For more information and to book please visit www.mrandmrssmith.com or let us arrange your whole trip, by calling +44 (0)20 8987 4312 or from the USA dial 1 866 610 3867.
Marrakech is a city unlike any other: nowhere is exoticism better showcased than in this ochre-and-rose-hued North African hive of activity. Indulge in a hammam at your tile-and-tadelakt riad before bartering for treasures in the kaleidoscopic souks, then snack on pigeon pie from a stall in the grand place, amid snake charmers and belly-dancers. To escape the hurly burly of the medina, sup on tajine and couscous in a chic cushion-filled restaurant in the Kasbah, or sip Cristal by candlelight in a hip muslin-draped, after-hours hang-out in the new town of Guéliz. And more adventures await, with the Atlas Mountains, Sahara Desert and coastal town of Essaouira all but a drive away.
Wander the labyrinthine souks – not just to barter for a rainbow of treasures, but to soak up the sights, sounds and smells of the medina, and to spy all the different craftsmen at work. But it’s not a shopping terrain for the faint-hearted: prepare to haggle your heart out. Good buys include leather bags and slippers, pierced metalwork and spices.
… trying a hammam treatment, a traditional bathing ritual in which you are scrubbed with exotically scented savon noir (usually made with olive oil, and sometimes with added cedarwood, eucalyptus or cinnamon) and exfoliated until your skin is as soft as the proverbial new-born baby's.
Our round-up of the hippest hideaways and romantic boutique hotels in Marrakech
Located outside the city in the sophisticated Palmeraie district, this family-friendly hotel in Marrakech is peaceful and secluded but within easy reach of the bustling souks.
Once a wealthy merchant's house opposite the palace in Marrakech, boutique hotels don't come more stylish and intimate than Dar Les Cigognes.
An Italian Orientalist's fantasy holiday home, quirky riad Dar Darma in the heart of the Marrakech Medina boldly partners 300-year-old painted ceilings and faded antique textiles with Versace-esque velvet settles and leopardskin rugs.
Like the Parisian Marais, the Dar One riad is all about sleek, edgy design chic and pared-back luxe in the old Jewish quarter. Owner Jean Peres designed all the bespoke furnishings himself and had them crafted by local artisans – we like his style.
The proprietors aren’t exaggerating when they describe Ksar Char-Bagh as a ‘Guest Palace’ – it looks far too big to contain just 13 rooms.
Situated in the city’s lush Palmeraie, Les Deux Tours in Marrakech is a stylish boutique resort of traditional-style, tartari-ceilinged villas, sitting in some of the loveliest gardens in Morocco.
It may be 600 years old, but this chic riad in the Marrakech medina is a thoroughly modern maison – MK fuses trad Maroc motifs with cutting-edge technology and thrillingly cool design.
Noir D'Ivoire in Marrakech is an utterly spoiling haven from home that brings together all the best features of a traditional riad – palatial courtyard, atmospheric roof terrace, tasty Moroccan food – and adds decadent modern trimmings.
P'tit Habibi is a traditional riad in the heart of Marrakech that feels more like a luxurious home than a boutique hotel – it's perfect for groups of friends, as well as young lovers.
In Marrakech's traditional Riad 12 you can’t help but stand in the centre of the courtyard, next to the pool, and gaze upwards, spinning in a circle to take it all in.
There seems to have been a comfort avalanche at Riad 72 in the Marrakech medina, with futons, huge cushions and decadent paddedness everywhere.
Riad Anyssates’s owners created their clean and creamy medina hideaway with relaxation in mind – and, after a few moments here, it’ll be in yours too.
Every detail of Riad Farnatchi has been considered with guests' comfort in mind, making it one of Marrakech's most refined takes on the private courtyard-house hotel.
Located in the midst of Marrakech’s labyrinthine Medina, intimate boutique hotel Riad Jahan is a chic mish-mash of Moroccan and Indian styles. Its peaceful vibe is all-pervading.
A timelessly elegant Moroccan riad with an Arab-Andaluçian colonial finish, Riad Tarabel bursts with family heirlooms, souk-sourced antique, and traditional tadelakt tile patterns.
