AMANJENA
Amanjena opened in 2000 and was Aman Resorts' first property in Africa. Ed Tuttle created the less-is-Moorish design, and the 36 two-storey pavilions and two vast maisons are calmly decorated with pale tadlakt (Moroccan plaster) walls, billowing curtains and cream sofas. Each has a garden and rose petal-strewn fountain or private pool. The hotel is seven miles from the city centre and sits alongside the Amelkis Golf Course, which means a sense of calm and birds flitting between the olive, hibiscus and palms. The spa features hammams for him and for her, and if you want more action, staff are happy to organise hiking in the Atlas Mountains, sorties into the Sahara or biking excursions into Berber villages. Personally, I'd just get the butler to fix up some mint tea and head to the 33-foot pool.
ROYAL MANSOUR
The Royal Mansour is the culmination of four years work by more than 1,000 artisans briefed to create the ultimate showcase of Moroccan decorative arts. There are 53 three-storey riads, each with roof terrace, courtyard, bedroom, dressing room, you name it. The two restaurants are overseen by a Michelin-starred chef, and staff are genie-like, melting into a vast network of underground tunnels so you don't have to play pinball with housekeeping trolleys. If you want a hectic version of Marrakech, you're only a few minutes walk away from the famous Djemma el Fna square.
ES SAADI GARDENS & RESORT
It's only rock and roll, but Mick Jagger, a guest when the hotel opened in the 60s, liked it, as did Cecil Beaton and Princess Margaret. Es Saadi was built on an eight-hectare site a few blocks outside the city walls, capitalising on the success of Marrakech's first casino. The third generation of the Bauchet-Bouhlal family who created Es Saadi still runs it, matriarch Madame Jean Bauchet presiding over the casino to this day. The hotel comprises the original building, the newer Palace, and ten spacious villas, each with pool. An impressive spa features a pool wrapped around an ancient eucalyptus. You can enjoy Dior Institut treatments in the brand's only outpost outside Paris, or an authentic Moroccan hammam.
PALMERAIE HOTEL DU GOLF
The new Palmeraie Golf Hotel is well suited to the conference-going crowd: the site is home to a Palais des Congres with space for up to 2,300 delegates. A recent extension makes the spa the largest in North Africa, and the Focus on Back treatment is popular with golfers. Significantly, there's nothing souk-pastiche about Hotel du Golf (if you're after tiles, lanterns and plenty of colour, book into sister hotel Palmeraie Golf Palace). Restaurant lights resemble deflated soufflés, the tiled bar is lit from within, and oversized glass tables in the bar and double height atrium create an Alice in Wonderland feeling. Only the Atlas Mountains in the distance give the game away.
For great deals on these hotels visit ba.com/marrakech or call 0844 439 075
blog comments powered by
