The Best Hotels in Marrakech, From Intimate Riads to Palatial Resorts

By Liam Hess

It’s a cliché, of course, but there’s truly nowhere quite like Marrakech. Sitting at a historic crossroads between Europe, Africa, and the Arab world, the city’s blend of cultures remains as complex and dazzling as one of the spice blends you’ll find stacked into pyramids within its labyrinthine souks. And whether you’re there to wander through the dusty brick corridors of its mosques and palaces or sip on gunpowder mint tea—or simply to browse the stalls of those aforementioned souks and pick up a pair of colorful leather babouches—it offers a bombardment of the senses like no other.

Still, there’s a deeper reason why generations of stylish travelers have gravitated to Marrakech, seeking to channel its unique spirit of glamour and grit. The unforgettable images of the Rolling Stones drifting through the streets in spiffy tailoring, or Talitha Getty in a breezy caftan on the roof of her riad in a richly patterned jacket and harem pants. The wonders of Yves Saint Laurent’s Jardin Majorelle, with its cacti and exotic plants against a sea of cobalt blue, and the journey through fashion history offered in the adjoining museum. Or, the more recent generations of fashion glitterati who flock to the city in search of inspiration and creative nourishment, from Jean-Paul Gaultier to John Galliano, and whose collections have been inspired by the city’s distinctive aesthetic.

Playing no small part in Marrakech’s popularity as a tourist destination, too, is the head-spinning array of world-class hotels the city has under its belt, from legendary destinations like La Mamounia, to playfully-designed riads like El Fenn and Jasper Conran’s L’Hotel, to buzzy new upstarts like the Nobu Marrakech with its lively rooftop bar and pool.

Here, find Vogue’s pick of the very best Marrakech hotels—from intimate, homely stays in the heart of the medina, to the tranquil estates owned by global hotel brands with every luxury imaginable on the fringes of the city.

Arriving at Amanjena is an experience in and of itself: you’ll be whizzed through the dusty outskirts of the city in a private transfer, ushered into its monumental gates, and then quickly welcomed by a hot towel and Moroccan tea. Yet the most theatrical element of all is the epic backdrop against which this slickly choreographed hospitality takes place: the grand courtyard first glimpsed through a rose-pink Moorish arch, and then revealed to house a breathtakingly expansive pond, lit up at dusk by flaming torches. Storks graze at the corner under the shadows of palm fronds, while songbirds chirrup around you—if there’s such a thing as paradise on earth, Amanjena is about as close to it as you’re likely to find.

Consisting of 34 “pavilions” and “maisons” (there’s no such thing as a mere room or suite here) each private enclave features a private pool, a colonnaded area with a fireplace to relax in the evening, and interiors featuring Berber rugs and glittering Venetian-style domes under which you can take a long soak in your green marble bathtub. The food is excellent: at lunch, you can take wood-fired pizzas overlooking the undulating, lush green hills of a neighboring golf cause with views of the Atlas Mountains in the far distance, or simply laze by the pool with a salad. In the evening, there’s a candlelit traditional Moroccan restaurant with gentle live music, or a top-notch sushi restaurant, Nama, where you can enjoy smoky tuna tataki and yellowtail usuzukuri, the fish shipped in fresh from Essaouira every morning.

By Hannah Coates

By Christian Allaire

By Kui Mwai

As with all the Aman outposts, the service at Amanjena is impeccable—by the second day, the staff has already cottoned on to and shared notes about your routine, bringing you a poolside iced coffee just before you were about to ask for it, or keeping a dinner table by the fireplace as you had it the evening before—and the spa, offering everything from traditional hammam experiences to yoga and private tennis lessons, is second to none. I arrived with plans to use the shuttle service into the city center to explore the medina, but after 48 hours, I realized I hadn’t left the grounds. When everything is this heavenly, why would you want to?

