This remarkable project is without a doubt the most luxurious hotel in Marrakech. Guests stay in exquisite traditional riads within the royal compound. There is also a sublime bar. Servers come and go via a modern complex below ground level, and meals appear in your room as if by magic.

The Grand Dame of Marrakech is this Art Deco hotel within the city gates. Here, Winston Churchill came to paint after World War II and Sarah Jessica Parker stayed at a villa in the gardens while filming Sex and the City II. Sorrento’s famous Don Alfonso 1890 runs the excellent Italian restaurant.

La Sultana is made up of five old riads, with 28 rooms decorated in wood, marble and Moroccan tadelakt (plaster). In between are little courtyards, and there’s a lovely rooftop terrace from where you can see the Royal Palace, Koutoubia Mosque and Atlas Mountains.

This hotel is designed like a Moorish palace, set in the middle of luxurious palm tree and bougainvillea gardens. Inside, it combines French levels of luxury and service with local Moroccan cuisine. You can hear the sounds of the medina nearby, but the views are of the distant Atlas Mountains.

Six small townhouses were combined in 2007 to create this intimate “hotel de charme” built by local craftsmen. Service is friendly and there is a luxury spa – one of the few within the old medina. The a la carte dinner menu for courtyard dining is good value.

Marrakech’s new Mandarin Oriental sits near the Royal Golf Club and offers five-star luxury across 20ha of olive groves, watercourses and palm trees. Some of the villas sleep up to five people, and all come with infinity pools. There are four restaurants including a popular Chinese dining room.

Close to Djema el Fna souk, this beautifully restored house provides a rare opportunity to stay in a historic riad. It used to belong to the harem favourite of 12th-century sultan, Moulay Yacoub. There are only nine rooms plus a hammam, spa and swimming pool.

Fellah combines riad accommodation with authentic food and a library that is open to local villagers. The hotel was opened by former stockbroker Redha Moali who, after the stock market crash of 2008, decided he wanted to give something back to the world.

Located close to the airport, this is a 16ha gated resort with fountain courtyards and swimming pools. There are 141 rooms, including 27 suites with butler service. Besides being pampered at Le Spa and tennis lessons, guests can also relax with daily yoga lessons.

Located in the Palmeraie outside Marrakech, this is the hotel where much of Sex and the City II was filmed in 2010 before it was opened to the public. You’ll recognise the swimming pool (above), but don’t look for the beach that ran in front of it – that was all CGI.

This story first appeared in www.silverkris.com.

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