A Palace Hotel In Marrakech Fit For a King With Butlers Who Magically Appear — Royal Mansour Takes Luxury to a Higher Plane

What to do when you are in between a magnificent destination wedding in Ireland and a once-in-a-lifetime birthday celebration in Paris? You jet over to Marrakech, of course. That was the plan when our troupe of 10, no doubt living a charmed life, arrived in the magical Moroccan city.

It was not merely the former imperial city of Marrakech. Our destination was the Royal Mansour, a palace hotel ranked among the absolute best in the world. We can attest that from our first moment within the walls of this magical caravansary we were spellbound.

Commissioned at the behest of Morocco’s King Mohammed VI and after three years of intricately detailed construction by 1,500 talented craftsmen, the palace hotel opened to worldwide acclaim in 2010. With no limitation on budget as the King’s coffers were limitless, the Royal Mansour is a showcase for talents of the country’s traditional artisans and elaborate architectural styles seen throughout Moroccan history.

Walls of gold, floors of onyx, mother of pearl detailing, decorative mosaics, silk carpets, carved cedar ceilings and elaborately carved doors represent the artisanal talent employed in the 53 private riads (we would call them suites). The lavish interiors include embroidered damask curtains, engraved mirrors and decorative mosaics throughout.

On arrival, we were welcomed by what appeared to be a cast of characters from a Rudolf Valentino fantasy. But this was no Disney interpretation. The uniforms — not costumes — from headdresses to slippers were created by a Moroccan haute couture designer to replicate historic dress, just as the hotel was designed to embrace the charms of elaborate Moroccan architecture.

We were directed into the stunning courtyard and registration area with its fabulously ornate archways, intricate trellis work and a  central pool with trickling fountain. Overhead, the retractable roof was open, allowing cool breezes to flow through.

Here, we were introduced to our uniformed (costumed if you will) butlers who escorted us to our riads. Each are three stories with an interior courtyard and surrounding rooms for entertaining, guest rooms on the second level and on the rooftop a soaking pool and luxe furnishings for dining or relaxing outdoors.

Throughout, the exquisite detail of design and wealth of Moroccan decorative arts recalls a royal presence of old.

(We were lucky that our riad had an elevator as not all do and the distance between floors is quite high.)

While our butler quietly appeared, almost as if by magic, to answer our every need, there was a host of other staff traveling through subterranean service tunnels, never to be seen but always maintaining perfection within every inch of our riad. We experienced the refined grace of traditional and royal Moroccan hospitality at every turn.

In accordance with the King’s vision, the Royal Mansour is designed in the classic form of the traditional medina (a historic village). But this palatial site features winding alleyways that burst forth with surprise gardens of lofty palm trees, lily ponds, cascading fountains and pathways lined with vast flourishes of bougainvillea. Orange trees, lemon trees and profusions of olive trees shade the pathways that meander through the exquisite property. Think lush and fragrant Moorish gardens.

Enchanted with the Royal Mansour’s four highly acclaimed restaurants, beautiful bars (including a cigar bar), two swimming pools, an exquisite hammam (a 25,000 square foot wellness retreat/spa) and all of the gardens to explore, we were tempted to forgo the standard Marrakech tours. We would have been perfectly happy to spend our three precious days wrapped in the sumptuous elegance of this unmatched hotel.

But there was the medina to explore, and visits to the Yves Saint Laurent Museum, the Majorelle Gardens, the famed La Mamounia hotel, a dinner in the desert and so much more. A return visit is indeed in order.