10 spa hotels in Marrakech for traditional treatments with a dose of luxury

A 53-riad mini-medina, Marrakech’s Royal Mansour was commissioned by King Mohammed VI as a sanctuary for visiting dignitaries. It’s a feast for the senses: the rosy ochre-coloured buildings burn bright against blue skies, while the smell of orange blossom lingers. The ethereal spa is a feat of design, and through its treatments offers guests an introduction to Moroccan rituals. One, two and three-bedroom villas are available, all with roof terraces shaded by a Bedouin tent and private patio plunge pools.

The Mandarin’s debut African resort is as subtle and stylish as you’d expect from one of the world’s leading luxury hoteliers. Its 54 villas, nine suites, three restaurants and world-class spa are set outside the medina in a gorgeous, two-hectare garden of blooming roses. The spa deserves its own review with its cathedral-like brickwork interiors, male and female hammams, six spa suites, a jade-coloured pool, yoga studio and fitness centre. Personal training, bike rides, jogging excursions and nutritional programmes are all part of the package.

Amanjena means ‘peaceful paradise’ and architect Ed Tuttle’s pared down Arabian fantasy certainly conjures an atmosphere of almost zen-like calm with its grand proportions, pleasing symmetry and luxurious finishes. The pale, peach stone palace with its double-height lounges, library and fountain-focused internal patios reflect Marrakech’s Moorish and Arabian heritage. The spa is home to two hammams complemented by showers, washrooms and a glassed-in whirlpool that opens onto a relaxation courtyard with a fountain. Treatments include massages, facials scrubs and wraps, as well as manicures and pedicures.

Ever since Winston Churchill (who first visited Marrakech in 1935) adopted the Mamounia as his winter home, the hotel has been renowned for its impeccable, courtly service. On arrival hot towels, almond milk and dates await the tired traveller, while rooms are furnished with thoughtful touches such as armfuls of fresh roses and freshly baked spiced cakes. Seek out some of the older courtyards and more intimate nooks, such as the Italian bar, the Moroccan restaurant or the dreamy spa pool, where some of the old magic remains. Here, treatments are based on local products including argan oil, orange-flower water and honey.

Probably the most exclusive family resort in Marrakech, the Four Seasons offers luxury amid 40 acres of landscaped Moorish gardens. Service is generally excellent and unstinting from the 24-hour concierge desk to the towel-toting pool attendants, professional spa therapists and friendly kids’ club instructors. The spa has plunge pools, hammams, private gardens, and treatment rooms, most of which open out onto private terraces. The highlight of the resort are the luxurious guestrooms and suites which all have private balconies with sun loungers set towards views of the Atlas Mountains.

The five riads are all decorated in a different style signifying various historic periods, from pale pink Riad Scheherazade which drips with intricate stucco work and fine zellij tiling typical of the Saadian era, to the jewel-coloured Riad Saadia, clad in carved cedarwood. La Sultana’s staff rank among the finest purveyors of hospitality in the city. Doing this is harder than it looks when there is such an array of facilities to manage, including a pool, solarium with sun beds and service, and a pink-hued spa with bathing pools set amid a colonnaded hammam which conjures visions of Cleopatra at bath time.

Billing itself as a welcoming home with the service and facilities of a five-star hotel, Riad Farnatchi has 10 suites with fireplaces, plump duck-down bedding and Bose speakers. They also have a swanky beauty spa occupying an adjoining riad, offering two luxurious marble hammams and three treatment rooms in which to enjoy manicures, pedicures and massages performed by well-trained therapists. The style is a sort of understated baroque – think Delacroix meets Ian Schrager. A seven-metre pool and a barbecue on the roof terrace are excellent extras.

Like a Delacroix painting, there’s a dramatic use of lighting, colour and romance in the décor at Riad de Tarabel, an instantly seductive palette that combines colonial and Second Empire furnishings to opulent effect. Duck through a side door and you’ll find yourself in a patio used as a winter dining room, while another courtyard has a heated swimming pool and spa. Here, facial treatments use natural oils and essences from Nectarome and hammam rituals soothe the soul. The feeling continues to the 10 large rooms and suites that sport the same moody, romantic vibe with graphic floor tiles offset by sparkling chandeliers and cut crystal vases full of creamy roses.

The perfect antidote to the frenetic pace of Marrakech’s Medina is this tranquil resort and country club set in a vast expanse of countryside framed by a ring of mauve-coloured mountains. Swim in its lake-like pool or tee-off beneath cornflower blue skies on its 18-hole golf course and vow never to go home. In addition, its riad-inspired spa provides sensory escape through its hammam, saunas, swimming pool and treatment rooms, where you can indulge in massages with Moroccan Argan oil, hot stone therapy, and Ghassoul wraps infused with musk clay and natural plant body.

More-is-more is the maxim at Es Saadi, which harbours one of the largest lagoon pools in Marrakech, complete with an island bar ringed by faux Roman columns. There are also eight restaurants, four bars, three outdoor pools (two heated) and a huge indoor hydrotherapy pool, hammam and sauna in an extensive spa, which hosts the only Dior Institute outside Paris. Numerous other features include Vichy showers, balneotherapy rooms, 12 treatment areas, a gym, a solarium and a barber shop.