Where to Stay in Morocco, October 2026 The Morocco Stay Edit

Kasbah Tamadot occupies a former private estate high in the Atlas Mountains, overlooking the valley around Asni and Mount Toubkal beyond. Now part of Richard Branson’s Virgin Limited Edition collection, the property combines the original kasbah with Berber tents and newer riads, all layered with Moroccan textiles, carved wood, antiques and pieces collected by its former owner, Venetian antiquarian Luciano Tempo. Its strongest character comes from that combination of eccentric interiors, mountain scenery and close ties with the surrounding Amazigh communities.

El Fenn is one of Marrakech’s most distinctive boutique hotels, known for its bold use of colour, thoughtful interiors and strong design identity. Often ranked among the best hotels in Morocco, it combines 41 individually styled rooms and suites with three swimming pools, a vast 1,300-square-metre rooftop terrace, two restaurants, cocktail bars, a spa and a carefully curated shop. Despite its scale, the atmosphere remains intimate and highly considered, with art, texture and colour playing a central role throughout the property. Even the resident tortoises have become part of its character.

Berber Lodge sits in an old olive grove outside Marrakech and takes its architectural language directly from traditional Berber villages. The property was built with local craftsmen using earth from the site for adobe bricks, alongside eucalyptus, Atlas cedar and wild bamboo, while the existing olive trees were preserved around the buildings. The result is deliberately simple and earthy, with an intimacy that makes it closer to a beautifully considered rural home than a conventional resort.

Amanjena takes the rose-coloured architecture of old Marrakech and expands it into a monumental resort of courtyards, fountains, gardens and standalone pavilions. The design is unusually geometric and serene, with broad colonnades, reflective water and long sightlines towards olive groves and the High Atlas Mountains. It has the scale of a palace but the visual discipline of Aman, making it one of Marrakech’s most recognisable examples of contemporary resort architecture.

Riad Brummell is an intimate stay in Marrakech’s Medina, set within a restored 19th-century riad near Dar el Bacha and Le Jardin Secret. Original architectural elements are paired with tadelakt walls, custom furniture, sculptural lighting and a palette of terracotta, plaster and natural wood. Rooms open onto internal patios and courtyards, while the rooftop adds a small plunge pool and views across the Medina; a hammam and treatment space complete a stay that feels more like a private house than a conventional hotel.

Caravan Agafay sits among the rocky dunes of the Agafay Desert, around 45 minutes from Marrakech, with the snow-capped Atlas Mountains appearing beyond the lunar landscape. Berber-inspired tents keep the accommodation simple, while communal meals, music, desert adventures and long evenings outdoors make the social side of the property just as important as the setting. It is less about polished desert luxury and more about creating a playful, communal base in an unusually dramatic landscape.

Royal Mansour was commissioned by King Mohammed VI as an extraordinary showcase of Moroccan architecture and craftsmanship, conceived almost as a private medina rather than a conventional hotel. Instead of rooms, guests stay in 53 individual riads arranged along narrow streets and courtyards, filled with zellige, carved plaster, cedar woodwork and intricate metalwork executed by Moroccan artisans. The scale and level of detail are exceptional, but what makes it particularly fascinating is how completely the architecture turns traditional Moroccan decorative arts into the hotel itself.

Dar Seffarine occupies one of the old houses of Fes el Bali, restored with enormous respect for the traditional architecture that makes the medina so remarkable. Tall columns, carved plaster, mosaic tilework, painted timber and a soaring central courtyard preserve the grandeur of historic domestic architecture rather than simplifying it for contemporary tastes. The rooftop opens across the dense rooftops of Fez, but the real reason to stay is the rare opportunity to inhabit a piece of the city’s architectural history.

Ō Surf Club is a beachfront surf retreat in Imsouane, set inside a remodeled fishermen’s sanctuary overlooking Magic Bay. The experience revolves around the ocean, with surfing, slow food and a strong community atmosphere at the centre of the stay. The setting is simple but striking, combining the raw character of the village with panoramic views over one of Morocco’s most iconic surf breaks.

Le Jardin des Douars is a 24-room hotel on a ridge above the Ksob river, about 15 minutes inland from Essaouira. Its architecture is inspired by the rammed-earth kasbahs of the High Atlas, and from the main building, gardens of palm, olive and bougainvillea cascade down to the river below. Rooms have tadelakt walls and traditional Moroccan decor, most open onto a private terrace, and some have a fireplace. There are two heated pools, one of them for adults only, and a spa with a traditional hammam. Two restaurants serve Moroccan and international dishes, with a large barbecue on Sunday afternoons. The beaches and medina of Essaouira are a short drive away, and the hotel runs a shuttle into town.