If you had a time machine, what era would you go back to? This popular dinner party getting-to-know-you question usually has people imagining themselves in Ancient Rome brushing shoulders with emperors, or cavorting with pharaohs in Old Kingdom Egypt.
But some slightly more exotically minded respondents might imagine a return to Alaouite Morocco – an historical moment that saw great kings construct opulent palaces, grand gates, and tranquil hammams, while quashing foes and living in extraordinary luxury.
Well, such fantasising – and the development of a time machine – is no longer necessary, because a taste of the regal life in Morocco can be found today at one of the world’s most exquisite hotels: the Royal Mansour.
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From the moment you arrive at the newly refurbished Menara airport in Marrakech, your experience of modern-day royalty begins. The Royal Mansour arranges for all incoming guests to be met at the airport before they have even passed through customs, meaning you will not need to queue at the border but will be escorted straight through by a kindly assistant who will even fill in your landing forms for you if you can’t be bothered lifting pen to paper. After being sped through customs you are then shown to your driver, who in turn takes you to a waiting Bentley, filled with nougat and other sweet treats – just a small taste of the indulgence that lies ahead.
Modern Marrakech is a city of two halves, the old town, delineated by distinctive orange clay city walls that date from the 13th Century, and the new town where the city is expanding rapidly.
Royal Mansour sits within the boundaries of the old town, but in its own secluded alcove. As your Bentley pulls in through the main gates, a private army opens the successive checkpoints and gates until you arrive at the prodigious main entrance of the complex – vast iron doors that put all other doors to shame. The car stops, and sharp-suited footmen are instantly upon you to welcome you to your new home.
A riad away from riad
Of course, “home” in the Royal Mansour does not mean a room or suite, but rather an entire riad – a traditional Moroccan house, something like a tower, with rooms spread around a central courtyard. As everywhere in the Royal Mansour, every surface of that courtyard features exquisite Moroccan geometric tiling. Octagons combine with cabochons, stars and crosses of varying hues and complexities. A fountain sits against one wall, trickling gently – and above, up past the cooing birds, Morocco’s bright blue sky, made bluer by the ochre interior walls of the riad you will call home for the duration of your stay.
After checking in we begin looking around. Behind the courtyard, on the ground floor, is a luxuriant reception room, lined with finely embroided gold cushions. On one side of the room is a writing desk, upon which sits personalised stationary gilded with my name. All guests receive the same gift – an incitation to revive the lost art of letter writing.
Climbing the central spiral staircase, the next level is a mezzanine which looks down to the courtyard, then above that the bedroom – a vast space which features an equally enormous bed; the kind of bed in which you can lose your partner.
Off the bedroom, through an intricately carved wooden doorway lies the main bathroom, which is one of the most finely decorated spaces this reviewer has ever seen. More mosaics, more gilding, more fine carving – every surface is a work of art. Gorgeous soaps, body butters and treatments are on hand here to make you smell as good as your surrounds look.
Another flight up and you reach your roof terrace. Ours afforded us a view of the Koutoubia Mosque, from whose tall minaret wafted the muezzin call to prayer throughout the day and into the evening. The roof also has a private plunge pool, in case you prefer to bathe in privacy rather than heading down to the hotel’s newly added main pool. It is also a perfect spot for breakfasts, if you wish to eat in the privacy of your own riad, rather than going to one of the hotel’s restaurants for breakfast. And at a whim, you can summon your butler – yes, every riad comes with its own staff – to light a fire for you, and you can sit out at night watching the stars above, and drinking the complimentary bottle of wine you have been given on arrival.
It is genuinely hard to imagine a more opulent place to lay your head, in Morocco or anywhere.
Why go out?
The Royal Mansour is not just a hotel, but its own city within a city. Inside its imposing walls are streets linking the many riads which mimic the rabbit warren of Marrakech’s souks, and are extensive enough for you to get lost in if you are not paying attention. Of course, you are never far from a map of the complex, or a member of staff tending to the gardens, cleaning or generally beautifying the property.
At the core of the complex is the hotel’s main atrium. The concierge is on one side, and high-end boutiques selling art, fashion, antiques and jewellery on another. The main bar also opens out from here, with a pianist in one corner and a roaring fireplace in the other, and everywhere mahogany, leather, and sumptuousness.
But before you exit, it is worth lingering a little to take it all in. Draped with silks and lit at night by a string of glowing golden orbs, the courtyard is set around a cruciform fountain, flowing from the centre to each edge. Water is important in Moroccan culture, and throughout the Royal Mansour it trickles, cascades and tinkles in fountains and channels that run from room to room.
Dine finely
Royal Mansour has three restaurants. Two of which would be destinations worth seeking out in their own right, were you not planning on staying in the hotel, and all of which offer entirely distinct experiences.
