La Sultana

La Sultana Marrakech is the best choice in the city for guests who want to sleep inside the monuments. It is a 28-key riad hotel in the Kasbah quarter, next to the Saadian Tombs and inside the UNESCO perimeter, restored in partnership with Morocco's Historic Monuments authority, and a 10-minute walk from Jemaa el-Fna.

"Twenty eight rooms restored with the Historic Monuments authority beside the Saadian Tombs, with a two thousand square metre roof terrace over the old city."

Aggregate 9.2/10 on our editorial scale (Room & Design, Service, Location). Independently scored; see our methodology. This is our opinion, not an aggregate of user reviews.

Affiliate disclosure: we may earn a commission from bookings at no cost to you. We never accept payment for placement. Hotel status, room counts and awards were verified against official sources in July 2026. Michelin does not operate a restaurant guide in Morocco, so no restaurant listed here is starred; Michelin Keys are a separate award for hotels.

What makes La Sultana special?

The restoration is what sets this hotel apart from every other riad conversion in Marrakech. La Sultana was rebuilt as a hotel and opened in 2001 in formal partnership with Morocco's Historic Monuments authority, with an architect representing the Ministry of Culture working on the project. The vaults of a former royal granary, which once supplied the royal family, were converted into the hotel's patios, and the upper terraces look directly onto the Mausoleum of the Saadian Princes next door. That is not a view bought with a rooftop bar; it is a consequence of where the building stands. The address reinforces it. The hotel sits in the Kasbah quarter, backing onto the Moulay El Yazid Mosque, inside the UNESCO World Heritage perimeter and beside the Saadian Tombs, with the Royal Palace and the Bahia Palace close by. Inside, 28 rooms and suites are individually decorated with artworks and collectors' pieces around several sculpted patios, and a 2,000 sqm roof terrace runs above it all. This is a historic house first and a hotel second.

Which room should you book?

There are 28 rooms and suites, each individually decorated with artworks and collectors' pieces and arranged around several sculpted patios. Categories run from Riad Rooms up through Deluxe and Signature Suites, with vaulted ceilings, carved wood, marble and copper throughout. Because this is a genuine conversion of historic Moroccan townhouses rather than a purpose-built hotel, no two rooms are alike, and that cuts both ways. The upper categories are the ones that deliver the light, space and terrace access the photography promises. Entry-level rooms are a different experience: guests describe specific rooms as small, dark and cramped, and quality varies considerably between categories. This is a hotel where the category you book matters more than the hotel's average rating. Ask directly about natural light, room size and which patio or terrace a room opens onto before you confirm, and if you are staying several nights, pay up a category rather than economise on the room.

Where should you eat and drink?

Two restaurants, arranged by time of day rather than by cuisine. La Table du Souk serves lunch on the roof terrace, drawing on Moroccan street food, with views over the surrounding monuments, the medina and the Atlas Mountains beyond, which makes it the better of the two for a first meal. La Table de La Sultana takes over in the evening with French and Moroccan fine dining. There is also a cocktail and mezze bar, and a dedicated terrace for cookery classes, which is worth booking early in a stay so that the market visit and the dishes make sense of what you then eat around the medina. State one thing plainly: no restaurant here holds a Michelin star, and none in Morocco does, because Michelin publishes no restaurant selection for the country. This hotel makes no starred-chef claim either. What it offers is a rooftop table above the Kasbah, which is rarer than a famous name.

What is the spa and pool like?

The spa is built in pink marble and is unusually complete for a 28-key hotel. It holds two hammams, a sauna, an indoor pool and massage rooms, and the signature treatment is the Royal Hammam followed by an argan-oil massage, which is the right way to start a stay after a long flight. There is also a gym on site. On the water, be precise, because listings get this wrong: the outdoor pool is a heated pool in the garden courtyard at the heart of the Kasbah, and there is a second, indoor pool inside the spa. The 2,000 sqm roof is a terrace, with monument views, not a pool deck, so do not book expecting a rooftop pool. The courtyard setting means shade for much of the day, which is welcome in summer and cooler in winter.

Where is La Sultana, and how do you get there?

The location is the reason to book. La Sultana sits at 403 Rue de la Kasbah in the Kasbah quarter of the medina, backing onto the Moulay El Yazid Mosque, inside the UNESCO World Heritage perimeter and immediately beside the Saadian Tombs, with the Royal Palace and the Bahia Palace within easy reach on foot. Jemaa el-Fna is a 10-minute walk by the hotel's own figure, which means the main square, the souks and the food stalls are all available without a car. Marrakech Menara Airport is 15 minutes' drive, and Casablanca airport is about 2.5 hours away by road. Be ready for the medina reality: cars are not permitted through most of the old city, so the final approach is on foot down an alley off Rue de la Kasbah, with porters handling luggage. That is normal in this quarter, but it surprises guests arriving late with heavy cases, so send the hotel your arrival time and let staff meet you at the drop-off point.

What do guests consistently say?

Guests come for the setting and stay loyal to it. The recurring praise is for the Kasbah location, the walk to the Saadian Tombs and Jemaa el-Fna, the roof terrace and its monument views, and the individually decorated rooms full of artworks and collectors' pieces, which reviewers describe as the opposite of a chain-hotel stay. The spa and the Royal Hammam draw consistent mentions too. The criticism is equally specific and worth taking seriously. Because this is a real conversion of historic townhouses, many rooms are dark, and individual guests describe specific rooms as small, dark and cramped, with quality varying sharply between categories. Rates are described as high for the room size you get by international standards, which makes the category you book the single biggest variable in the stay. And the working medina quarter means limited vehicle access, so arrivals and departures involve porters and a walk down an alley rather than a car to the door.

Honest cons: who should skip it?

Three drawbacks follow directly from what makes this hotel special. First, the historic conversion means many rooms are dark, and guests have described specific rooms as small, dark and cramped. Room quality varies considerably between categories, so the category you choose determines your stay more than at a purpose-built hotel. Second, rates are high for the room size you get by international standards; you are paying for the address, the restoration and the monument views rather than square metres. Third, this is a 28-key riad hotel in a working medina quarter, so vehicle access is limited and every arrival and departure involves porters and a walk down an alley off Rue de la Kasbah. Add the courtyard pool, which is shaded for much of the day, and it is clear this suits guests who want history and location over resort comfort. None of these are faults so much as the terms of sleeping inside a UNESCO quarter.