45 Best Hotels in The Southern Atlantic Coast, Morocco

The Atlas provides beachfront five-star service with all the facilities you would expect from the Moroccan brand. The marble atrium with its designer chandelier is elegant and contemporary, but the farther into the hotel you go, the more austere the place feels. It has a huge outdoor pool with sun terraces and an underground spa. Rooms are spacious and bright; some overlook the beach.

Nestled among the mountains and occasional almond blossoms of the Ammeln Valley 2 km (1 mile) from downtown, Chez Amaliya is a great base for hikers, climbers, and the less active. There are views straight onto the mountain face, and you can relax poolside with a drink as the sun sets and "Le Lion," a lion-shape rock formation, comes into focus. The excellent bar and restaurant are also open to nonguests, and the on-site shop sells handicrafts made by a local women's co-op. Two large family suites are available.

This luxury boutique hotel is a true eco-lodge, located in the countryside 8 km (5 miles) from Taroudant; it was built using local materials and traditional techniques but offers all the modern conveniences. The rooms are individually designed and decorated with local rugs, tapestries, and earthenware. The water from the bathrooms is recycled into the surrounding designer gardens with exotic plants from around the world. Two swimming pools, a spa, library, restaurant, bar, and sundeck with panoramic views of the Atlas Mountains add much to the comfort and pleasure. The hotel has been awarded a "Green Key" in recognition of its responsible and sustainable operations.

Tucked away south of the main square, Dar Dzahra is full of surprises, starting with the unassuming entrance that leads into a house that is in fact two separate buildings: one over 300 years old and the other just a few years old. The restoration was a labor of love, and owner Yves is happy to share his passion for Moroccan architecture and his expansive knowledge of Taroudant and local Amazigh culture with guests.

Actually two properties combined, this riad in the medina has been remodeled to ensure that the atrium and bedrooms are flooded with light. The current manager has been here since the original owner and welcomes all visitors with a smile. Each room is bright, with primary colors and rustic furniture. Some corner rooms have windows on two sides and others interconnect for families. You can enjoy sea views all around while breakfasting on the roof terrace. To get here, enter the medina via Bab Marrakech and walk straight ahead. Make your third right onto Rue Ibn Khaldoun and then take your first right. From here, the hotel is down the second alley to the right. 

Set on the edge of the Souss-Massa National Park, within easy reach of Agadir, Dar Maktoub is a gorgeous, modern boutique hotel with a beautiful garden. Accommodations are in single-story bungalows dotted around the property and feature the designer touches of a classy riad. There are plenty of spaces around the lounges, bars, terraces, and pool for relaxing, eating, working, or simply admiring the work of the gardeners. In summer, the restaurant moves from the main building down to the poolside for alfresco dinners.

With only five rooms but plenty of communal spaces, every inch of Dar Maya is designed to perfection, creating an elegant boutique experience in Essaouira. The decor features calming grays, whites, and beiges, and the suites have private balconies. There is a hammam on-site and a hot tub on the roof with sea views.

Hidden behind an unassuming door at the end of an alley, this unique guesthouse is an oasis in the bustling city. The design is inspired by traditional Amazigh dwellings, with pisé (mud) walls, little niches, traditional earthenware, rugs, and tapestries. There are lovely gardens, a Jacuzzi, and a roof terrace for relaxing, and only four rooms over the two floors, making it feel like a local home. The rooms share a bathroom on each floor, so it's more suitable for a group of friends or a family who don't mind the lack of privacy.

Located just outside Taroudant, Dar Zitoune is a wonderful retreat from the bustling town. Bungalow rooms are spaced out in a fragrant garden of roses and orange trees, with outdoor patios ideal for breakfast. An "Amazigh village" of 10 luxury tented rooms, with full bathrooms, air-conditioning, and Wi-Fi, has been added around one of the three pools (one of which is heated in winter). The breakfast and meal menus offer something different from the usual fare, and the service of the English-speaking staff is of a high standard.

Outside Tafraoute, this modern, kasbah-style guesthouse offers comfortable accommodation in a quiet rural setting. Built from local stone, it is decorated with style, incorporating local rugs and furnishings. All rooms are en suite, and there is a separate house that can sleep up to six. The pool is clean and inviting, and you can relax with views to the mountains. The hosts, Jean and Bernadette, speak excellent English and are very welcoming. The restaurant menu fuses Moroccan and Mediterranean flavors, something a bit different from the norm.

Enjoy ample space and amenities like nowhere else in the medina at Essaouira's most prestigious lodging, a meticulously designed, luxurious property that evokes a colonial ambience in decor that includes cream tones, granite, and dark wood. There are few other places in Essaouira where evening entertainment options include an in-house cinema, billiard room, spa, bar, and a heated rooftop swimming pool with some of the best views in town. The restaurant and bar are open to nonguests if the hotel is just beyond your budget.

It may not look like much from the outside, but this rather bland building manages to conjure up a warm, familial feel thanks to its airy rooms and friendly service. The great seafood restaurant in particular more than makes up for the dull edifice. Perched on the beach, many rooms have sea views (ask for Room 212 or 214) and the hotel can arrange nature trails, watersports, and fishing.

If you're not desperate for beach views and don't mind a 20-minute walk to get there, then El Bahia is a central and good-value option. It's popular with families, Europeans, and Moroccans alike thanks to comfortable rooms with air-conditioning and satellite TV; some rooms also have small terraces. There's a multilevel central patio for eating breakfast or resting in the sun or shade.

