La Sultana Marrakech

Five riads and the palace's old granary

La Sultana was created in 2001 in the kasbah, Marrakesh's former royal citadel, south of the medina. The district holds the Royal Palace, the Saadian Tombs and streets lived in for centuries. The hotel brings together five historic riads, restored and then linked, each with its own courtyard and style.

The restoration was carried out with Morocco's historic monuments authority. Master craftsmen restored the carved wood, the zellige (glazed terracotta mosaic) and the chiselled plaster; the vaults of the old granary, which once supplied the royal family, became courtyards. The house backs onto the Moulay El Yazid mosque, and its terraces overlook the mausoleum of the Saadian princes, 50 m from the door.

The hotel is officially rated five stars and received one Michelin Key (the Michelin Guide's hotel award) in the 2026 selection. It belongs to Virtuoso, a network of high-end travel agencies.

350 Orientalist paintings in the courtyards

The house displays a private collection of Orientalist painting, built up over more than thirty years: over 350 works by around 90 artists, spanning almost two centuries. Orientalism is the movement that flourished mainly in the 19th and early 20th centuries among painters who travelled to Morocco, Egypt, Algeria or Syria; Morocco inspired many of them, including Jacques Majorelle and José Cruz Herrera.

The paintings hang in the courtyards, lounges and bedrooms, among the materials they depict: carved cedar, hand-cut zellige, chiselled plaster, tadelakt (a smooth, waterproof lime plaster). The hotel offers a tour of its architecture and decorative arts, with an audio guide or a guide, daily by reservation. It also explains how the five riads were joined without losing their character.

2,000 m² of rooftops over the kasbah

The roof terraces cover 2,000 m², with hanging gardens, a view of the Koutoubia minaret and, on clear days, the Atlas. They serve as a dining room for most of the day.

• La Table du Souk, on the Bahia rooftop, serves lunch from 12.30 to 3 pm: a market menu and a Moroccan street-food menu, with charcoal grills, fish and vegetarian couscous. On Sundays a seafood platter comes in from the Oualidia lagoon, to be ordered before 6 pm the day before.
• The Odette, the rooftop bar, opens from 4 pm to 1 am, with mezze from 4 to 10 pm and cocktails with Moroccan spices, including the "Yves Saint Laurent in Majorelle".
• La Table de La Sultana, the evening restaurant, serves two seasonal menus from 7.30 to 10 pm, one Moroccan, the other French-inspired.

The kitchen works with small producers and Moroccan regional products: saffron from Taliouine, cumin from Alnif, argan oil from the Souss. Some of the vegetables come from the organic garden of La Sultana Oualidia, the sister property on the Atlantic. The cellar holds over 3,000 bottles and nearly 250 labels, from Morocco and France, including a cuvée created with Domaine des 3 Cavaliers.

The roof also hosts the house's activities: Moroccan cooking classes at 10 am facing the Atlas, yoga, stargazing in the evening, and a cocktail class at sunset.

Choosing a room in a riad

The 28 rooms and suites are all different: high ceilings, marble columns, tadelakt, worked copper. In a riad, windows face the inner courtyard rather than the street. The hotel says so itself: travellers who want light should book a Deluxe Suite with a private balcony.

The Riad Room, opening onto a planted courtyard with a fountain, comes closest to the riad experience. The suites offer more space and more elaborate decor, and their guests are given a mobile phone to reach their host at any hour: spa or restaurant bookings, a car, a bath run. For a long stay, the Exclusive Suite adds a living room with a fireplace, two bathrooms and a private terrace over the Bahia riad.

The pink-marble spa sits at the heart of the house: hammam, massage rooms, heated indoor jacuzzi, hair salon, Darphin facials and a gym with Atlas views. The hotel recommends the Royal Hammam followed by its signature argan oil massage. The pool is heated to 28 °C all year and reserved for hotel guests.

Sabaro's view

For whom: couples, honeymoons, anniversaries, and a first trip to Morocco for those who want to explore the medina on foot and come back to calm.

Strengths: a house of only 28 rooms; the kasbah, more residential than the busier parts of the medina; the Saadian Tombs two minutes away, El Badi Palace eleven, Bahia Palace fourteen; rooftops facing the Atlas; the Orientalist collection.

Good to know: Jemaa el-Fna square and the main entrance to the souks are about 16 minutes on foot, 1.2 km. The riads have different levels and stairs: the hotel asks guests with reduced mobility to contact it before booking. Courtyard rooms get less light than the suites with balconies.

Our tip: combine three nights in Marrakesh with three nights at La Sultana Oualidia, about 3 hours' drive away; the hotel arranges the transfer between the two.