painted this five-bedroom riad into a brain-ticklingly artistic guesthouse. She has treated the former home, located inside one of the oldest neighbourhoods in the medina – Riad Zitoun Jdid, near the Jewish quarter – like one of her squiggly canvases, but with terrazzo throughout and plentiful use of traditional craftsmanship. In the pocket-sized hammam, an octopus mural from chiselled zellige is pressed into the wall, and streaks of rainbow slice through abstract stained-glass windows. The artist’s touches are everywhere, from signature scribbles carved into sandstone tables to tiny hand-painted bathroom tiles, each a miniature artwork, and wavy terrazzo tiles in the centre courtyard. On every smooth tadelakt surface is a piece of colourful art – plates, vases, candle holders – by Leenaert herself or her brand. Flooded with light, the riad wraps around a giant jacaranda tree, all the way up to the tangerine rooftop, where mosaics of fruit bowls and wonky smiley faces are embedded into tables and walls, and wrought-iron dining chairs have been twisted and shaped like suns and moons. The dining room and salon will become spaces for intimate talks and workshops – emphasising the sense that Rosemary will be its own embassy of creativity. Chloe Sachdev
Royal Mansour
The Royal Mansour is not so much a hotel as an imperial palace. Owned by Morocco’s King Mohammed VI – which may explain why such a vast and elaborate masterpiece took just three years to build, albeit with a team of 1,200 artisans on the job – it is set within five pink-walled hectares beside the Red City. It's made up of 53 guest riads, each three storeys high, with up to four bedrooms, indoor-outdoor living spaces and private rooftops with plunge pools and views of the Atlas Mountains.
Courtyards are spectacular: richly detailed and Zellig-tiled, with colossal scalloped archways and intricately carved doors, decorated with fountains and cane furniture, with traditional lights strung overhead. Elsewhere, the classic Moorish architecture has been updated: in the serene and stylish pool with its contemporary pavilions; in the spa, surely the prettiest on the planet, enclosed in a filigreed metal structure as ethereal as lace. As for the hotel's culinary offerings, foodies have four exceptional restaurants to choose from, two of which – La Grande Brasserie and La Grande Table Marocaine – are headed up by multi-award-winning and three-Michelin-starred chef Hélène Darroze. Sesamo, the hotel's opulent Italian restaurant, is overseen by three Michelin-starred chef Massimiliano Alajmo, while Le Jardin is the hotel's al fresco haven headed up by executive chef Jérôme Videau.
Two-and-a-half-hectare gardens lush with palms, olive and orange trees, and fragrant with the scent of jasmine, rosemary and mint, harbour more delights beyond the horticultural: an artist’s studio in a greenhouse where guests paint, pot and draw; and Le Jardin, the most delightful al fresco restaurant amid the greenery. Laura Fowler
The Oberoi Marrakech
This grand hotel, carved from marble, was 10 years in the making – finally opening its doors in 2019 after a decade of painstaking construction. Crouched before the Atlas mountains on 28-acres of olive groves, it’s one of the most extraordinary stays in the city. The chef and concierge were pinched from Marrakech stalwart La Mamounia, a few staff were even poached from King Mohammed’s Royal Mansour. The spa manager comes from Es Saadi and oversees the wellness programme in a space set on a sparrow-skimmed, reeded lake and equipped with marble hammams and therapists from the acclaimed Oberoi Sukhvilas.
In the rooms, discernment is apparent in elephant-grey Chesterfields, Indian chandeliers and sugared dates as fat as juicy cigars. Meanwhile, the mix of Mughal and Berber paintings reminds me that I am firmly in Marrakech but never far from Rajasthan. Stephanie Rafanelli
L’Hotel
English designer Jasper Conran made over this 19th-century palace, his first entry into the world of hotels. It’s an ethereal space, where king size beds are covered in sweeping linens like something out of a fairy-tale. Staff are engaged and attentive but never fussy, dishing up plates of solid, traditional Moroccan cooking in the summery dining room – beef and quince tagine, Moroccan salads such as Zaalouk, made with aubergine, and Taktouka, with tomatoes and peppers – all classic and classy.