Address: Route de Ouarzazate، Marrakech 40000, Morocco

Upon first sighting the dramatic entryways to the Royal Mansour, embedded in the walls of the imperial city, it’s clear you’re entering a different kind of Moroccan paradise: one that’s located just steps away from the bustling heart of the medina, yet is contained within an enormous garden oasis (and reached through a pair of imposing bronze gates) that somehow makes you feel like you’re within the middle of nowhere. An effect heightened when, after check-in, you’re whisked from the intricate splendor of its courtyard lobby and through to the rambling pedestrian streets that lead you to your very own private riad.

By Hannah Coates

By Christian Allaire

By Kui Mwai

You could be mistaken for thinking you were winding your way through some kind of historic village. But it turns out the entire complex was commissioned by King Mohammed VI and constructed in three years by 1,200 master artisans before opening in 2010, making it an unparalleled showcase of contemporary Moroccan craftsmanship, even if the decor’s opulence and meticulous attention to detail does feel like stepping back into another age. Within your riad—with its almost obscenely plush beds, mosaic-covered fireplaces, and private roof deck—you’ll feel a little like a king yourself.

Once you’re ready to get lost within the hotel’s winding alleyways, you might stumble upon the recently refurbished spa complex (at 27,000 square feet and decorated with jaw-dropping gleaming white traceries, it’s undoubtedly the best in the city) or find an opening in the gardens that leads you to the enormous pool, edged by private cabanas. Unsurprisingly, the food options are head-spinningly varied too, from the Moroccan fine dining of La Grande Table Marocaine to the superb Venetian food on offer at Sesamo, courtesy of the Alajmo brothers; the calamari “cappuccino”—just order it—is out of this world.

By Hannah Coates

By Christian Allaire

By Kui Mwai

Peek over the rooftops of your own little village, and you’ll easily spot the city beyond—and possibly a glimpse of the Royal Mansour’s crown jewel, too, the palatially-proportioned “grand riad” that has played host to some of the world’s glitziest A-listers over the past decade or so. Naturally, the staff was too discrete to reveal exactly who, but it’s not hard to see why the Royal Mansour would be the ultimate Marrakech celebrity favorite—you’re in the heart of the action, yet can exist in the utmost privacy.

Address: Rue Abou Abbas El Sebti، 40000, Morocco

The latest arrival to Marrakech’s ever-growing hotel scene, the Nobu Hotel Marrakech does things a little differently. First, there’s its location within the Hivernage district: still only a 15-minute walk from the medina, but with a more worldly, cosmopolitan feel thanks to the ritzy nightclubs that dot the nearby boulevards and hotspots (like the must-visit belly dancing restaurant Comptoir Darna) that remain popular with locals and visitors alike. Then, there’s the hotel’s architecture: you won’t find the typical nods to Moroccan architecture of centuries past here—or at least, they’re woven in more subtly. Just take the building’s striking exterior, with its sleek curved surfaces and latticed steel, that carefully leads your eye up to the hotel’s crown jewel: the rooftop bar, restaurant, and pool.

By Hannah Coates

By Christian Allaire

By Kui Mwai

A quick elevator ride and you’ll be whizzed up for one of the most spectacular views in the city, from a 360-degree rooftop deck where you can sip cocktails, enjoy a casual dinner of seafood linguine or octopus grilled in a josper oven, or simply spend your morning lying by the pool. (It makes for a timely reminder that Marrakech is a brilliant getaway in winter too for those seeking a little sun.) Of course, this wouldn’t be a Nobu property without the brand’s signature restaurant, and you’ll find all the classics—black cod with miso, new-style sashimi, rock shrimp tempura—on the menu of the ground floor restaurant, where the vibe more closely dovetails with the Nobu aesthetic at large. (Think slats of dark Japanese wood and moody downlighting.)

The rooms are sleek and spacious, with all the five-star mod-cons you’d be expecting and minimalist nods to the local surroundings, while deep beneath the building lies an unmissable, sprawling spa complex with an indoor pool, hammams covered in twinkling, jewel-like mosaics, and treatments that span both Japanese and Moroccan wellness traditions. The hotel’s opening party earlier this year attracted a younger, more cosmopolitan international crowd than you might typically find at one of the city’s grande dame hotels—a fact that held true when I visited a month or so later. So if you’re looking for luxury—but still want to have a little fun, in a city that boasts an impressively vibrant nightlife scene—then the Nobu Marrakech is all but impossible to beat.