The rooms of Talaa 12 hotel in Marrakech overlooking the courtyard are shuttered in calm pale green; orange trees and palms stand guard over an ornamental pool.
Villa Margot doesn’t look as though it should be situated just outside the bustling hubbub of Marrakech at all. Places this sleek and glamorous are usually seen in the hills above Ibiza Town. But look more closely and you’ll realise that its soul is very much in Morocco.
The super-stylish Murano Resort Marrakech set in palm-sprinkled Palmeraie parkland outside Marrakech blends palatial Moorish architecture with state-of-the-art interiors.
Dar Seven is more an elegant home than a hotel. Cubbies of cream-upholstered sofas and dark wooden furniture are utterly tranquil and magnificently chic.
A perfectly proportioned Moroccan boutique hotel, Dar Zemora is tricked out in chocolate tadelakt and a tasteful melange of antique and contemporary furnishings.
At Riad El Fenn, Moroccan architecture encloses space, creates a sheltered garden, turns away from the outside world, and looks in on a personal paradise of shade.
A short side-street stroll from the Marrakech medina’s hectic heart, Riad Azzar – with its unassailable air of serenity – is the perfect place to return to after a hard day’s haggling.
Riad Due offers the perfect mid-Medina retreat for couples in search of secrecy, and the huge roof terrace is the ideal place to relax in the sun and escape the scuffle of the souks.
Midway between the Marrakech medina and the Atlas mountains, Villas Fawakay is a trio of standalone, sandy stone buildings surrounded by lush gardens and olive groves – a picture-perfect Moroccan oasis.
Planes, trains, automobiles, or maybe even helicopter – we tell you the best way to go.
June/July Marrakech Popular Arts Festival is an annual week-long festival that sees dance troupes from all over the country perform in the city (www.visitmorocco.org). December The Marrakech Film Festival attracts screen stars from near and far (but mostly from France) to Morocco to celebrate all things celluloid (www.festival-marrakech.com).
Inside the Yves Saint Laurent-owned Majorelle plot is a chic little Bougainvillea-curtained garden café with sage-green Parisian-style metal chairs. Try Thé Vert 1001 (green tea with rose petals) or an Infusion Parfum de Sultan (rooibos with orange zest). You’ll have to pay the entrance fee to gain access, but if you go around midday, you’ll probably get the gardens to yourself and can nab a table for lunch afterwards. Alternatively, have breakfast before you tour the plants.
Jardin Majorelle, off Yakoub el Mansour, Guéliz, Marrakech
This Parisian-style bistro is popular with Marrakchi businessmen and European expats, and is a handy stop-off if you're shopping in Guéliz. Have a citron pressé, or a café au lait, and muse over how much the old outskirts of Marrakech have changed since the café's 1920s sorting-office heyday.
Corner of Boulevard El Mansour Eddahbi and Avenue Imam Malik, Guéliz, Marrakech
Guided by men in cloaks and a lantern, down a dusty alley, you'll find this chic purple-hued dining den: a riad eaterie with a cosmopolitan feel, good cocktails and tasty Moroccan/Mediterranean fusion food. Try the grise wine, a very light Moroccan rosé, with Harira soup and seafood, or grilled sardines and tagines with a robust bottle of something red. Nab one of the highly sought-after tables on the first floor overlooking the giant wrought-iron candelabra, and it feels a little like you’re sitting in an art installation. If you’re in a group, swap the super-comfy leather tub chairs for one of the banquette-style cubbies – great for people-watching. Closed Mondays.
55 Souk Hal Fassi, Kat Bennahïd, Medina, Marrakech
The latest addition to Marrakech’s hip dining scene has live DJs, a fashionable Hôtel Costes vibe, Parisian decor with plenty of red velvet and dark corners, and a European menu. Get one of the tables for two facing the terrace through the French windows, or in the library for a more intimate evening. Open till 2am.
64 Avenue Hassan II, Guéliz, Marrakech
This place is well-known among Marrakech’s in-crowd. With less-than-demure belly-dancers and skilled musicians, it has a fantastic energy, making it a great place in which to eat trad Moroccan or international options with a group of friends. (The bar is fun for a pre-dinner drink, even if you are not dining there.)