This is an orange-blossom-scented, antique-filled retreat away from the hubbub – you’ll need to walk a little way to reach Marrakech’s finest restaurants and shops. But if you’re obsessed with small details, from the flowers on the table to the linens on your bed, adore scented gardens and favour intimate spaces that make you feel like you own the place, this Conran nest is for you. Tara Stevens
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Riad Secret Jardin
Photographer Cyrielle Astaing and art director Julien Phomveha met in Paris, but their move to Marrakech in 2015 brought with it the opportunity to open their own riad. In the central courtyard, the resident cat stares out chirping birds in the banana trees. Rooms are set around this lush garden – interior details in the rooms have been sourced from local markets, so you can shop the look, and the dried pampas grass and flowers throughout the hotel can be bought and whisked away with you when you check out. This is, at its heart, a creative hub where artists take up months-long residencies to soak up inspiration from Marrakech’s fine creatives and work on artistic projects detached from the rest of the world. The couple’s dog, a dead-ringer for Toto from The Wizard of Oz, snoozes on the pink rooftop while you have breakfast overlooking the skyline – a unmissable delight of staying here. Sophie Knight
Four Seasons Marrakech
There are quirkier, more boho places to stay in Marrakech with tiny travellers. Fawakay Villas has a Berber tent in the garden for sleepouts, for example, while the Beldi Country Club is a rustic-chic enclave with pottery classes and riding lessons. But for a gentle introduction to North Africa, Four Seasons Resort Marrakech is safe and reliable, yet has a thrillingly high excitement factor.
On arrival, there are silver trays of fresh mint tea and little bowls of almonds in the lobby, where kids are mesmerised by the chirping from the gigantic white birdcage. At night, the hotel is a sparkling, candlelit extravaganza, and bedrooms are scented with orange or rose. Children fall in love with the atmosphere and squeal over in-room surprises such as chocolate brownies, mini dressing gowns, mini djellabas (to sleep in) and toy camels. The kids' club can arrange everything from belly dancing to bread-making, and the staff seem to be permanently on an exaggerated cartoon high. There's a warm, shallow pool for toddlers, a basketball net, film screenings, picnics, and games on speed dial.
While all that's happening, parents can dash to the cooling calm of the spa for an authentic hammam – including scream-out-loud cold-water dousings – followed by the most delicious fresh rosemary and geranium tea. Or play tennis, have a yoga lesson or just loll in the sunshine. There are two swimming pools – one an adults-only dream of symmetry, the other a sprawling, free-form frenzy of floats, balls and water bombs. Cabanas provide much-needed shade, the wood-fired pizzas are bang-on, and the homemade ice creams are irresistible.
