After its independence from France in 1956, Morocco, and specifically Marrakech, the fourth largest of the historical Berber Empire's Imperial Cities, took off as a hippie mecca for artists (Andy Warhol), Hollywood starlets (Rita Hayworth), film directors (Alfred Hitchcock shot scenes for The Man Who Knew Too Much here) and the musical jet-set with The Beatles and the Rolling Stones enjoying rest and hazy 'relaxation' in the maze-like alleys of this medieval medina.
Into the eighties, and the expatriate arrivals and investment continued when Yves Saint Laurent bought the colonial Majorelle Garden (where his ashes are now buried). Meanwhile, Patrick Guerrand-Hermès – former cavalryman and great-great-grandson of the luxury brand's founder Thierry Hermès – bought Ain Kassimou, a late 19th century estate originally built for Leo Tolstoy's daughter Olga, which Guerrand-Hermès transformed into the Royal Polo Club de la Palmeraie with the help of the dapper, super-secretive and publicity averse American garden designer Madison Cox.
And now in the 21st century, Maroc is on a roll and the city is riding a renaissance as a destination for the in-crowd. Kate Moss? Check. Ralph Lauren? Check. The Delevingne clan? Check. Carine Roitfeld and Matthew Williamson doing karaoke at 3am? Check.
Isn't it time you joined them?
Fly
Flights begin at £100 return British Airways from Heathrow and Gatwick. Make your seat business and you can kick off your trip with Tanqueray gin and tonics in the lounge, along with hot buffet curry and pasta that, we assure you, tastes nothing like school dinners. The luxury continues onboard, where unlimited drinks abound, along with a three-course meal, tea and coffee.
Stay
With hotels so perfect that the very words 'Mandarin Oriental' have become synonymous with unparalleled luxury, it should come as little surprise that this Marrakech edition would be one of the most spectacular residences in the city. Situated 20 minutes from Djemaa el-Fna (the city’s main square) this 50-acre property is a tranquil urban oasis. Marrying Mandarin Oriental’s signature paired-back style with local flourishes, the low-impact, terracotta buildings are nestled among palm, orange and olive trees, shimmering pools and fragrant gardens scented by more than 100,000 roses.
There’s a spa (complete, of course, with Moroccan hammam), three restaurants, two pools, and an astonishing array of activities on offer, not to mention the perfect-for-children petting zoo and the organic vegetable patch, from which the chefs take fresh ingredients from daily. Breakfast out on the veranda at Le Salon Berbère is a relaxed but civilised affair. Work your way through a pot of coffee or Moroccan tea and order a plate of Msamen (Morrocan pancakes), a decadent omelette or simply help yourself to the abundance of fresh fruit piled high on the marble tops. Come nightfall, stop again at Le Salon Berbère for an aperitif, where the vibe after dark is more champagne bar than breakfast. Dine at Ling Ling, the Chinese restaurant from the Hakkasan team, or head to Mes'Lalla, where the Moroccan menu with modern touches mirrors the wider Mandarin Oriental aesthetic.
While the stunning grounds, impressive facilities and top-tier service are all well worth noting, for GQ, it’s the pool villas that take this hotel from great to exceptional. The palatial villas (of which there are 54) are mind-blowingly beautiful. The Oriental Pool Villas centre around a private pool and spacious courtyard, with a jacuzzi, kitchen, sitting areas – including a fire pit, which the staff will happily light for you half an hour before you retire back to your villa – and then the indoor rooms all symmetrically placed around its rectangular circumference.
The two bedrooms are perfectly lovely, but it’s the master bathroom you’ll fantasise about for months after your stay. The grand circular bath takes pride of place, but the walk-in steam shower and the marble double sinks are impressive, too. The average hotel room could fit inside this bathroom comfortably. These two-bedroomed villas are perfect for two couples sharing or for a family, but if you’re travelling as a two, fear not. The Mandarin Pool villas are the same but with only one bedroom.
Mandarin Oriental, Route Golf Royal, Marrakech 40000, Morocco. +212 5242-98888, mandarinoriental.com/marrakech
La Mamounia
It’s impossible to imagine when entering the five-star La Mamounia’s magnificent gardens – where leaves twice as big as your head collide with vibrant flowers, and which have hosted the likes of Saint Laurent and Elton John – that the dust and riot of the souks is a mere five-minute walk away. In La Mamounia’s quiet, sheltered grounds (which contain over 1,200 plant species) with paths snaking through the foliage to who knows where, you can get lost at your leisure, with many activities to be enjoyed along the way: from playing a game of secluded ping pong one moment and jumping into the huge outdoor pool the next, before tending to one of the property’s many resident cats. This is a hotel for guests who have all the time in the world.
