Unveiling the Oasis: A Candid Review of L'Hotel Marrakech
Discover the allure of L'Hotel Marrakech through our insightful review. Nestled within the vibrant streets of Marrakech, this boutique hotel offers a blend of traditional Moroccan charm and contemporary comforts.
From the moment you step foot inside, you'll be greeted by a tranquil atmosphere and attentive hospitality. The hotel's distinctive design elements, coupled with its warm ambiance, create a welcoming retreat for guests seeking an authentic Moroccan experience.
Join us as we take a closer look at what makes L'Hotel Marrakech a good choice for travelers seeking a unique stay in the heart of Marrakech.
We decided to visit the L’Hotel Marrakech as a two-centre stay. On our last stay, which was in 2018, we stayed at the Leading Hotels of the World option, Royal Mansour. This was an incredible stay and was only a very short walk to the Medina area, but this time we wanted to stay somewhere more traditional and in the Medina itself. L’Hotel Marrakech certainly covered that, being very traditional and very centrally located.
The spacious Fes Suite on the 1st floor
In this review of the L’Hotel Marrakech, I’ll detail our experience of the location, local activities, the best restaurants in town and of course, the accommodation and facilities at the hotel itself. Read below to find out everything you need to know before your next trip to Marrakech.
The swimming pool at L’Hotel Marrakech
Our Fes Suite terrace overlooking the central riad courtyard
Fast Facts for L’Hotel Marrakech
Address - 41 Derb Sidi Lahcen ou Ali, Bab Doukkala, 40000 Marrakech, Morocco
Website - https://www.l-hotelmarrakech.com/
TripAdvisor ranking - #215 of 707 hotels in Marrakech
Contact - contact@l-hotelmarrakech.com
Instagram - @lhotelmarrakech
Nearest airport - Marrakech’s Menara International Airport (RAK) - 8 km or 5 miles (about a 20 min drive, traffic dependent)
Opened - 2016
Number of suites - 6 only (Zagora, Tangier, Asilah, Agadir, Fez, & Casablanca)
Number of floors - 2 (plus roof terrace)
Bars - None
Restaurants - 1 (The Dining Room & Roof Terrace location options, or on your suite terrace)
Wellbeing - Eight metre heated swimming pool, traditional riad garden, & sun terrace
Visited - April 2024
The amazing bar area of L’Hotel Marrakech, sadly no licence for an evening cocktail
An amazing breakfast was served each morning on our private terrace
Hotel Accommodation: Spacious and elegant, steeped in history and local charm
There are only six suites here, we had Fes (albeit one of the pictures on the website of the bathroom isn’t of that suite, unless it’s been recently remodelled - the sink is not facing as you enter, as in the picture). Our suite was on the first floor, directly above Zagora, which was on the ground, with far less privacy. On the other side of the courtyard, Casablanca was larger but similar, and I don’t think it was available for our stay. This seemed to have a bath only with a shower over, whereas we had both a walk-in shower as well as a separate tub.
The two smaller suites, Tangier & Asilah, were the other adjacent suites on the first floor, albeit with no outside terrace. The final, largest, Agadir had a private courtyard (so not as open as ours onto the central courtyard) but did have both bath and shower too.
“This historic 19th century riad, originally the central part of a Caidal palace, comprises six spacious suites surrounding a uniquely wide courtyard garden and swimming pool. This charming retreat combines delicious food, great comfort and service whilst capturing the elegance of hotels of the1930s. Owned by Jasper Conran, the riad combines superb Moroccan craftsmanship with pieces of antique furniture, textiles, lighting and art from his collection, making it feel more like a home than a hotel.”
Facilities & Service at L’Hotel Marrakech
This is a small property and did indeed feel like a private home, so wasn’t awash with services and facilities, but had everything we needed for the short stay. What was disappointing was the website said there was an on-site Hammam, but when I enquired about this the first staff member said that it was seasonable and wasn’t available. The second staff member said that this wasn’t available ever, unless the whole hotel was booked exclusively and that the website should be updated. This was really frustrating as it was one of the reasons I had chosen this property. They suggested that if we wanted to visit one, there was one nearby that they could recommend.
I’ve broken down the key facilities and services and shared my opinion on them below:
Our Fes Suite
I’m so glad I went for one of the suites on the first floor with the huge terrace, this was one of the real highlights of the suite with its open outlook over the central courtyard and the pool. It was a slightly awkward staircase to get up to it, but worth it. On the level above there were two roof terrace areas, one with sun loungers and the other with tables and chairs. There was the option of having breakfast up there, on the suite balcony or down off the courtyard in what was a welcome area/lounge or could be converted into a dining room.
Levels of Comfort
The suite was huge, albeit one open area with the full bathroom at one end. The suite was almost doubled in size by including the large shaded terrace, which tended to get the afternoon and evening sun vs Casablanca opposite which would get full sun in the morning. At one end there was a large canopied king-size bed with pristine white bedding, and the bed (though at first felt very hard) was actually extremely comfortable and we had really good sleeps here. At the other end there were a couple of easy chairs and a small table, with a large central console table and lamps.
