Morocco

Riad 72

Tucked away on one of Marrakech’s winding side streets, Riad 72 is a pint-sized modernist haven offering a bit of Italian style, courtesy of its Milanese owner. Originally a palace, this harmonious retreat is filled with rich red fabrics accenting plush white floor cushions, glowing candles flick...

Riad Anayela

When you’re shopping for a riad hotel you can go for the pared-down and unpretentious, just a mellow slice of Moroccan life. Or you can go all-out epic Marrakech romance, and book in at AnaYela. There are probably places you can go if you want a bit of humble, down-to-earth traditional Moroccan e...

Riad Dar One

Numbers are important in certain areas of life but they’re close to useless in selecting a riad hotel. Five rooms, ten rooms, what’s the difference? These places are so much more about personality than anything else — and in the case of Riad Dar One it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that that perso...

Riad Dixneuf La Ksour

By and large the hoteliers of Marrakech are a pretty traditional lot, at least aesthetically. The riad hotels in particular are, almost without exception, outfitted in varying shades of classic Arabian style. So a place like Riad Dixneuf La Ksour, while hardly avant-garde in its design, stands ou...

Riad Due

The numerically-minded Italian proprietors of the small and luxurious Riad 72 are back with something of a sequel, Riad Due. And despite the name’s thirty-sixfold reduction — due being Italian for two, of course — it’s nearly identical in size, just four exceedingly stylish little suites...

Riad Fes

Marrakech has convenience and accessibility going for it, but if you want to see the ancient side of Morocco, you want to see Fez. And if you’re staying in Fez, you want to stay in a riad — and this one, Riad Fès, is among the best of them. We’ve got nothing against riads owned by fore...

Riad Meriem

There’s a simple reason why the riad hotels of Marrakech have been so much more popular among the French than the English, Americans, or other anglophones. It’s not the proximity, not in these days of budget air travel, but the language — the simple fact is that so many riad owners are French, an...

Riyad Al Moussika

One could reasonably argue that the experience of staying at a historic hotel, an ancient castle, say, or a converted country mansion, can be improved by a bit of familiarity with the heritage of the place, a passing acquaintance with the story of whatever medieval friar or Victorian earl used to...

Ryad Dyor

Brighter, sunnier, somehow friendlier than the average riad hotel — maybe it’s the owners, a couple of designers, one Dutch and the other Spanish, but for whatever reason, Ryad Dyor stands out. The medina location and the inside-out riad design mean it’s as private as any, but where many go dark ...

Sofitel Essaouira Medina & Spa

From the way the travel press tells the story you’d think Marrakech was Morocco in its entirety. But those who have the time for a bit of rambling often find themselves taking some time by the sea in Essaouira (formerly Mogador), a town that’s no less charming than Marrakech, but quite a...

Sofitel Marrakech Lounge & Spa

The compromise position between the densely packed medina and the wide-open, suburban Palmeraïe is the Hivernage district; it’s less crowded than the old town, but closer to the center of it all than the sprawling out-of-town resorts. And there are a few very worthy hotel options in the Hivernage...

Talaa 12

Most of the riad hotels in Marrakech trade heavily on history, antiques, traditional décor. Talaa 12, on the other hand, leaves old Marrakech outside the walls. The interiors here are as contemporary as can be; not quite minimalist, and certainly still quite identifiably Moroccan, but more like 2...

Terre Resort And Spa

The classic Marrakech hotel concept is the riad, typically a mansion in the old medina quarter, a small-scale and intimate sort of hotel, however extravagant the hospitality. The Terre resort, the first from the American-owned Octogone group, takes this concept out of town, to the desert oasis of...

Villa De L'o

Sure, it’s a bit farther out than Marrakech, but for anyone who’s at all attached to the seaside, there’s no contest: Essaouira has got the medina and the beach, both in one pocket-sized package along the Atlantic coast. And there’s nowhere else a hotel like the Villa de l’O could exist — this pl...

Rabat

Casablanca

'Kiss me as if it were the last time.'