GQ recommends staying in one of the hotel’s impressive three-bedroom riads, ideal for holidaying couples or family. Equipped with a private kitchen and your own dedicated butler, the riad – complete with an outdoor pool and rooftop seating area with views over the gardens – offers the experience of a private hotel within a hotel. Upon arrival, a joyous spread of treats is laid out on the varnished tables in the dark, cosy sitting room with plush green-velvet sofas and fringed lamps. Graze on walnuts and Turkish delight, macaroons and sweet biscuits, along with honeyed milk in glass jugs, before trying to find the bedroom within the maze of wooden-panelled corridors leading to one door after another, each one bringing you first to a walk-in wardrobe, a second sitting room, or a third bathroom. You’ll lose your partner within moments, which can either feel like a liberating achievement or a right nuisance, depending on your mood.
After a buffet breakfast by the pool (try the frosted Pierre Hermé croissants), make a booking at La Mamounia spa: an intimate, silent cove of darkness where therapists go about their business in hushed whispers and you can barely see your feet on the ground. The one-hour massage is a must, followed by time spent in the sauna and steam room.
For dinner, and for one of the city’s most romantic experiences, it’s essential to sample traditional Moroccan cuisine with local produce from the vegetable garden at the hotel’s most authentic of its four restaurants, Le Marocain. Here, Berber musicians serenade you in your individual, curtained booths that protect you from neighbours’ spying eyes and the waiters who come and go. The pastilla stuffed with almonds and pigeon will make you contemplate moving to this heavenly city for good.
Avenue Bab Jdid، Marrakech 40040; mamounia.com
Royal Mansour
For all the five-star splendour that Marrakech has to offer, there is one scene-stealing city idyll more famous than all the rest. Built over more than three years by 1,200 craftsmen, the Royal Mansour is a pad quite literally fit for a king. Something of a pet project, the hotel was conceived of by King Mohammed VI of Morocco, and is used by his Majesty to host his own visitors. Located in the centre of the city, the Old Town’s high pink walls shroud the Royal Mansour fairytale from view, but inside it’s gates you’ll find a palace laid out in the style of a medina, centred around a jaw-droppingly beautiful, open-roofed foyer, with meandering pathways that wind from riad to riad. The smell of citrus wafts from the lemon and orange trees that line the walkways, while the tranquil trickling of water soundtracks every step.
Even the most modest of the 53 rooms are still three-floor riads. Step through the heavy wooden door and materialise, as if by magic, in an mosaic-tiled private courtyard, which leads onto a magnificent sitting room with carved cedar wood and beaten bronze. On the desk guests will find gold embossed personalised letterheads. Upstairs is the lavishly decorated bedroom, complete with the softest sheets GQ has ever slept in, and a marble bath big enough to swim in. Then at the top is the roof terrace and private plunge pool.
Every riad comes with its own butler, who uses the separate staff doors on each floor to slip in and out of the rooms unnoticed. These doors connect the labyrinthine tunnels and staff areas that keep the Royal Mansour a wonderfully discreet, well-oiled machine. Attention to detail is such at this hotel that the housekeeping staff literally brush the silk and suede rugs into straight-lined submission. Airport transfers are taken in one of the hotel’s two Bentleys, complete with a bilingual, astonishingly polite and proper white-gloved driver.
The food at the Royal Mansour is, of course, outstanding. There are three restaurants, a tea lounge, two bars and a fumoir. Breakfast outside in the gardens is a perfectly lovely affair, but the restaurant you’ll remember is La Grande Table Marocaine. Feast on traditional Moroccan dishes with Michelin-style flair as a Moroccan quartet play amid surroundings so ornate you’d be forgiven for thinking you’d walked onto a film set. Hidden among the Moorish gardens you’ll find the pool area and accompanying restaurant Le Jardin. Order a lemon sorbet mojito from one of the waiters – all wearing white fedoras – and kick back on the pillowy loungers, each lined with two gigantic, silky-soft towels.
