Marrakech is home to a number of luxury hotels and photogenic riads, but only one truly combines the luxury aspect of a hotel with the personable nature of a riad; La Sultana. Hidden off a dusty road within the Kasbah, it’s only the traditionally-dressed doormen and long Moroccan carpet lined with lanterns that tells you something special is there. We arrived late at night once darkness had fallen, and big blobs of rain were descending as we made our way up the huge carpet to the door of the hotel, intrigued at what lay behind those huge doors…
Arriving at La Sultana Marrakech
The reception area is a small space with a small desk. It is intimate and adequate for the size of the property. Once checked in we decided to sit by the pool and enjoy a mint tea to relax before getting an early night in our stunning ‘Tiger’ suite. Our bags were taken for us, and we ambled slowly through the Moroccan archways, our eyes darting this-way-and-that in total awe of the architecture and different rooms around us.
Finally we arrived at the pool, an Almohad-era inspired area with pinky-brown open brickwork and arched columns framing the water. We chose a little nook and ordered mint tea, mine with a side of honey to mix with the mint to satisfy my sweet tooth.
The Tiger Suite at La Sultana Marrakech
Once updates and stories had been shared over mint tea, we retired to our suite and were blown away by the beauty of it. It certainly lived up to its name – there were paintings of Tigers adorning the walls, and the outline of a Tiger embedded in the stonework of the bathroom on the wall above the gigantic scalloped bath tub. The colour palette of the room was rich ochres, browns and reds. Traditional Moroccan woodwork and colourful lanterns filled the room.
La Sultana is part of the Small Luxury Hotels group, ensuring boutique luxury at its finest. The incredible thing about La Sultana is that it is very much a luxury hotel, but in the style of the traditional Moroccan Riads. It gives you the best of both worlds and the intimacy of a Riad without compromising on quality, and we absolutely adored the fact that every single room at La Sultana is individually decorated based around the name of the room or suite. And it’s the little things provided too; underfloor heating throughout the bathroom, luxurious Elemis toiletries, fresh oranges and dates and baklava on arrival, as well as large bottles of water.
Breakfast at La Sultana
Breakfast is a fine affair with the restaurant set around the tranquil swimming pool, so you can enjoy a morning coffee and a bowl of fresh figs and apricots with a view of the water surrounded by lush green trees and bright pink flowers cascading down the open-brickwork. It did rain on our first morning, but the hotel have a cover that goes across the roof meaning we were able to still enjoy breakfast there and remain dry, and it was really rather lovely listening to the rain pitter-patter on the top of the roof-cover.
Exploring the city of Marrakech from La Sultana is quite simple, the hotel is within an easy walk of many of the main attractions including the Souks, Koutobia mousque, and Bahia palace. Alternatively if you’re there during the summer months, a taxi to anywhere in the city will only cost you 50dirhams. And after a long day of haggling in the souks? Return to La Sultana and relax in the blissful silence of their breathtaking pink marble spa, complete with colonnades flanking the small relaxation pool and Moroccan lanterns dangling overhead.
There is no doubt about it that La Sultana is a very special place, and one I hope to return to someday.
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Catherine Lux is a food and travel contributor at AGLAIA, and a luxury lifestyle blogger documenting her life on her blog, Lux Life London. With Lux Life London having a large focus on travel and food, she loves nothing more than long-haul flights, excellent restaurants, and relaxing with friends in the coolest places in town.
