Take the plunge — this luxe hotel has the largest pool in Marrakesh
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Score 9/10Keen to suit all budgets, the hotel has 20 rooms, 104 suites, and 10 two-bedroom pool villas. Bar the opulent villas, privately situated in individual walled gardens, and jaw-dropping Penthouse Suite, all are housed across four striking terracotta 'residences'. Regardless of category, decor is a mod-Moroccan mix of latticed moucharabieh screens, bold geometric Berber rugs, and handcrafted furniture, while sleek bathrooms glisten with tone-on-tone zellige tiling and polished tadelakt plaster.
There are no duff choices. Even the smallest (at a spacious 72 sq m) Deluxe rooms have freestanding tubs, walk-in showers, storage-stacked dressing areas and lounge-worthy garden-facing terraces. Great for younger families requiring extra play space, garden-side suites and rooms (some of which interconnect) lead directly onto the estate's manicured lawns. Travelling with teens? With their tanning decks and hot tub, two-bedroom Presidential suites are ideal for mooching. But for ultimate serenity, opt for a second-floor Deluxe Atlas View suite in Residence D (the furthest from the lobby), complete with a hot-tub-size marble bath and breathtaking mountain views.
Score 7/10 There are four restaurants and three bars to choose between. Come nightfall, Le Bar's sultry, jazzy vibe, flamboyant cocktails and fresh sushi lure guests like moths to a flame. Be prepared to wait, though: this was the one spot where Fairmont's unflappable team seemed understaffed. Al Ain, serving heartier Moroccan-Levantine fusion, is worth booking for the nightly live Andalusian music alone. But while mezze dishes of deliciously smoky moutabal, and chicken livers sautéed in lemon and sumac hit the mark, mains of Turkish Iskender kebab and halloumi brochettes are somewhat underwhelming.
Elsewhere, you'll find Italian classics at Capricci and Mediterranean fare at L'Olivier, while the nearby Pool Bar (think burgers, bagels and Buddha bowls) is popular with families at lunch. Overlooking the greens, Le Sabra's olive-tree-shaded patio offers a calmer spot to enjoy lighter bites, play underway, and storks perching in palms.
Still, breakfast is such a banquet you may not want lunch. Served at Capricci, besides the standard dishes and egg station, expect a deli's worth of savoury treats, from charcuterie to poached salmon sides, plus indecently moreish homebaked breads, pastries and cakes that wouldn't look amiss at teatime.
• Best restaurants in Marrakesh• More of the best hotels in Marrakesh
Score 9/10An absolute beauty, the 2,000 sq m main pool is Marrakesh's largest and, unsurprisingly, a magnet for children. (Travelling without kids? Don't panic, read on, you've options.) From pottery workshops to belly-dancing classes, there's plenty for active families including bike hire — from toddler trikes to electric, so the whole brood can get pedalling. Smelling of freshly baked cookies, the fantastical kids' club — with treehouse, pool and huggable life-size toy sheep — is free for three to 12-year-olds. Babysitting is also available.
Adults are equally spoilt. With its Cabell B Robinson-designed 18-hole course, bar, restaurant and kid-free semi-Olympic pool, Royal Palm Golf & Country Club feels like a separate resort. Elsewhere, a vast fitness centre has all the usual dumbbells and whistles, plus a kinesis room, squash, padel, tennis and another adults-only outdoor pool.
Wrapping riad-like around a glass-roofed, bath-warm pool, the blissful spa and its signature treatments are a must. Based on a bride-to-be's traditional purification rituals, the Hammam Dada has you steamed, basted and scrubbed from top to toe. After a beautiful, multisensory experience (the therapists even sing to you), you'll leave feeling and smelling heavenly.
Score 9/10Gloriously isolated in rural Tameslouht, the hotel is eight miles from Menara airport. While there's nothing nearby, a complimentary shuttle makes the 20-minute journey into Marrakesh three times a day — but only until 8pm.
Price room-only doubles from £350Restaurant mains from £18 Family-friendly YAccessible Y
Abigail Flanagan was a guest of Fairmont Royal Palm Marrakech (fairmont.com)
• Best riads in Marrakesh• Best affordable hotels in Marrakesh
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