Royal Mansour Marrakech, Rue Abou Abbas El Sebti، 40000, Morocco. +212 52980-8080, royalmansour.com
Villa Ezzahra
Marrakech may be known for its charming riads and luxurious hotels, but one of most serene and private ways to spend a week in this dusty paradise is to rent a villa. Villa Azzaytouna (Arabic for olive), is part of a three-villa estate owned by hotelier Brian Callaghan OBE in Palmeraie – a moneyed suburb just 20 minutes from the Medina. The 5,000 square-metered villa is a magical terracotta hideaway from the frenzy of Marrakech, and caters to Moroccan design with simple furnishings pepped up with finishing touches from the souks: from Berber benches to antique pots.
The house – which is catered for by the wonderful house manager Maria, as well as a private chauffeur and several chefs and waiters who will prepare each meal of the day – sleeps six in three spacious double bedrooms, each with its own outside courtyard. The two main bedrooms – kitted out with long Moroccan nightgowns and pointed orange leather slippers – have their own private plunge pool and large sunbed in the shade, as well as a giant indoor circular bathtub, which one can almost swim in.
Outside, amid the lavender and orange blossom, you’ll find a beautiful 12.8 metre pool with loungers and white and green Indian daybeds covered in cushions and topped with a straw sun hat, as well as a ping pong table for the restless.
The villa’s pièce de résistance is the sunken Berber tent: large enough to host a party for 30, yet cosy enough for intimate drinks between four. The cushioned seating, with blankets come dusk, is perfect for a sundowner and nibbles served by the villa’s staff, before enjoying a three course meal (featuring everything from chicken tagine to fresh fish and fruit) in the main dining room.
A few steps from the tent is the villa’s own private tiny spa, which offers unlimited 30-minute complimentary treatments for guests – from facials to manicures and massages. One therapist caters to groups of four or less, and two caters to groups of six. Bookings are made over a light buffet breakfast of fruit and classic Moroccan pancakes, as well as eggs on request.
Villa Ezzahra, Marrakesh 40016, ezzahra-morocco.com
Things to do
Explore the souks
From the purest Argan oil and fragrant spices to the daintiest lanterns and intricately handwoven rugs, the souks in Medina are a haven for bargain hunters who can think of nothing more satisfying than spending hours boisterously bartering with vendors with a twinkle in their eye, all the while knowing the raised voices are bravado, and a friendly handshake will conclude the deal. The trick is, of course, to pretend to walk away – but only when the time is right.
Spa and lunch at La Sultana
Modelled on the Bahia Palace, the five-star Sultana Hotel is a hidden gem in the centre of Marrakech, graced with a quiet and unassuming luxury that awaits discovery, rather than make itself known. While the front entrance may be littered with stray cats and a dark and simple reception, a few steps further quickly brings you to the hotel’s main reception and lovers’ delight: a pretty turquoise pool between terracotta arches surrounded by foliage and palm trees.
GQ recommends enjoying a Royal Hammam treatment within the beautifully colonnaded spa, which includes an age-old Moroccan ritual. First, you are left in a steam room to open your pores and soften the skin before you are washed and scrubbed to within an inch of your life, with all your dead skin falling into grey ribbons along your body – a process locals get done most weekends. Then, you are swaddled in towels before being taken for an hour-long massage with rich Argan oil. The therapists are brilliant and massage your entire body (so don’t be a prude) and – hallelujah! – pay particular attention to your feet. After your massage, head up to the Sultana’s sun-soaked roof terrace (from which you can see the souk and the Saadian Tombs) for a cocktail and a Mediterranean or Moroccan lunch.
403 Rue de La Kasbah، Marrakesh 40000, lasultanahotels.com
Quad and buggy biking with Dunes & Desert
Nothing says Sarahan adventure quite like a quad biking session in the desert. There are plenty of operators offering a plethora of near-identical activities, but Dunes & Desert is by far the best. Pick your activity (GQ tried to buggy cross, but couldn’t help but feel a little jealous of the boy racers on quad bikes pinging past as we left the base) and then choose a full or half day package from there. Drive through the Agafay desert and along the foothills of the Atlas Mountains before stopping of for traditional mint tea and msemen at a tiny Berber hamlet. The excellent guides will talk you through the landscape, from pointing out scarab beetles and the particular type of cactus grown by locals here to the social structure of the area. For the slightly faint-hearted, there’s always camel riding, trekking and hot air balloon rides. Only an hour outside of Morocco, all of the packages include transfers to and from your hotel.
