Mr & Mrs Smith

Whatever you do, don't be a slave to the seasons: Marrakech is magic in the winter. The days were a balmy 26 degrees and the nights were fresh, perfect for sitting by the fire in the White Room or the common lounge area which is, incidentally, where you are served the best mint tea you'll sample in Morocco. You'll get lost in the souks, it's inevitable, but try to stumble across Cafe des Epices overlooking the lively little square of Rahba Kedima (you'll find it where Rue Souk Smarine forks into two). Here you can lounge inside away from the chaos, or perch yourself on the roof three stories up with a cinnamon coffee or a pot of ubiquitous mint tea, watching the bedlam ensue below. Jardin Majorelles should be high on your hit list. This 12-acre cactus oasis is an easy peasy 15-minute walk from P'tit Habibi, and the delightful Abdelouafi will take you the first part of the way so you can get your bearings. If you're keen on dinner in the Riad and if you're staying more than a few nights (you really should be) then notify them ahead of time if it's a Friday, as it can be impossible to buy any vegetables after midmorning. If you're heading out for some local fare instead, you can find almost anything in Djemaa el Fna once night descends and the square fills up with food stalls. If it's a bit rustic for your tastes then Le Marrakchi has an electric atmosphere it overlooks the square and will serve you up a cracking tagine accompanied by the syncopated shimmyings of some belly dancers. I definitely recommend getting on the end of a tangia, the local specialty usually cooked in an earthenware tangia in the ashes of the furnace rooms of the saunas. Slow cooking that will knock your socks off.

Jardin Majorelle Cafe is chic,elegant and set within the calm, leafy and beautiful setting of the Jardin Majorelle. A tranquil location where we enjoyed delicious Moroccan food from the extensive menu offering a range of hot and cold dishes together with an interesting array of herbal infusions, and fruit and vegetable drinks. We sat outside in the sunshine and were served by attentive and polite waiters. We chose a beef tagine with prunes and almonds and a lamb brochette. The tagine consisted of meltingly tender chunks of beef and sweet prunes with crunchy almonds. The brochette was tender lamb chargrilled on the outside and tender inside. This was served with rice and a selection of delicately flavoured vegetables.Both meals were delicious and cooked to perfection.We completed our meal with fragrant mint tea served from a tiny silver teapot. Le Foundouk 55 Souk Hal Fassi, Kat Bennahid, Marrakesh Medina. As the taxi arrived amidst the thronging crowds of the medina we suddenly ground to a halt and were ushered out into the street where a cloaked guide with a lantern directed us to follow him through the back streets until we came to Le Foundouk. Once inside we found a cool and stylish restaurant. As we sat the waitress sprinkled our palms with fragrant orange flower water as a cooling, welcome gesture, then we enjoyed a glass of chilled rose wine. We chose couscous with seven vegetables and Berber lamb tagine. The couscous was light and fragrant and the vegetables tender and moist. The tagine was a tender shank of lamb which was delicately spiced and fell from the bone. Both meals were delicious and cooked to perfection. To finish we shared a pistachio creme brulee topped with a chocolate fondant which was smooth and creamy with an intense pistachio flavour and was complimented by the rich hit of chocolate fondant. An excellent dining experience – highly recommended.

Had a great 3 day stay at P'tit Habibi. Abdelouafi and the team were fantastic; helpful and hospitable, with nothing being too much trouble. The Riad is small but very well formed, about 25 mins walk from the main square - once we had directions from Abdelouafi it was easy to find. Transfers and guide were all booked as requested, and we took advantage of eating in the Riad on our last night. The team did not let us down; the courtyard was decked with candles, and despite 2 couple eating, we were in separate places and the service was excellent. Fatima's tagines were fabulous, and we had a much better meal than we had had the night before in La Foundouk (though do go here, it was worth it, just the Riad was better!). All in all, worth booking - and in 36 degrees the plunge pool was a godsend.