This large four-star hotel caters primarily to the business market but is the only option in town for accommodation other than a small guesthouse. The marble lobby has a winding double staircase and an enormous, five-tier brass chandelier handcrafted in Fez. Rooms are standard for a luxury hotel, but the hand-laid tile work, marble, and carved plaster in the public areas make for a unique blend of fine Moroccan craftsmanship and modern technology. The English-speaking staff are happy to arrange onward travel and excursions.

If you don't need to be near the beach, this affordable option in downtown Agadir is pleasant and airy and offers consistently decent value. There is also a lovely pool. Roadside rooms are cheaper but may be noisier.

The closer to the medina of the city's two beachfront five-star hotels, this Accor property has a location and facilities that are second to none. As the name implies, the hotel has a luxurious thalassotherapy spa for massage and beauty treatments as well as a heated pool, a private beach, and a beachfront restaurant. Most rooms have a balcony overlooking the beach or pool.

This former officers' mess of the French protectorate is a piece of Moroccan postcolonial history as well as a hotel that dominates the town, providing panoramic views of the mountains that surround it. You can still find some original French Art Deco elements in the decor. Rooms are furnished simply and have spacious bathrooms, a phone, and TV, and many have views of the mountains or the ever-expanding town. The large pool with views across the town is one of its best features.

While the name is a little baffling (it means "small Sweden"), this is an inexpensive hotel run by a Moroccan family. The staff is generally friendly, but rooms here are simple and rather characterless, with tiny en suite bathrooms. Ask for the family corner room, which is flooded with sunlight and has its own balcony.

One of three Riu resorts on the beachfront, this one gives you value for your money as all-inclusive options go (drinks are also included), and although rooms are nothing special, the huge complex as a whole is well designed. The lavish gardens and pool areas are great for kids, with nightly entertainment for children and a miniclub making this a family favorite. Spa treatments, telephone calls, and laundry are not included in price, but almost everything else is.

A favorite with groups and right in the center of town, the Salama overlooks the busy area around the market, where old men sell dates and local women bring their homemade argan oil. The comfortable public lounge on the roof has panoramic views of the town and rocky mountains beyond.

This English-speaking, family-friendly guesthouse, which doubles as a cultural center, has been certified by Green Key for its sustainable operations and environmental responsibility. With rooms arranged over four floors, the accommodation can be split into small, self-catering family apartments and suites or up to nine separate bedrooms. The house is the focal point for U.K. tour company Holidays with Heart, which emphasizes responsible and ethical travel. The hotel arranges a variety of cultural activities in the region.

The Song of the Camel would get the most stubborn of the bunch cooing with approval. A stone's throw from the sea, it's done up in traditional rustic style, with deep-rose walls. Each room is designed differently, but united by a simple elegance. Alternatively you can stay in a nomad-style tent in the garden. The guesthouse also offers guided tours around Souss Massa National Park and is a favorite for bird-lovers and those wanting to escape it all.

In the heart of Taroudant's medina, this luxurious boutique hotel has been beautifully renovated from an old riad. The interior decor has a colonial feel and features an elegant palette of dove gray, sage green, and beige. There's a cloistered patio garden with a swimming pool, a bar, gym, and Jacuzzi. Some rooms have fireplaces, and some bathrooms have full-size tubs. Excursions, guided walks, car rentals, tennis, and horseback riding can be organized.

Only 500 yards from the beach, the "Blue Sea Le Tivoli" is a less expensive option than many of the Agadir behemoths. Rooms are cooly decorated in mint green, pale blue, or ocher yellow, and all have a private balcony. Half-board options are available, and there's an on-site snack bar.

Stylized, elegant, and designed to perfection, Madada Mogador is perfectly poised just within the medina walls to ensure easy access and ocean views from most rooms. The decor features relaxing beiges in a modern take on Moroccan style. The staff is professional and English-speaking and can arrange cooking lessons and dinner in the adjacent restaurant as well as local excursions.

A traditional, heavy, stone arch off a busy medina street marks the entrance to the cool interior of this long-established, Moroccan-run inn, made of two large town houses. Some rooms have a Moroccan lounge with stairs leading up to a mezzanine level and double bed; the patio restaurant is set around a fountain filled with roses. It's a favorite of tour operators, in part for the friendly, English-speaking management team.

Part of the Moroccan Mogador Hotels & Resorts chain, this complex, near but set back from the beach, lacks the wide-open vistas of other resorts but is slightly quieter. Rooms are spacious and clean, and there's a great pool, as well as four good restaurants. Half- and full-board options are available, but alcohol is not served. Besides, you'll probably want to get out and explore other eating options.

This 18th-century pasha's palace hotel has seen better days, welcoming ambassadors and aristocracy, but still retains a sense of the grand, starting with the giant courtyard at the center and exotic gardens. With more than 100 rooms, it feels more like a village than a palace and is popular with large bus groups. Ask for the newly renovated rooms or one of the self-contained riads. There are also two swimming pools, a restaurant, and bar.

Common areas at this self-catering complex have impressive hand-painted tiles and trickling fountains, but pass up the older, outdated apartments for one of the 30 newer suites and apartments on the upper floors. These excellent options have views of the Royal Tennis Club. There's a separate swimming pool for kids, and apartments all have living rooms with TVs, modern kitchens, and balconies. Apartments sleep up to five in a bedroom, making this a great value option for families and small groups.

This beautiful 18th-century riad is wrapped around a stone courtyard with a trickling fountain. Due to its size, the property offers sunlight that many other places lack, and greenery tumbles down from the balconies above, creating a magical ambience. Standard guest rooms are comfortable, with an increasing scale of elegance and space for suites. The restaurant and terraces are also lovely, with low arches and pressed-tin lamps providing atmosphere. The hotel has its own hammam, which can be used by nonguests, too (packages can include hammam, exfoliation, and a clay wrap).