Heure Bleue Palais

A former fondouk turned palace

L'Heure Bleue was built in the late 19th century on the site of a former fondouk, a merchants' inn arranged around a courtyard, and was long the residence of a caid, the local representative of state power. The palace backs onto the rampart that closes the medina, near the Bab Marrakech gate, at 2 rue Ibn Battouta.

The 33 rooms and suites open onto a large flower-filled patio with a fountain. The decor draws on the influences that shaped Essaouira, a port where Europeans, Arabs and Africans met: African, Moorish, Portuguese, English and Oriental, with ceramic tiles and handmade lanterns. The hotel is a member of Relais & Châteaux, an international association of independent hotels and restaurants, and holds a Michelin Key, the Michelin Guide's hotel distinction. More than 50 people work here.

The house has rooms for windy evenings: a billiard room and a cinema room.

The roof and the table

The roof terrace looks out over the medina and the ocean. Here are the heated pool and SAMA, an open-air restaurant serving a light, sea-focused lunch menu with a board of daily specials. It is the place to spend the afternoon after the medina, and to watch the sun set over the old town. Outside visitors can book the "pool and lunch" package, 550 Moroccan dirhams (MAD) in October 2026, drinks not included.

Chef Ahmed Handour runs the kitchen: Moroccan and Souiri cooking (that of Essaouira), turned towards the sea, using produce from the province — argan and olive oil, mountain honey, goat's cheese, sardines, lamb, prickly pear, pomegranate. In the evening he serves his menu in the Oriental lounge, a cosy Moroccan salon. Breakfast, a buffet in the patio, brings together Moroccan breads and pastries, homemade jams and yoghurt, and Essaouira smoked salmon. Restaurants and bars close at 11 pm local time.

The chef also teaches Moroccan cooking: you prepare two courses, then eat them for dinner. Classes start at 3 pm, last about 2 hours 30, must be booked 24 hours ahead and cost 1,000 MAD per person, dinner included.

Le P'tit Spa

The spa is intimate: a traditional hammam with black marble walls and two treatment rooms, for scrubs, wraps and massages with essential oils, argan and prickly pear oil. It is open Monday to Saturday, 10 am to noon and 2 to 9 pm, and also welcomes outside visitors.

Which room to choose

The riad rises over three floors around the patio. The Classic rooms, on the first floor, suit a couple, with no extra bed possible; with a young child, a Deluxe room, where a cot can be added, is the better choice. The family suites, with two bedrooms and two bathrooms, sleep a family or a group of friends.

Our advice: the Classic rooms face the patio and take their light from the courtyard: quiet, but without a view. For a winter stay, the Premium suite and its fireplace are worth the difference; in summer, when the wind cools the town, a Deluxe room is enough.

Sabaro's view

Who it suits: couples, travellers ending a Marrakesh trip with two or three nights by the ocean, lovers of Moroccan cooking.

Strengths: a historic palace against the ramparts; the heated pool and rooftop restaurant; chef Ahmed Handour and his cooking classes; a Michelin Key and Relais & Châteaux membership; the Green Key label since 2015; a Booking.com score of 9.0/10 from more than 550 reviews.

Good to know: the beach is 400 m away; cars stop at Bab Marrakech, where the hotel has its car park; the only rate offered on the dates checked was non-refundable.