A Candid Review of L’Hotel Marrakech

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.

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 – [email protected]
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

Hotel Accommodation

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.  

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.