37 Avenue Echouhada, Hivernage, Marrakech
This traditional restaurant is one of the best-known for multi-course Maroc cuisine, so there are lots of tour-group types and, unless you have an enormous appetite, the set menu works out as a bit of an extravagance. Prices include wine and aperitifs, and performances by traditional gnaoua groups.
22 Derb Moulay Abdellah Ben Hessaien, Bab Ksour, Medina
Another trad-Maroc option opposite the walls of Dar el Bacha, set in what was formerly the house of Pierre Balmain. Good, delicately aromatic Franco-Moroccan cuisine: alongside well-balanced tagines and pastillas, there are fusion dishes such as baked scallops and saffron sorbet. Try to get a table in the walled garden by the pool; reservations essential.
81 rue Dar el Bacha, Medina, Marrakech
Set on the palm-lined Place des Ferblantiers, this trendy sushi and Maroc-Asian fusion restaurant and bar near the Mellah district is spread across three floors. Whether you’re in the mood to lunch on pasta and salad or feel like picking at Japanese for dinner, if it’s balmy, definitely get a ringside spot on the roof terrace overlooking the square. The cigar/piano bar on the ground floor can be a romantic setting at night, and is usually rocking a jazzy soundtrack.
47 Place des Ferblantiers, Kzadria, Marrakesh
Fine Moroccan dining at a splendidly grand restaurant that is part of the Marrakchi night scene and has entertained the King of Spain and Will Smith; this place is all about the architectural wow factor. The set tasting menu costs €70 a head, including drinks.
79 rue Sidi Ahmed Soussi, Arset Ihiri, Medina, Marrakech
Originally a restaurant dating back to the 1940s, and now a hotel, this is still a quiet, grown-up spot for lunch: excellent stock-drenched couscous, tender tagines, fresh juices and fantastic coffee. Get a table in the courtyard or in the little ante-room.
1 Derb Assehbe, Bab Doukkala, Medina, Marrakech
Up in the Sidi Ben Slimane quarter, this small, intimate, relaxed Moroccan restaurant is set in a 17th-century riad. Set menus consist of salads, briouats, pigeon or fish pastilla, chicken, lamb or vegetable tagine, then desserts and mint tea with traditional sweets. It’s also open for Moroccan brunch from 10.30am–3pm (www.darzellij.com).
1 Kssour Sidi Ben Slimane, Medina, Marrakech
Fun, long-established Moroccan restaurant built around a plane tree in the centre of a courtyard more than 25 years ago and still run by the same family. No reservations? No chance – book well in advance or see if your concierge can wangle one for you. Wave after wave of Moroccan food, a great atmosphere and traditional belly-shaking, foot-stamping gnaoua entertainment. Although increasingly a tourist hangout, locals still have a soft spot for Dar Marjana.
15 Derb Sidi Ali Tair, Bab Doukkala, Medina, Marrakech
If you’ve tired of tagines and can’t face couscous anymore, you can get oven-fired pizzas and pastas in this modern lounge bar cum restaurant.
82 Avenue Hassan II, Guéliz, Marrakech
Rather uniquely for Marrakech, this traditional Moroccan restaurant is run entirely by women, and serves up spot-on tagines and fluffy couscous.
232 Avenue Mohammed V, Marrakech
This stylish brasserie on Derb J’did in the medina has excellent tagines, couscous and fish dishes. The rooftop terrace is a great place to relax at sunset with views over the ancient alleyways.
14 Derb J’did, Hay Essalam Mellah, Medina, Marrakech
Mojitos, delicious Thai and French fusion food, leather banquettes, cala lilies, moody lighting and minimalist fireplaces – you could almost be in New York. Almost. The elegant, slightly could-be-anywhere decor is the natural result of an aesthetic born in Marrakech, farmed out to stylists in London and LA, and flown back.
Douar Lahna, Route de l’Ourika, Marrakech
Go for lunch and lounge by the pool, or for dinner at one of the two restaurants (pierced-lantern lit Jana for Moroccan food; deco-fabulous Crystal for international fusion), followed by drinks and dancing at the club (www.pachamarrakech.com).
Nouvelle Zone Hôtelière de l’Aguedal, Boulevard Mohamed VI ex Avenue de France, Marrakech
©2009 Mr & Mrs Smith
Member offer