From €90. Marrakesh 40000, Morocco. +212 661-539639, dunesdeserts.com
Hike and lunch at Kasbah Tamadot
Kasbah Tamadot is a breathtakingly gorgeous five-star retreat owned by Sir Richard Branson, nestled in a valley in the Atlas Mountains about a 90-minute drive from the centre of Marrakech. The car journey itself feels like a mini-excursion, as you wind up along precipitous edges past Berber markets (populated, you’ll notice, solely by men, who do all the shopping in Berber communities) and ware-laden mules wobbling along the road. It feels like an altogether different Morocco than that of the aggressively opulent hotels and restaurants glinting on the cityscape behind. The first thing you’ll notice when you arrive at the Kasbah is the impossibly fresh air. The second is the hotel’s traditional North African aesthetic.
For a truly magical day trip, book a hike via the hotel, and spend three or four hours meandering up the Atlas Mountains with an expert guide, taking in the views of snow-capped peaks (despite the blazing heat), Berber villages and varied fauna all around. Return to the hotel for a well-deserved lunch, where guests and visitors alike sit on the terrace. The Moroccan wine list is truly excellent, as is the large yet wonderfully executed menu, which borrows flavours from Europe as well as serving local dishes like tangia, a slow-cooked meat stew cooked in a tall pot (much slimmer than a tagine) and traditionally made by men.
Kasbah Tamadot, Asni, Morocco. +212 5243-68200, virginlimitededition.com
Dine
NOMAD
Open every day from 12am to 11pm, Nomad Marrakesh perfectly marries together vintage Moroccan charm with a modern twist, to create a restaurant that is ideal for brunch, lunch, dinner and everything in between. Spread over four floors in the Rahba Lakdima spice square, NOMAD boasts fresh local produce to bring exquisite flavours and colours to your plate. If you are lucky enough to sit on the rooftop, bask in the sun while looking at fantastic views of the surrounding bustling Medina and the Atlas Mountains in the distance. Whatever the occasion, make sure you visit NOMAD for a meal and experience you won't forget!
1 Derb Aarjane, Marrakesh 40000, Morocco. nomadmarrakech.com
Bacha Coffee
Craving your caffeine fix while in Marrakesh? Look no further than Bacha Coffee. Built in 1910, closed after the Second World War, and then reopened some 60 years later, Bacha Coffee not only has a rich and epic history, but also rich tasting Arabica coffee beans. You can pick from over 100 different coffees all expertly made by the baristas, and if you feel like treating yourself go for the breadcrumb croissant or one of the other delightful pastries on offer!
Dar El Bacha, Rte Sidi Abdelaziz, Marrakech 40000, Morocco. Bachacoffee.com
Comptoir Darna
Dinner at Comptoir Darna is a night out in itself. Don't bother booking somewhere to continue the party elsewhere – you'll only cancel it. As it boasts on its website: 'Every night is party night.' Translating as 'our home' in Arabic, this two-floor restaurant (try the delicious 'legendary weeping tiger' – grilled, sliced fillet of beef with soy, ginger and lemongrass) has staff for whom hospitality is far more than just good manners. They deploy familiarity and charm in equal measure, and, having brought you shisha and a couple of gorgeously made espresso martinis served in little cafetières on repeat, you couldn't move even if you wanted to.
Avenue Echouhada, Marrakech 40000; comptoirmarrakech.com
Il Pepe Nero
Few restaurants are as ridiculously romantic as Pepe Nero. At once strikingly grand and yet conspiratorially intimate, this Italian restaurant is sure to impress even the weariest of opulence-accustomed eyes. Hidden down an unassuming backstreet in a riad once owned by 'Lord of the Atlas' Pasha Thami el-Glaoui, you’ll find tree-lined mosaic-tiled courtyards, a rose petal-strewn pool and cosy salons furnished with gorgeous Moroccan rugs to snuggle up in. The fresh pasta is as good as any we’ve tried in Tuscany. Order the tortellini with parmesan cream or the rich king prawn gratin. For those who stick resolutely to a 'when in Rome' eating ideal, there’s also a full Moroccan menu to choose from. Think pigeon pastilla, John Dory tagine and slow-roasted lamb.
Il Pepe Nero, 17، Derb Cherkaoui, Marrakesh 40000, Morocco. +212 5243-89067, pepenero-marrakech.com
Visit the Moroccan Tourist Board for more information, muchmorocco.com.
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