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29 December 2025 by David Warne
Marrakech has attracted travellers, musicians and artists for decades and, for most visitors, especially first-timers, a stay in a riad is an essential part of any trip to Morocco. However, this city offers an almost bewildering choice of accommodation options, from sprawling ultra-modern resorts to historic villas in various neighbourhoods across the city and beyond – so how do you choose where to stay?
What defines a riad?
Villa des Orangers
The word riad has its origins in the Arabic for garden, a nod to one of the main features of this uniquely Moroccan style of dwelling, where a rectangular building surrounds a central, open-air courtyard containing a fountain and often trees or plants. Typically riads have more than one level and are inwardly focused for privacy and protection from the weather. Indeed, most riads have few, if any, outward facing windows and are often only accessible by a single doorway in a solid wall within the medina. Not only are they extremely private but they are also designed to keep out the noise of medina and so are often surprisingly peaceful places. And, whilst not all traditional riads were necessarily grand or large buildings, most of the ones you will encounter today in Morocco once belonged to wealthy merchants and courtiers.
How do you choose a luxury riad for the perfect stay?
There is a seemingly endless choice of riads, which by their very nature are notoriously difficult to categorise using traditional hotel star ratings. They are usually very small, don’t necessarily offer hotel-style facilities and – in an attempt to offer authenticity – retain original features that can make a riad look anything from stunningly beautiful to slightly dilapidated.
At one level, whichever riad you choose you will have a uniquely Moroccan experience as there simply isn’t anywhere else that offers this form of accommodation. Many are owned by wealthy expats who have bought the crumbling riads over recent decades and taken great effort to renovate them, adding the minimum of mod cons here and there where necessary.
At this point it is worth highlighting that bedrooms in riads are often by their nature dark, often without external windows at all or with small windows looking into internal courtyards. If you prefer lots of natural light other accommodation options and areas of the city might be a better bet - with the notable exception of Riad Farnatchi, which is detailed below. Similarly, not all have lifts an d some have uneven floors, so anyone with limited mobility may have to be careful when choosing a riad.
Where the differences between riads become more apparent is in the service, facilities and dining options. With this in mind, four properties in the medina stand out at the luxury level.
Villa des Orangers
Villa des Orangers
The beautiful Villa des Orangers – the only Relais and Chateaux property within the medina itself – is arguably the most luxurious of the historic riads and one of the best located. The present day hotel is composed of two early 20th century mansions with gorgeous suites, each unique and some with private roof terraces, and a superb restaurant with indoor and outdoor dining areas. Breakfast is taken in the wonderful courtyard garden and the property also offers a complimentary light lunch each day which is a nice touch if you are not out exploring. Being slightly larger than a typical riad, the property offers not only a larger than normal outdoor pool but two further plunge pools – one on the roof terrace offering views of the nearby Koutoubia. A beautiful spa and traditional hammam complete the line-up of facilities. Service is what you would expect from Relais and Chateaux, personal, attentive and courteous.
La Sultana
Close by and equally well-located in the historic Kasbah area of the medina is La Sultana, a 28-room property created from five separate but interconnected riads. Each individual riad has its own style and wandering through the maze-like structure is a pleasure in itself. La Sultana has a small outdoor pool in a charming traditional brick courtyard on the ground floor with an adjacent restaurant. The star of the show, however, is the wonderful rooftop which offers a further restaurant, bar and seating areas, ideal for a sundowner in the company of the clacking storks that inhabit the roof of the adjacent Saadian Tombs. The hotel also offers popular cooking classes on the rooftop every morning, an award-winning spa and various quiet courtyards to relax in, so you might find it hard to tear yourself away. Service here is exemplary, with natural warmth that makes you feel like part of the family.
Both La Sultana and Villa des Orangers are easy to access by car, which is not the case for many riads, making arrival and departure easier than most.
Riad Kniza
Riad Kniza
Our third recommendation at the luxury end of the scale is Riad Kniza, the only 5-star riad still in the hands of the original Moroccan family of owners. This riad offers arguably the most authentic experience of our selection, and being smaller than the others, is the most traditional in layout. It is also deep in the medina up a winding alley (it can be rather tricky to find at first) adding to the sense of place. It offers a small restaurant specialising in Moroccan cuisine, a wonderful rooftop and an indoor pool.
Le Farnatchi
Owned and lovingly nurtured by British hotelier James Wix, this intimate riad unfolds around a peaceful courtyard rich in traditional craftsmanship, from carved plasterwork to elegant zellij tiles. With just ten individually designed suites, each space thoughtfully styled with bespoke furnishings, air-conditioning and indulgent Egyptian cotton linens. One of the many standout features of Le Farnatchi is the sense of light and space throughout the riad, with white walls and more natural light from exterior windows than many other riads offer. A glorious rooftop offers a pool, garden area and bar terrace, which offers a serene setting for breakfast or evening drinks above the medina’s rooftops. The acclaimed restaurant, Le Trou au Mur, brings refined Moroccan flavours to the table and is well worth a visit even if not staying here.