Royal MansourMedina, inside the walls
Private riads with their own courtyard, pool and roof terrace, and underground corridors so staff never cross a guest. The reference point, and priced like one.
Covered by the magazine
Marrakech, Morocco
Morocco
The closest of the far-away lands, as the French call it. Four hours from Paris, and another century.
The reading
Marrakech is a city you enter, not one you look at.
The medina is walled, low and dense, and inside it the great houses hide behind doors that give nothing away from the street. That is the whole logic of the place: nothing shows from outside, and everything opens inward, onto a courtyard, a fountain and a sky cut into a square.
The magazine has covered the two houses that define the city. The Royal Mansour was built by the king and works as a small walled town of private riads, each with its own courtyard, its own pool and its own roof terrace, served through underground corridors so that no member of staff ever crosses a guest. The Amanjena sits outside the walls, in palm groves towards the Atlas, and is the quieter of the two: long water, pisé walls and a silence that the medina does not have.
Between the two, everything else: the souks with someone who knows which door to knock on, a hammam that is a two-hour ritual and not a treatment, dinner in the Agafay desert with the mountains still lit, and the Atlas within an hour if the days get hot.
When
September to May; summer is very hot
Where
Marrakech, with the Atlas and the desert nearby
Getting there
Direct flights from Paris, Lisbon and Madrid
Who it suits
Anyone who wants a short, dense trip, with wellness and shopping
The houses we have covered
- Royal Mansour, private riads inside the walls
- Amanjena, calm and water in the palm groves
- Both with hammam, spa and tables worth the trip
What fills the days
- The souks with a guide who buys, not one who sells
- A hammam ritual, unhurried
- Dinner in the Agafay desert at sunset
- A day in the Atlas, and lunch in a valley
- Gardens: Majorelle, Le Jardin Secret, Menara
The magazine covered the Royal Mansour and the Amanjena in its own pieces, and Morocco as a wellness destination. Everything we propose starts there. What we have not seen ourselves, we say so.
The houses
Where to stay, and what each one is for.
Marrakech has more great houses than any other city in Morocco, and they are not interchangeable. The list is ordered by what each does best, not by price.
AmanjenaPalmeraie, towards the Atlas
Long water, pisé walls and quiet. The calmest of the great houses, and the best for anyone who wants the city in doses.
Covered by the magazineLa MamouniaEdge of the medina
The historic palace, with gardens from the 1920s and one of the largest spas in the city. The classic first choice, and walking distance from Jemaa el-Fnaa.
On the listThe OberoiPalmeraie, among olive trees
The newest of the palaces, built as Moorish architecture at full scale, with the Atlas on the horizon from the pool.
On the listMandarin OrientalPalmeraie
Villas with private pools on large grounds. The best balance of resort and privacy for a family or a group.
On the listSelmanRoad to the Atlas
Built around a stable of Arabian horses, with interiors by Jacques Garcia. Unlike anything else in the city.
On the listEl FennMedina, by the ramparts
A riad turned into a house of contemporary art, with the best sunset terrace in the medina. Smaller, and far more personal.
On the listItineraries
Three ways to do it, depending on how many days you have.
4 nights
Marrakech only
- Arrival, the riad and dinner inside the walls
- The souks in the morning with a guide who buys, and the gardens in the afternoon
- Hammam and a slow day at the house
- Dinner in the Agafay desert, with the mountains still lit
For a long weekend, or as a stop between Europe and Brazil. Four hours from Paris and three from Lisbon.
7 nights
Marrakech, the Atlas and the coast
- Three nights in the medina, with the souks and the gardens
- A day in the Atlas, lunch in a Berber valley
- A night in the mountains or back to the city, as you prefer
- Two nights in Essaouira, on the Atlantic, wind and grilled fish
- Return to Marrakech for the last dinner
The most balanced of the three: city, mountains and sea without ever moving more than three hours.
10 nights
Marrakech, Fès and the desert
- Four nights in Marrakech, as above
- Flight or private road to Fès, the oldest medina in the country
- Two nights in Fès, with the tanneries and the craftsmen
- Road south to the dunes, a night in a private camp
- Return via the Draa valley and the kasbahs
- Final night back in Marrakech
For a first trip that wants the whole country. The desert is the part that changes people, and it needs two days to be worth it.
Each of these is a skeleton, not a package. The house, the pace and what goes in and out are agreed before anything is booked.
Marrakech
The city, the light and what is behind the doors.
Nothing shows from the street. Everything opens inward.
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