The Week Portfolio visited La Grande Table Marocaine, which is overseen by Yannick Alléno, the heavyweight French chef who first earned his three Michelin stars at Le Meurice in Paris.
The menu features Moroccan classics reinterpreted through Alléno’s distinctly French lens, with twists and updates on pastillas, briouats (Moroccan puff pastries) and tagines.
We start our meal with a selection of salads, including spinach with orange blossom foam, which we follow with a collection of briouats. As anyone who has visited Morocco knows, Moroccans have a sweet tooth, which often permeates their savoury dishes too. The opening chicken with honey and almond briouat is an examples of this, mingling sweet and savoury together. The starter also includes a lamb and mint pastry, and unctuous marinated king prawns.
Our mains are next; a relatively traditional lamb tagine for me, co-starring artichoke and peas. The simple combination an appealing change from sometimes overly fussy cookery in top restaurants. My partner goes for the poached spiny lobster with a beetroot and citrus fruit vinaigrette – also excellent in an understated way.
Rather overfull, we skip dessert and retire to the internal courtyard for coffees and petit fours. The restaurant is hardly an overcrowded space, but having the courtyard alone to ourselves with a table that had been set up for us specifically feels particularly majestic. The babbling of the courtyard fountain the only sound; the candles and starlight the only illumination in another extensively gilded and mosaicked central courtyard. A glorious end to the meal.
Day tripping
Most places you are likely to want to visit are a short stroll from The Royal Mansour, or for a touch of added romance, a horse and carriage ride away. In fact, if you prefer you can leave all your adventures in the hands of the Royal Mansour team who can organise hot air balloon flights, camel excursions in the Sahara, visits to the Atlas mountains and more.
But given the hotel’s location it is equally easy to make your own way around town. In which case, you may wish to visit some of the following highlights:
Musee Yves Saint Laurent Marrakech
Yves Saint Laurent famously found inspiration in Morocco’s “Red City”, sampling its colours and remixing the city’s street style. He also lived in Marrakech for years – hence there is a logic to the recent opening of the Musee Yves Saint Laurent Marrakech last year.
The museum is an ode to the to the designer’s work and contains thousands of accessories and items of clothing, plus his drawings and photography. Everything is tres chic, right down to Studio KO’s earthy clay exteriors – intended to mirror the “weft and warp of fabric”.
The souks
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(Image credit: This content is subject to copyright.)
Take a guide if you like, but for the full experience simply head out into the labyrinthine alleyways of the city’s souks by yourself. Half the fun is getting lost. The other half is scoring yourself a “bargain” by haggling with locals.
Historically, all souks were divided and named according to the commodities being sold, with the most valuable items sold at the centre of the complex and cheaper items on the periphery. This is still true of the souks in Marrakech, which are open daily from around 9am until 9pm.
Spice Square does what it says on the tin while Souk el Attarine offers pungent perfumes, beautiful silver lamps, vast copper and brass lanterns, mirrors, candlesticks and more.
Souk Semmarine is where to go for patisserie, high-quality textiles and ceramics. Souk Smata has shoes, while Souk el Kebir and Souk Cherratin are best for leather. Finally, Souk el Kebir offers clothes and fine fabrics.
A tip for haggling: don’t go in too low, or you risk causing offence. The usual rule of thumb is to offer half the price as your opening bid and go from there. But don’t make an offer if you are not seriously interested, just explain that you are simply looking.
Jemaa el-Fnaa
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(Image credit: 2006 AFP)
As dusk descends, set a course for Jemaa el-Fnaa, Marrakech’s main square, which comes alive at night with exotic sights, sounds, smells and sapidities. Men with monkeys on their shoulders, snake charmers, drumming circles, dancers, medicine men, acrobats and entertainers all vie for the attention of promenading tourists and locals.
Even before you arrive at the square you will hear the distant din and see columns of smoke rising from the food stalls. Unlike many other cities’ central squares, this still feels like a very local experience, which may leave you feeling a bit isolated. Unless you speak Arabic, for example, you are unlikely to understand the tales being told by storytellers, who often command a huge crowd. Best to leave your valuables at home though, and watch out for pickpockets and scam artists.
When you have had your fill of hyper-stimulation, the sanctuary of your own riad will feel even more welcome. Royal Mansour is that rare beast: a destination hotel right in the heart of a destination city.
Arion McNicoll is a freelance writer at The Week Digital and was previously the UK website’s editor. He has also held senior editorial roles at CNN, The Times and The Sunday Times. Along with his writing work, he co-hosts “Today in History with The Retrospectors”, Rethink Audio’s flagship daily podcast, and is a regular panellist (and occasional stand-in host) on “The Week Unwrapped”. He is also a judge for The Publisher Podcast Awards.
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