Design was simple but authentic, with a beamed wooden ceiling and traditional Moorish lamps, the only downside I would say is that there wasn’t a huge amount of storage space - there were two narrow wardrobes, one with shelving and the other with some shelving and hanging space too. There was always one (large) bottle of water provided and replenished, but it did feel like the room was missing other drinks/minibar, albeit the hotel doesn’t yet have a license for alcohol. Although this wasn’t a huge miss for us, it was a bit disappointing that we couldn’t have an evening drink in either the amazing downstairs bar area (candle lit at night) or on the rooftop at sunset. Apparently they have tried a number of times to secure a license, but haven’t yet managed to be able to achieve one.
Bathroom
This was simple but beautifully traditional with polished plaster walls and Moorish arches and matt gold fittings. At the far end, there was a deep soaking tub also made out of plaster, with a single sink on one side. There was a separate WC alcove and another with a walk-in shower. Toiletries (body wash, shampoo, and body lotion) were provided in small glass bottles in both the shower area and by the bath. There were plenty of towels and bathrobes. The water in the shower could be erratic, a mixer with both hot and cold taps, sometimes would go cold.
Breakfast
This was included within the rate, and there was the option to have this on your suite terrace, on the rooftop, or off the central courtyard in a room which seemed to be both welcome reception and a dining room. We’d thought initially that we would try the three different locations, but having the convenience of it being delivered onto our suite’s terrace each morning was excellent, and we just stuck with that every day. There was mixed fruit to begin with (and we asked for some natural yoghurt to go with it, and honey), then a whole selection of traditional breads, toast, and croissants with a complete selection of jams and honey.
Restaurant & Bars
As well as breakfasts being included, there was a lunch menu available as well as a fixed dinner option too. With wanting to try different restaurants, we didn’t eat in the hotel other than breakfast, but our friends had stayed longer a few weeks ago and had had dinner there, saying it was really excellent.
Design & Architecture
L’Hôtel Marrakech combines superb Moroccan craftsmanship with pieces of Jasper’s antique furniture, textiles, lighting and art – some of which were acquired from the personal collections of Bill Willis and Yves Saint Laurent. It’s a very traditional riad, but has been sympathetically transformed from a private home into a small, luxury boutique hotel. There was lots of traditional design though, with a wonderful ambience day or night, especially when the downstairs courtyard and side rooms were transformed with candlelight.
What about the Marrakech location?
Excellent. Although I don’t think we would ever have found it, because all accommodation comes with complimentary airport transfers (and we paid for the extra VIP Meet & Greet service at the airport) we were taken as near to the hotel as possible by Mercedes car, then immediately met by a hotel representative and someone else to transport our luggage in a hand cart down the sidestreets.
It was less than a ten-minute walk to Bacha Coffee and there were some great (fixed price) shops there, within minutes of Medina shopping, and about a ten-minute walk to El Fenn and Les Jardin Du Lotus restaurants.
On leaving, in lieu of a transfer back to the airport, the same driver and Mercedes took us the shorter ride to the main train station, for our journey to Fez.
Some of the top activities I’d recommend doing in Marrakech are as follows:
Jemâa El Fna
La Koutoubia
Medersa Ben Youssef
Musée Yves Saint Laurent Marrakech
The Atlas Mountains
Menara Gardens
Jardin Marjorelle
The Secret Garden / Le Jardin Secret
The Tanneries
Medina Shopping
To find out all the details, check out my accompanying Travel Diaries series for Marrakech or the Travel Itinerary post already on my website.
Food and Drink in Marrakech
We didn’t eat at the hotel other than breakfast, but we did have friends stay a few weeks before us (actually the same Fes suite too) and they did, with a high recommendation. With only staying in the Medina area for three nights, I really wanted to try out these three new restaurants for us.
Some of our favourite restaurants and cafes we encountered over the course of our stay in Marrakech, Morocco were:
Les Jardins Du Lotus
Les Jardins Du Lotus was a suggestion of ‘Mrs’ TPT, who had seen his pseudo-boyfriend Pedro Pascal here a few weeks before. It was just a short walk from our hotel and easy to get to, albeit slightly odd when the final section is down a secluded winding alleyway to get there.
Before going, looking at the Instagram account (and there didn’t seem to be website) as good looking as the restaurant was, I had expected it maybe to be a bit ‘clubby’ and ‘influencery’ rather than being an amazing restaurant. The reality was the complete opposite and in fact was probably my favourite restaurant of anywhere we went in Marrakech on this trip. The choice of food was extensive, especially with lots of vegetarian options; service was excellent and an amazing ambience too. A real highlight.
Al Fassia
Andi Oliver featured Al Fassia restaurant in her BBC TV series Remarkable Places to Eat (Series 2), when she visited with Fred Sirieix. A really traditional establishment, founded by the Chab family over 30 years ago, which employs only women. They have two locations now, in Gueliz and Aguedal.