By Hannah Coates

By Christian Allaire

By Kui Mwai

Address: Av. Echouhada et Rue du Temple Hivernage, Marrakech, 40000, Morocco

For anyone seeking a truly design-forward (yet still decidedly luxurious) stay, make a beeline for El Fenn. Opened by Vanessa Branson, the sister of Richard and an entrepreneur in her own right, back in 2004, the hotel has only continued to expand over the decades since into what is inarguably the city’s most personality-packed retreat, located right on the edge of the medina. It may be a jet-set magnet (in particular for those adjacent to the worlds of art and fashion) but El Fenn wears its status lightly, with the emphasis very much on bohemian comfort rather than anything more flashy.

To start with the impossibly photogenic decor—because where else would one start?—El Fenn’s riotous kaleidoscope of color somehow manages to feel soothing rather than abrasive, and every individually-designed room is packed with delightful, eye-catching details. (Mine featured a roll-top copper bathtub, hand-stitched camel leather floors, an outdoor shower, and a roaring fireplace for when the desert climate sees temperatures drop in the evenings.) You’re right in the heart of the action here, but there’s not always an impetus to leave given everything that’s on offer within El Fenn’s bougainvillea-filled courtyards: three pools, a spa, a yoga deck, endless nooks and crannies for curling up with a book, and a genuinely world-class boutique selling everything from glassware to slippers made by the very best of local artisans.

By Hannah Coates

By Christian Allaire

By Kui Mwai

The food here is superb, too: a lunch menu offers a selection of five seasonal Moroccan salads which are all seasonal and mouth-wateringly fresh, while in the evening, you can tuck into feather-light ravioli with mushrooms from the Atlas mountains or fresh fish grilled to perfection with local spices—and, of course, a cocktail or two from the marble-clad bar. Sitting under the canopies of the rooftop on one of the colorful banquettes, as the tremulous strains of the call to prayer waft by and the lights of the city glitter beyond, it’s a slice of unique Moroccan magic.

Address: Derb Moulay Abdullah Ben Hezzian, 2, Marrakesh 40000, Morocco

By Hannah Coates

By Christian Allaire

By Kui Mwai

Arriving at the Mandarin Oriental Marrakech, the first thing that will make your jaw drop is the scale. In a city where plenty of hotels could stake a claim to be the biggest and boldest, the sheer enormity of the complex—which opened in 2015 as a sleeker, more contemporary alternative to the city’s grande dame hotels—is a sight in and of itself. Walking through the glass-walled central atrium and out onto the expansive veranda, the landscaped gardens, pools, and olive groves appear to stretch as far as the eye can see, framing a picture-postcard view of the Atlas Mountains, their lightly snow-capped peaks entangled with pillows of horizontal cloud.

While the layout and some of the more subtle architectural details pay homage to Moroccan traditions, the overall emphasis here is firmly on the new: nowhere more so than in one of its 54 (yes, 54) villas, which could easily stake a claim as the city’s most luxurious set-up. Push through the vertiginous wooden doors, and you’ll find your own private paradise: a swimming pool and jacuzzi, outdoor lounging areas, king-size beds draped with crisp white linens, and a vast bathroom and dressing area complete with your own private hammam. With all the high-tech bells and whistles you might expect from a recently-built hotel of this caliber, you could happily order room service on your digital tablet and never leave.

By Hannah Coates

By Christian Allaire

By Kui Mwai

But then you’d miss the sprawling Andalusian-inspired spa and cutting-edge fitness center—the morning yoga classes surrounded by lush, fragrant gardens are a must—or the pleasingly varied selection of food on offer, including a Chinese restaurant from the team behind Hakkasan serving top-tier dim sum and wok-fried spiny lobster. (There’s only so much tagine you can eat after a few days in Morocco, after all.) And while it might be a 15-minute drive from the medina, if you can tear yourself away, there’s a free shuttle whisking guests to and from the city center all day long. Truly the best of both worlds.

