The 10 best boutique hotels in Marrakech, from designer riads to palatial good looks
Are you happy? Everything good? How about your family? – what could be the start of a therapy session elsewhere is a greeting in Marrakech – hospitality has been practised and perfected for a millennium at this desert trading post and now serves tourists well, particularly in the city’s boutique accommodation. In these intimate properties, you’ll enjoy the true artfulness of a Moroccan welcome amid stylish settings brimming with character. Food, too, is a highlight feature in a town used to welcoming hungry travellers that have journeyed across vast deserts.
Jnane Tamsna
Marrakech, Morocco
8Telegraph expert rating
True to its name, Jnane Tamsna ('Big Garden') immerses you in the sights, sounds and scents of a North African garden. Chiselled good looks and an artistic sense of colour provide glamour without the gilt. Moorish arches painted in a warm butterscotch frame views of bright blue skies and the verdant garden, where winding paths lead to five secluded villas housing 24 deeply comfortable rooms. A highlight is the Diversity Excursions, which are led by university graduates keen to take tourists off the beaten track and show them something of Moroccan customs, cuisine and art. Nowhere else in Marrakech offers such illuminating cultural diversions. Read expert review From £160 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Palais Lamrani
Marrakech, Morocco
8Telegraph expert rating
Built in the early 20th century by merchants from Fez, the palace still reflects the wealth and upward mobility of the Lamrani family. The huge garden, which is a delightful surprise after the narrow entrance, is thickly planted with bitter oranges, bananas, grapefruit and palms. Intricate zellig-tiled paths snake between the greenery and crawl up the walls of the colonnaded portico. Through here you’ll find a second courtyard with a pool where the family once kept their carriages. Inside, the rich decorative detailing continues in multiple lounges trimmed with stuccowork, filled to bursting with a fascinating collection of Moroccan and European antiques and artworks. Rooms that conjure fantasies of 1001 nights. Read expert review From £119 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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L'Hôtel Marrakech
Marrakech, Morocco
9Telegraph expert rating
Jasper Conran’s 19th-century riad is a haven of effortless good taste. Its extravagant green garden and art-filled suites channel the same soignée glamour as the 1942 film, Casablanca. Walk-on roles are played by a cosmopolitan guest list, who look every inch the part lounging fireside in the luxe salons. The garden is possibly the finest feature of the house. From the dining salon it looks like a luxuriant Zuber wall print through the floor-to-ceiling French windows, and it also provides a natural screen for the heated saltwater pool. All rooms have romantic, four-poster beds swathed in romantic voile drapery, and are furnished with artworks from Jasper’s collection including glittering Indian miniature paintings, elaborate, inlaid Syrian mirrors and organic Art Deco lamps by Daum Frères. Read expert review From £307 per night Check availability Rates provided by Mr & Mrs Smith
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Riad 72
Marrakech, Morocco
9Telegraph expert rating
A hip hideaway in the historic medina where Italian photographer Giovanna Cinel brings a dash of Milanese moda to a traditional Moroccan riad, complete with secluded courtyard, hammam and a rooftop plunge pool. Riad 72’s theatrically staged patio boasts starburst marquetry tables orbiting beneath the fanning fronds of the banana tree. In the library a louche red-velvet sofa beckons bookworms while romancing diners retreat to the sexy shadows of the Salle Rouge, where giant lanterns cast a high-sheen gloss over polished tadelakt walls. The Elle Decor dream continues upstairs in the 13 bedrooms, all of them individually decorated with high-quality artworks, luxurious fabrics and super comfortable beds. Read expert review From £136 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
Riad Due
Marrakech, Morocco
8Telegraph expert rating
This fun and funky four-room riad is bursting with colour and character. Step through the door and you'll be blown away by the riot of colour and pattern in the central patio. Sculptural plants shoot skywards out of huge planters tiled in exquisite detail with tiny blue, green and white zellij. The real treat here is the home-from-home vibe and the superb, personalised service. The manager is more than happy to dispense cool shopping tips, ideas for excursions and brilliant dining recommendations for every type of traveller. The fabulous roof terrace artfully screened with exotic palms and cacti. Read expert review From £165 per night Check availability Rates provided by Mr & Mrs Smith
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Riad Adore
Marrakech, Morocco
9Telegraph expert rating
This spacious, light-filled riad offers original architecture and homely service. It’s enhanced by added extras like a fantastically cool aquamarine, courtyard plunge pool, a pint-sized hammam where you can drift off to a dreamy 'gommage' (scrub down with olive oil soap infused with rose water) or chill in a library well-stocked with books, lifestyle mags and films. The best room in the house is the Victoria Suite, where you can sit out on the balcony over the pool and luxuriate over a long lazy breakfast. Eating here is a pleasure, either in the visually stunning patio or up on the swish roof terrace with its shady pergola and cacti sculptures. Read expert review From £122 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Dar Zemora
Marrakech, Morocco
8Telegraph expert rating
Conceived as the private home of owners Paul and Lindsay Kentish, Dar Zemora has a lovely personal atmosphere. The quietly stylish, peach-coloured villa was designed by Mattieu Boccara – the son of renowned architect Charles Boccara – and is a sensitive mix of Moroccan and European style. There's a fabulous terrace furnished with layered rugs and cushioned sofas which looks out over the mature garden through a romantic open-sided colonnade. In winter, the pool is heated to a luxurious 28 degrees thanks to solar panels, making it one of the few pools in Marrakech that you can swim in throughout the winter months. There are two suites and three bedrooms in the main house, all of which are generous in size. Read expert review From £180 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Berber Lodge
Marrakech, Morocco
8Telegraph expert rating
Step into this countryside lodge with its charming jigsaw of pink pisé structures set amid an ancient olive grove and your stresses instantly evaporate. The design – overseen by a talented interior design author – sees traditional Moroccan materials (baked tiles, reed, grass) paired with African artefacts and retro mid-century fixtures. The staff all come from the nearby village of Oumnass, and exhibit the gentle, hospitable friendliness that Berber communities are famous for. There are nine spacious cottages, furnished with Zen-like simplicity. It's hard to put your finger on the magic of this unpretentious place, but magical it is, affording guests an old-fashioned feeling of rural retreat. Read expert review From £167 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Dar Housnia
Marrakech, Morocco
9Telegraph expert rating
With its sun-baked pink patio tiles, carved white plasterwork and elegant lancet arches, Dar Housnia has an unmistakable Arabo-Andalucian feel. True to its name, which means ‘House of Harmony’, it is a peaceful and artful haven, showcasing the best Moroccan craftwork with a sympathetic contemporary sensibility. Each of the six suites has an individual look and is beautifully decorated around a standout piece of art or antique, such as the 19th-century Koranic chest in the Sabaa suite. It also serves some of the most elegant Moroccan food in the medina, such as hand-rolled couscous alongside French classics such as bouillabaisse. Read expert review From £127 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Dar Les Cigognes
Marrakech, Morocco
9Telegraph expert rating
This one-time spice merchant's palace has been reimagined as an elegant, 11-room boutique hotel, which honours the history of the house and immerses guests in sophisticated medina living. It’s named after the statuesque storks (cigognes) that stand photogenically on the crenellated walls of the King's palace opposite. Each room comes with a unique decorative scheme. The hotel has an award-winning cookery school, so set your expectations high for dinner, which may include monkfish tagine and melt-in-your-mouth tangia, a slow-cooked, spiced beef stew cooked in a traditional clay pot. Dining on the flower-filled roof terrace as the storks come home to roost at sunset is an absolute highlight. Read expert review From £143 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