Marrakech has much to offer with regards to culinary delights, with it's fair share of glamorous restaurants. But not to be missed, and a true Marrakechi experience is to eat at the night market at Jma el Fna square. The food we ate there was as delicious, if not more so than the expensive restaurants nearby, and provided a more authentic dining experience. True, you cannot enjoy a glass of wine with your meal, but the atmosphere more than makes up for the lack it.

On our first night, the manager of the riad organised a table for us at Le Foundouk (+212 (0)524 378190). We had a table on the open-air terrace at the top of the restaurant. The setting is beautiful, romantic candlelit tables with great Moroccan food and hospitality. Compared to many other restaurants they have a huge selection of food, both local and some more European dishes. I would recommend it just for the lamb tagine!

We had a lovely stay at P'tite Habibi, but one night was not long enough! It was quite a difficult place to find, even though we got a taxi, so a map or good directions would be beneficial! The architecture in the Riad was amazing – very cleverly designed, with great use of space. We wanted to go for a special meal on our last night, so we got the hotel to book a table at Dar Moha, a great restaurant in an old riad near the palace. We walked out into the garden where tables were set around a pool, and dined in candlelight with a delicious 4-5 course meal and Moroccan music, what a great end to a fantastic week away! We will definitely return to Morocco to explore more parts of this vibrant place.

Kosy Bar is great for a lazy rooftop drink south of the Square in gorgeous surroundings. Café Arabe is north of the Square, 10 minutes or so from P'tit Habibi, and the roof is the top spot for  sunset cocktails. Marrakchi (+212 (0)24 443 377)  has stunning views over the square, perfect for a lazy lunch watching the world go by.

I fell in love with the design of the P'tit Habibi as soon as I viewed it on the Mr & Mrs Smith website. The surprising mix of Norwegian and Moroccan design is playful and inviting. My sister and I chose to stay in the Peruche room, which is decked out in bright pink and chinoiserie-style birds. The room is lovely, and the bed was the most comfortable one we had in Morocco, however I was deathly allergic to something in the riad and I spent our entire stay with a swollen face, hives, and painfully stuffed-up sinuses. The riad manager guessed that the problem might be the fact that Marrakech had had a record amount of rain during the previous winter and many of the walls in the red city had become waterlogged. Mould ensued.

I seemed to be the only one having problems however, so if you don't have highly sensitive sinuses don't let this keep you away from the riad. Our hosts were incredibly kind and inviting, and the dinner we enjoyed there of chicken and vegetarian tagines and couscous was one of the best we had in Morocco. The riad is a bit of a walk from the center of the Medina but as long as you have a guide you should be ok. We made the mistake our first day of walking out the door with only a hand-drawn map. We were soon lost and frustrated.

The riad manager at P'tit Habibi was very helpful and he booked everything we needed from reservations at Les Bains de Marrakech to a private car to Essouria. There is also a bus that will take you there but during peak seasons the tickets sell out fast. It was much more expensive, but for us it was worth the money to avoid the hassle of having to leave either very early in the morning or late at night.

After a long day of walking and getting lost our first day in Marrakech, we ended up on the roof top of the beautiful Cafe Arabe, where we happily watched the chaos of the medina without be jostled around in it. We had some wonderful champagne and snacked on spicy almonds and olives. It was definitely a welcome respite. From there we got back into a cab and wandered the labyrinthian streets in search of the P'tit Habibi. It was nowhere to be found though we had the address in both English and Arabic readily at hand. The cab driver was either new at his job or working some sort of elaborate con. Luckily for us, and a good travel tip for new visitors to the city, the six-year old boys in the neighbourhood knew exactly where to go, and a gang of 10 of them led us directly back to the riad for a few cents each.

When booking this hotel it is well worth spending a little extra money in order to stay in the White Room, which gives you the opportunity to have a private breakfast in the mornings or dinner (which you should have at least once at this riad).