Mandarin Oriental, Marrakech
These are some serious digs: a total of 54 deeply private, one- and two-bedroom villas, all with creamy stone floors and carved tadelakt walls framed by stately columns (there are also nine first-floor rooms with fabulous Atlas views). The outdoor showers are enclosed with bamboo, while the courtyards have crackling wood fires and there are marble hammams in the bathrooms. A stroll through the 20 hectares of gardens, perfumed with the scent of 100,000 roses, leads to a spa and hammam of epic proportions, which unfurls in a series of graceful arches like those of the Mezquita in Córdoba. It's the attention to hand-crafted details like these that set the Mandarin apart from the city's more blingy five stars, and there's other carefully curated stuff too – from making dinner-party dishes with high-flying chefs to touring the organic fruit and vegetable garden. When the heat of the day gets too much just sneak back to the villa and spend the afternoon snoozing on a king-size daybed by the pool. This is somewhere to waft around indulging in all the extras, from yoga sessions to an in-room supper whipped up by a private chef. Tara Stevens
Riad Goloboy
The designer of this beautiful riad, Beatrice Faujas, spent some time in the Soviet Union and its name comes from the Russian word for blue. Fittingly, she has painted the courtyard an eye-popping Majorelle blue, using it as a flamboyant foil for her gallery-worthy art collection, which ranges from a hot-pink canine sculpture in the lobby to a graffitied splash-back in the rooftop shower. The eight bedrooms are altogether more sultry, with a palette of dark metallics. The Catherine, for example, has aubergine walls, python-skin armchairs and a fireplace trimmed with hand-beaten metal. Creamy, intricately carved plaster makes a statement headboard for the bed. The bar and sitting room is finished in charcoal tadelakt with floors embossed in Islamic motifs that contrast pleasingly with pastel-coloured armchairs and gold velvet banquettes. The furniture was bought mainly at auction or specially commissioned, and every last stick is for sale. Work will soon begin on converting the house next door, which will add a large pool, spa and eight more bedrooms by the end of the year. But for now, this is a peaceful little hideaway in the heart of Sidi Mimoun, the neighbourhood that's also home to La Mamounia. Cute and cosy with lovely staff, it's just the kind of place to combine a low-key weekend with a spot of sightseeing. Tara Stevens
Kasbah Beldi
A 50-minute drive from Marrakech in the village of Amizmiz, this kasbah is charming but the real joy is its surroundings: a gigantic green lake fringed by pines, the honey-hued peaks of the Atlas so close you can almost touch them, and the conical shape of Toubkal dusted with snow. The Kasbah is the rural sibling to the well-established Beldi Country Club in town, and since it opened late in 2014 has become a popular base for long hikes or gaucho-style gallops across the plains. There are 30 bedrooms, a couple of dining rooms, a Berber tent, two swimming pools and a hammam lit by jewel-bright glass, all hidden hobbit-like among thickets of purple fountain grass. The best is the lodge rooms, each with a floor-to-ceiling window facing the mountains to soak up mesmerising sunrise views from your bed. After a wilderness escapade, recline on one of the Berber carpets laid out beneath an ancient holm oak and picnic on lemony chicken tagine and chocolate mousse. At sunset, sit poolside with a cool bottle of Casablanca to watch the water on the lake flicker from emerald green to midnight blue – when evening comes, the canopy of stars unfolds above, unspoiled by city lights. Tara Stevens
The Source
This hip and friendly hotel is set in five hidden acres off the dusty road to Orika. Its rock-star theme was dreamt up by music-loving French owner Laurent Cohen, and his concept extends to a recording studio (with in-house technicians) and every conceivable instrument to play around with. The rooms (including two villas with private pools and an air-conditioned Berber tent) are imaginative and fun, with a stylish mix of handcrafted furniture. Each is different: the baroque, scarlet-walled Rolling Stones room; the Jimi Hendrix with a four-poster and a bath hidden behind a latticed wooden mashrabiya; the flashy silver Backstage artist's lodge, or even the powder-pink Pompadour. All of which may sound over the top, but is elegant and wonderfully laidback. The good vibes continue at the white-on-white spa with treatments that include the Sound of Silence (using resonating Tibetan bowls) and the Forever Young (an anti-ageing massage with argan oil and prickly-pear essences). The garden restaurant, surrounded by citrus trees, serves soups, Moroccan salads and chicken and lamb tagines, with skewers of fresh fruit and honey pastries for pudding. If you can tear yourself away from the pool (where local musicians jam at sunset) or the dramatic views over the snow-capped Atlas Mountains, the clamour of Marrakech is just a 20-minute drive away. Lanie Goodman