Address: Rte Golf Royal, Marrakech 40000, Morocco

If you’re the kind of traveler who likes to settle into a home away from home, then L’Hotel Marrakech is the one for you. Located at the end of a winding tangle of alleyways, the relatively inconspicuous entrance of this 18th-century palace consists of a wooden door and a buzzer: a quick ring and you’ll be ushered inside by one of the cheery, attentive staff, and led through its corridors to the idyllic inner courtyard filled with swaying palms and orange trees, and then invited to sit on one of its sumptuous white ottoman couches as you’re breezed through check-in. There’s no reception, or fiddly paperwork. Instead, it feels just like you’re visiting the holiday residence of a long-time friend; albeit the most stylish friend you know.

By Hannah Coates

By Christian Allaire

By Kui Mwai

L’Hotel’s design credentials are second-to-none. First opened in 2016 and housing just five rooms, this bijou property is the brainchild of none other than Jasper Conran, the British fashion and homewares guru for whom Morocco has become something of a second home. (Conran recently opened a new outpost of his burgeoning hotel empire, Villa Mabrouka, in the coastal city of Tangiers.) The decor is a case study in laid-back glamour: touches of 1930s Art Deco blend seamlessly with traditional Moroccan wooden furniture and decorative rugs, while canopied four-poster beds sit neatly alongside artworks from Conran’s own collection, including a striking portrait of an Indian maharajah.

Of course, it wouldn’t feel like a luxurious homestay without some fabulous home cooking, and the chefs here more than lives up to the task. At dusk, the drawing room is reconfigured into a relaxed dining area, serving Moroccan cuisine with an artful twist, from crisp fish pastillas to a richly flavorful beef and quince tagine. If you want to relax on the roof terrace, the waiters will happily bring up a kaleidoscopic array of salads for you to snack on at lunchtime; if you want to venture into the city proper, it’s mere steps from your door, as the hotel is in the heart of the authentic neighborhood of Bab Doukkala. The final masterstroke? A 10-meter-long saltwater pool (a rarity in this part of town) so you can cool off after a baking-hot day wandering the Marrakech streets. L’Hotel may be small, but it has it all.

By Hannah Coates

By Christian Allaire

By Kui Mwai

Address: 41 Derb Lahcen ou Ali, Marrakesh 40000, Morocco

If you were drawing up a shortlist of the world’s most legendary hotels, La Mamounia would sit comfortably near the top of that list. A veritable institution, the sprawling estate located just within the city’s imperial walls was first established in 1923, and has played host to a mind-boggling rollcall of celebrity guests over the decades—everyone from Charlie Chaplin to Mick Jagger has laid their head on its soft linen sheets, while Winston Churchill once called the hotel “one of the best I’ve ever used.” Quite the endorsement.

Still, La Mamounia has never wished to rest on its laurels. While the hotel still retains its old-world charm—its interiors are a visual feast of dazzling, naturally-lit tile-covered courtyards and moodier, subdued spaces with lacquered wood shimmering in the candelight—a top-to-toe refurbishment in 2020 by Jouin Manku has given it a new lease of life. Not only have the gorgeous decor stylings been given a gentle refresh to bring it firmly into the 21st century, but its already impressive offering of restaurants and amenities has expanded even further: there are two new restaurants, serving Italian and pan-Asian fare, overseen by the legendary French chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten; meanwhile, the famous Churchill Bar, which feels like stepping back in time to Marrakech’s mid-century heyday, has been transformed into an intimate setting for champagne and caviar.

By Hannah Coates

By Christian Allaire

By Kui Mwai

The sheer range of things to do within La Mamounia’s walls is near-unrivaled: there’s an Olympic-sized swimming pool, tennis courts, a breathtakingly opulent spa complex, a cinema, and the mind-boggling Le Marocain restaurant, which is housed in its very own riad within the hotel’s grounds. But what lends it its unique magic is the hospitality: every one of the hotel’s 600 or so staff is as attentive as could possibly be, and manage to make the colossal scale of the place feel somehow intimate. It doesn’t take long to realize that La Mamounia has remained one of the world’s most prestigious hotels for a reason.

Address: Avenue Bab Jdid, Marrakesh 40040, Morocco