I thought I had checked out the locations and the nearest to L’Hotel Marrakech, but it turned out for some reason I’d picked the further away one, albeit there wasn’t a massive difference. We went to Aguedal, which is the newer location, compared to the original Gueliz, which seemed to be located in the new town. The one we went to (after a manic taxi ride trying to get out of the crazy Medina downtown area on a Saturday night) was located in the more out-of-town touristique area.
Food was good, as was service, and although it was quiet when we first got there (for 7:30pm) and there were only a few tables taken inside and a few outside on the shaded terrace, after a while the restaurant filled up and nearly all tables were full. For a vegetarian, there probably wasn’t the best choice of food, albeit there were some options in both starters and main courses.
El Fenn
This was a real highlight, and actually somewhere I would have liked to have stayed, except that during the time we would be in Marrakech they were applying a minimum 4-night stay and we were only there for 3. We first went by mistake to the hotel entrance, which is where Google directed us to, but we were then told to go back onto the main road and enter through their retail store. The store was excellent, lots of interesting things for sale, and as we’d expected lots of amazing colour including the signature red of El Fenn.
We checked in at the desk at the foot of a stunning circular white and red staircase, and were advised that the first sitting (7:30pm) was about to start and we should go straight up. The store is only open until 9:30pm so we had a very quick scout around there, before heading upstairs to the roof terrace thinking we were going to be late. As it turned out, we were actually the first up there for dinner, so were able to get our choice of tables. It’s a deceiving area up there as it’s very large, with a dedicated dining area around a building void, with a large bar area too, as well as a guest-only swimming pool and lounger area, above another courtyard.
There was an excellent selection of food (good for vegetarians too) and we really enjoyed the meal. Loving the rooftop experience, we then went across to the relaxed bar/lounge area on the other side with the incredible views of the Koutoubia Mosque minaret. Always a favourite when a bar or restaurant serves Tanqueray Flor De Sevilla gin.
Highlights of our stay
There were so many highlights of the stay at the but here are just a few of the key points, which I hope you find a useful summary.
Location - great to be able to walk the Medina streets so close, and it seemed to be within an easy walking distance of most of the places we wanted to visit.
Accommodation - a really lovely traditional suite and space, the terrace really made it.
The relaxed welcome - definitely take the complimentary airport transfers, would be very difficult to find the location without assistance, the first time.
Breakfast on the terrace - excellent choice, albeit timing was a bit erratic and on two days we had to phone and chase the pre-order as it was well beyond 30-45 since we had asked for it. There was no option of eggs on day 1, but we were offered this on subsequent days.
Packed lunch on the day of departure - a really nice selection of foods and a nice touch to get this as complimentary.
The Harmony massage - great therapist and good massage, on our private terrace. €80 (about £70 or $85) for a 90 minute massage was excellent value.
Areas for improvement
Wherever we stay, I do always like to look at the positives on any property we stay in, and airlines we fly with etc. but sometimes you can’t help but notice things that (for me, but I realise this is always personal) might have made for a better stay.
If you want privacy I’d avoid the one and only ground floor suite (Zagora). While it looked to be exactly the same footprint and set up as ours directly above (Fez) where we had a private terrace overlooking the garden, the Zagora terrace was actually just an extension of the garden with minimal privacy. We had friends staying here a few weeks before we visited and they commented that they had almost sat on the Zagora balcony when sitting at the pool, and indeed I almost walked in one night thinking it was another public sitting room.
Was a pity there was no Hammam available, as listed on the website.
No minibar or drinks in the suite, other than a bottle of mineral water.
Water in the shower could be erratic temperature wise.
Wi-Fi was generally ok, but was prone to dropping out for periods.
Would I stay here again?
We had a really good stay, and I would still highly recommend it, but I’m not sure I would return. Not being able to use the Hammam was disappointing, as was the inability to have a sunset drink on the rooftop (albeit I don’t think they have any issue with BYOB and serving that). I loved the central location, but I also love to try out new locations so I think if we come back (and I’m sure we will at some point), we’d pick another luxury riad option nearby.
View from one of the L’Hotel Marrakech roof terraces
My final thoughts on L’Hotel Marrakech
We had a very comfortable and pleasant stay, albeit it maybe just didn’t have the wow factor that I’d been hoping for. Service was good, a little patchy with breakfast timings and trying to find out the time we should depart for our 9:50am train which seemed to vary from 7am to 9:30am. Disappointing about the hammam, but in terms of wellness (though clearly no gym) the choice of massage and treatments was excellent, expertly executed and good value for money.
Have you stayed at L’Hotel Marrakech or visited Marrakech before? I’d love to hear your own thoughts and opinions on it as well as your impression of Marrakech or Morocco as a holiday destination.
Comment below to share your thoughts and opinions.
Let me know which hotel I should review next!
