11 Best Hotels in Medina, Marrakesh

Since 1923, Morocco's most prestigious hotel has achieved legendary status for its opulence, grandeur, celebrity guest list, and hefty price tag. Famed also for its elegant interiors, magnificent mature gardens, and immaculate service, La Mamounia occupies 20 acres of fragrant gardens that once belonged to 18th-century Prince Mamoun and is a glowing example of Moroccan Arab–Andalusian fine arts. As you enter the main foyer, doormen glide to your assistance as you're greeted by a waft of orange blossoms. The marble sculptures, velvet armchairs, antique furniture, and spacious lounges hung with Asian paintings ooze elegance. Animal lovers will be delighted to see that despite its five-star standing, La Mamounia welcomes furry friends—a rarity in Morocco. It also has its own colony of rescue cats and a friendly donkey wandering the grounds.

At the edge of the medina, with easy access to parking, taxis, and the main Jemaa el-Fnaa square, La Maison Arabe is a stylish hotel offering old-fashioned charm and exceptional Moroccan hospitality. The design is an artful blend of Moorish and European, and each of the four courtyards offers grandeur on an intimate scale. Beautiful carved wooden paneling leads you through the old wing to discover the cool inner patio, reading rooms, piano bar, and an elegant Moroccan restaurant that's one of the best in Marrakesh. Most rooms have a fireplace and a balcony, and the hotel has a small (oddly placed) swimming pool and sun terraces above. There is a luxurious spa and hammam and guests also have access to a country club just outside Marrakesh, with a large pool and gardens. The house was once a famous restaurant, the first to serve Moroccan cuisine to such notables as Winston Churchill and Jackie Kennedy.

Riad Tarabel is an enchanting hideaway that exudes old-world charm. Antique maps, peacock chairs, taxidermy birds, and sparkling chandeliers all have a place here, as do lush paintings that were shipped from the enigmatic owner’s family château in France. For those who love travel-inspired nostalgia and treasures, a stay at Tarabel is an absolute must. Pay close attention to the gilt mirrors that decorate Tarabel’s sitting areas. One of them is actually a secret door that leads to a spa—all you have to do is find and press the button.

English entrepreneur Vanessa Branson created this riad "adventure" in 2002, and since then it has been reworked and extended into a palace of individually conceived rooms designed with a stylish modern aesthetic. The property appeals to fashionable sophisticates although families with children are equally welcome. The atmosphere is chic, relaxed, and trendy, but it's expensive compared to other properties in the same category. There are three pools, a hammam spa, restaurant, spacious bar with lounge, exclusive designer boutique, library, and shaded garden patios. The roof terrace is huge and attracts outside guests for evening cocktails, as does the restaurant. Hardly any wonder that most guests stay four to five days—some even two weeks. 

There's a certain over-the-top charm to this series of five interconnected riads of palatial proportions, each with a different decorative theme inspired by previous ruling dynasties. The hotel concierge offers all services and comforts associated with a small luxury hotel and there's a Romanesque underground spa and massage suite, as well as on-site cooking classes. There are also salon areas and lounges in each of the different riads, plus a billiards room and other spaces for meeting, greeting, or relaxing. A nighttime aperitif beside the patio pool amid rows of man-size lanterns is hard to beat. The very pleasant terrace restaurant is open to nonguests and has both French and Moroccan menus.

Take your breakfast or lunch here, but head elsewhere for dinner.

Despite its location on an unprepossessing street, this hotel is in the heart of the action and has a rather grand and opulent interior that cannot fail to impress. The carved pillars of the garden give the air of an ancient temple, with four salons around an enormous, heated pool and a giant fireplace at one end. The Ambassador suite has great views of the medina and nearby Koutoubia Mosque, but most of the rooms look upon the inner garden and pool area. Elegant sitting rooms, a cigar room, a piano bar, and an additional outdoor heated pool on the roof add to the hotel's charms. There are also plenty of in-house dining options with the Moroccan Koutoubia restaurant as well as Indian and French options. Guests can enjoy the rooftop pool and the hammam with aromatic spa treatments.

With easy access and elevators, this is a good choice for anyone with mobility issues.

This 18th-century palace once belonging to the cousin of King Hassan II is now a luxurious boutique hotel with lush gardens hidden in the kasbah area of the medina. Accommodations are spacious and there's a decent-size pool, making this a great choice for families. Rooms with a garden view open onto a jungle of banana, palm, orange, olive, and jacaranda trees and are deliciously cool in summer. Other rooms open onto private patios, some have sun terraces, and all are decorated with traditional Moroccan finishes of tadlak and tiling, with ceiling fans and air-conditioning. The swimming pool sits at the edge of the gardens surrounded by terraces for sunbathing, and the hotel has a hammam and massage suite. The restaurant serves lunch and dinner and is open to the public.

BE is the fun and laid-back retreat created by Nicole Billi and Mohamed Bousaadi, who treat all of their guests and staff like family. The couple first met in 2012 when Billi traveled from her hometown of Zurich, Switzerland, to Marrakesh and fell in love—with both Bousaadi and his home country. The pair wed and are now the proud owners of one of the most charming riads in the city, blending Billi’s love of modern European design and Bousaadi’s dedication to preserving his cultural heritage. BE also has a yoga studio and spa, plus sells local crafts and artisanal goods. Additionally, the food is great and if you fancy picking up some tips, cooking classes are available.

One of the most recognizable riads in Marrakesh, Le Riad Yasmine found Instagram fame in 2016 when an image of its gorgeous green pool went viral. Run by charming French couple Alice and Gabriel Paris, the space is an oasis full of plants and tiled floors. The rooftop terrace is perfect for enjoying fresh mint tea and you’ll often find yourself accompanied by chirping birds and two saucy felines named Bowie and BB, who went from living on the streets to becoming social media sensations who live like royalty inside the riad.

Built and owned by King Mohammed VI of Morocco, the Royal Mansour is an ultraluxurious private medina within the medina, comprising 55 individual three-story riads complete with a private patio, sitting room, rooftop plunge pool, fireplace, and personal butler. Master artisans from across the Kingdom finished each with zellij tiles, hand-sculpted plaster details, and polished tadlak. It's here that visiting heads of state and the super-elite will be housed during state visits or celebrity events; the rest of the time it's open to anybody with pockets deep enough to pay the rates. From the riads, pathways lined with 100-year-old olive trees transplanted from the King's own Agdal Gardens lead to the reception and the various fine-dining restaurants, while there is a stunning garden with massive outdoor pool and the "Le Jardin'" restaurant pavilion, overseen by Michelin-starred chef, Yannick Alléno. The luxurious hotel spa, with white wrought-iron atrium, resembles a birdcage and reputedly has one of the best (and possibly most expensive) hammams in Marrakesh. 

Formerly the private residence of a Marrakesh judge, this exquisite 1930s property has all the understated glamour and class you'd expect from a Relais & Chateaux hotel, with unobtrusive service, libraries to hide away in, and guest rooms with enormous bathrooms. The street outside is a busy thoroughfare, but when inside you are hardly aware of it. Dine in the excellent contemporary Mediterranean and Moroccan restaurant, or take your meals by the heated garden pool, terrace pool, or fireside on a private, orange-tree–filled patio.