Villa Azzaytouna
This is a celebratory kind of a place, a three-bedroom pleasure palace in the Palmeraie knitted together by majestic domed roofs and tiled waterways, which is fast becoming the star of an already pretty fabulous show (the main house, Villa Ezzahra, has hosted the likes of Daniel Craig). Azzaytouna is the most intimate of the three villas, set among a cluster of century-old olive trees with a private pool that's long enough for laps (and plunge pools in the walled gardens that lead off each bedroom). There are Indian charpoi beds for collapsing in the shade, a private hammam for olive-soap scrub downs, while massage and manicures can be taken wherever and whenever you want. The vast living room has a fireplace, lit every evening, and every wall is resplendent with original art, filigreed copper baubles glittering from the cupola. It feels like a grand home rather than a villa rental, and taking all three houses would make this the ultimate party pad. Everything except alcohol is included, which means, praise be, nobody need worry about a thing from the moment of arrival – unless it's whether or not to have another lovely cold glass of Pinot Gris. Tara Stevens
Pure House
The instant tranquillity you find as you turn onto a surprisingly quiet back street in the heart of the chaotic Medina and step inside Pure House is unexpected to say the least. Although you’re mere steps away from the whirlwind of souks and scooters, this riad somehow removes you from it all, transporting you into what feels more like a boutique hotel in Ibiza rather than Morocco. On arrival, guests are given an iPhone loaded up with Google Maps, WhatsApp and phone numbers for the hotel concierge, taxis and emergency services – a very clever and welcome touch that made it much easier to venture out with confidence.
Unlike other riads in the area, which tend to lean more towards traditional Moroccan stylings, there are no patterned tiles and vibrant materials in sight. Instead, it’s painted floor-to-ceiling in white with neutral furnishings, natural greenery surrounding the ground floor water feature, contemporary photography on the walls and fresh detox juices on demand. On the rooftop, you’ll find a bar and plunge pool – a welcome respite in the scorching summer heat – as well as sun loungers laid out, carefully positioned under automatic misting sprays that keep you cool while you recline.
While the bedrooms are a little smaller than in other riads I visited, you have everything you need, including a king-sized bed, high-powered waterfall shower and the all-important air con. Aside from the laid-back elegance of the place, something else worth raving about here is the food, which was the best I had during my whole time in Morocco. As well as offering the usual exceptional orange juice, tagines and date pastries, the Moroccan/Lebanese/Mediterranean fusion of this riad’s restaurant delivered fresh flavoured salads, intensely flavourful grilled meats, and a vast range of small plates perfect for sharing. There’s tomato pasta too, if you’re travelling with a young fussy eater, like me. Ruby Deevoy
Sirayane Boutique Hotel & Casa Memoria
If you closed your eyes and imagined an archetypal riad fit for royalty, with peacocks roaming ancient olive groves, swimming pool-sized tiled bathtubs, extensive gardens laced with the aroma of orange blossom and Zellige tiles lining the walls and arched doorframes, you’d be picturing Casa Memoria. The new extension of the famous Sirayane hotel (which sits literally next door, a two-minute walk away), this riad is an ode to Moroccan style, finished with the signature tadelakt and bijou design that the country's most celebrated architects became famous for. The impeccably curated interiors were completed by Bill Willis, an American designer who was a leading light in Moroccan design during his career, and even includes curios gifted by Yves Saint Laurent.
Casa Memoria is perfect for large groups or families who want a whole riad to themselves and a heated private pool (as you can rent out the entire thing for a very reasonable price) – if you were to do this, you’d get a private chef, butler, daily housekeeping, security and concierge service included. There are six design-led suites, each with private outdoor space and en-suite, all of which are exceptional, but especially the opulent master suite with hand-sculpted ceilings, a majestic, zellige fireplace, and a hammam-inspired emerald green bathing chamber. For multiple groups travelling together, adjoining parent hotel, Sirayane, creates the perfect overflow with a selection of suites, a further two swimming pools, fitness centre, hammam, restaurant and bar, all of which can also be used by the riad guests. There’s also a free shuttle bus that runs to and from Jemaâ El Fna Square 7 times a day, and amazing frozen strawberry margaritas. Ruby Deevoy