Medina (near Jemaa el-Fna)

Royal Mansour Marrakech

★★★★★

The Royal Mansour is less a hotel than a walled village built to show the world the best of Moroccan craftsmanship. It was commissioned by King Mohammed VI and opened in 2010 inside the city walls, on Rue Abou El Abbas Sebti, a few minutes from Jemaa el-Fna, and it is still owned by the royal family. Instead of rooms in a building, guests stay in 53 independent riads, from one to four bedrooms, arranged along lanes and gardens that echo a traditional medina. Each riad has its own courtyard with a fountain, a salon and dining room, bedrooms on the upper floor and a private rooftop terrace with a plunge pool and Atlas or Medina views, and each is decorated differently with zellige, carved plaster, painted cedar, marble and brass by thousands of Moroccan artisans who worked on the project. Service is famously discreet: staff move between the kitchens and the riads through a network of underground passages, so they appear when needed and are otherwise invisible. The estate covers five hectares, with Le Jardin, gardens designed by the Spanish landscape architect Luis Vallejo, where olive and orange trees, palms and roses surround a heated outdoor pool. The spa is one of the most spectacular in Morocco, a white, lace-like atrium of some 2,500 square meters with hammams, treatment rooms, a hair salon, a gym and a heated indoor pool. Dining ranges from La Grande Table Marocaine, a celebrated showcase of Moroccan cuisine with a Friday couscous ritual, to Sesamo for Italian food and La Grande Brasserie, where the Sunday brunch was imagined by Helene Darroze, plus Le Jardin restaurant, afternoon tea and bars. The hotel has been recognized among the world's best hotels in recent years.

Who it suits: travelers who want absolute privacy and space, families or groups who can share a multi-bedroom riad, honeymooners who will rarely leave their rooftop, and anyone who wants to see Moroccan decorative arts at the highest level. It is not a social, scene-driven hotel like La Mamounia; the pleasure is in the calm, the craftsmanship and the service. Even the smallest riad is larger than most hotel suites, and the rooftop plunge pools make a real difference in summer.

Location math: the estate is inside the walls on the western side of the Medina, a short walk or golf-buggy ride from the gates to Jemaa el-Fna and the Koutoubia, with the souks just beyond. Cars can reach the entrance, which is a rare advantage for a Medina address, and Gueliz, Hivernage and the Jardin Majorelle are a short drive away. Once inside, the noise of the city disappears completely.

Practical notes: this is one of the most expensive hotels in Africa, and rates rise sharply in spring, autumn and over the festive season. Book restaurants, the spa and private experiences such as cooking classes in advance. Non-guests can reserve some restaurants and the spa depending on availability. A per-person nightly tourist tax is added to the bill.