Embark on a sensory journey through the heart of Morocco, where vibrant colors, rich culture, and unparalleled luxury converge at The Oberoi Marrakech. Nestled within acres of lush gardens against the backdrop of the Atlas Mountains, this oasis of tranquility invites guests to immerse themselves in the enchanting allure of Marrakech. From the moment you step foot onto the grounds, the scent of citrus and jasmine fills the air, and the warmth of a blend of both Moroccan hospitality with the Indian heritage of Oberoi Hotels & Resorts embraces you.
Having recently stayed at The Oberoi Mauritius (and off the back of numerous stays at their luxurious properties in India itself) I was really interested to see how this stay would compare, and indeed what would be the highlight of our three-centre trip to Morocco this time. First up the Jasper Conran L’Hotel in Marrakech before travelling on to the Palais AMANI in Fez, and our last stop The Oberoi Marrakech for 4 nights before returning home. The Oberoi Marrakech was without a doubt the highlight of our trip, albeit I did enjoy our other stay in Marrakech and Fez too.
I have lots of measures as to how exemplary a hotel will stay, but there are two which seem to set properties apart. One in particular ‘Mrs’ TPT thinks is a ridiculous one - the first you can assess at the start of a stay, and the other you only find out at the end. The first is whether the bathrobes already have the tie-cord already threaded into the robe (to my mind, a sign of quality and attention to detail). The second is whether your room or suite is serviced on the departure day if you’re staying beyond late morning.
Discover all you need to know about The Oberoi Marrakech in this comprehensive review. From its prime location to engaging local activities, tantalising dining options, and luxurious accommodations, we've got you covered.
VIP Perks When Booking Through The Private Traveller
When you book The Oberoi Marrakech through The Private Traveller, you’ll enjoy exclusive VIP perks available only through my trusted affiliation with Virtuoso - all at no additional cost to you. For 2025, these exceptional benefits include:
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- Upgrade on arrival, subject to availability
- Daily buffet breakfast for two guests per bedroom, served in the restaurant
- $100 USD food & beverage credit (in local currency) to use during your stay
- A complimentary 50-minute massage for up to two guests, once per stay
- Early check-in and late check-out, subject to availability
- Complimentary Wi-Fi throughout your stay
As your personal travel advisor, I’ll take care of every detail - from securing these perks to creating a bespoke itinerary around your stay in Marrakech.
Hotel Accommodation: Luxury Villas with Private Pools
Although the main building has only 5 deluxe rooms and the central Royal Suite (with its own swimming pool) all overlooking the gardens (and the ‘Grand Canal’ more on this later!) and Atlas Mountains to the rear, most of the property (and its vast believe me) has only villas with private pools and gardens.
“The Oberoi, Marrakech is located within 1,13,312 square metres of Mediterranean orchards with fragrant citrus trees and centuries old olive groves. Our 5 star hotel in Marrakech has beautifully landscaped gardens punctuated by water features. Its authentic architecture is inspired by palaces of ancient Morocco. The courtyard of the main building incorporates the design of the historic Medersa Ben Youssef, built in the 14th century; one of Marrakech’s most famous historic monuments.
OBEROI MARRAKECH | Phenomenal luxury hotel in Morocco (full tour in 4K)
Facilities & Service at The Oberoi Marrakech
There was absolutely everything you could need here within the hotel grounds, and apparently some guests come for maybe one to two weeks and never actually leave. As much as I’m a fan of exploring out and about in local areas, I can actually see why you might visit and not want to go elsewhere. Visiting in Morocco does often come with a lot of hassle, though we never found this intimidating, whereas at The Oberoi every wish or need is attended to so superbly with immaculate execution.
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I’ve broken down the key facilities and services and shared my opinion on them below:
The Deluxe Villa with Private Pool
These were low level to blend into the natural environment and shaded in the magnificent Moroccan terracotta colour with an unassuming exterior but reflecting the local style, with an Arabic archway for the entrance. Once inside, you were greeted with a central lobby with a beautiful coloured tiled floor, with the bathroom to the right and the bedroom and living space to the left.
There was the huge bed stacked with colourful cushions and a traditional wooden fretwork headboard, an armoire housing the minibar, tea and coffee making etc.) with a sofa, occasional chair and separate dining table/workspace for two. There was a large LCD TV to one side (and Wi-Fi was great not only throughout the villa but the whole property), outside was the private pool (really decent size), a shaded terrace with another table and chairs, then two sun loungers and a large parasol for shade.
Levels of Comfort
I know I’ve mentioned the excellent service so often in this review, but it’s just something I cannot highlight how exceptional this was throughout. From welcome to departure, in the restaurants, bar, spa or reception; the staff all seemed to have the same principle of being innately friendly and welcoming, yet not over-bearing or false.
Our villa was exceptionally comfortable and restored to perfection twice a day with great housekeeping. The bed was huge and changed daily, super comfortable and although the standard pillows were just spot on for us already, there was a pillow menu if you wanted to choose something different or extra.
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Bathroom
This Oberoi property was much newer than the Mauritius hotel, and it showed in the bathroom, which was huge. To one side was a dedicated dressing room (which could be closed off separately) then a vanity area in the middle before moving through to the bathroom itself.
Although completely private with the walled garden surrounding the pool, there were electronic blinds on both the main bathroom window and the huge glass door from the super large walk-in shower, which was direct access out to the garden and pool area. As well as a large soaking tub (which we never actually used) there were twin sinks on a large vanity console with loads of storage underneath (beautiful to look at Kohler special edition basin tops, albeit a bit ‘splashy’) and a separate WC with bidet.
Toiletries were by Anne Semonine of Paris, the shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and body lotion being regularly replaced as required.
Breakfast
This was a sumptuous spread each morning, which we enjoyed on most days out on the terrace with the incredible hotel views. Only on one morning, when surprisingly it rained, did we enjoy it inside. There were various stations offering a whole array of fruits (fresh and dried), yoghurts, cereals, pastries and breads, honey and jams.
As well as lots of Moroccan or international options to order from an inclusive menu, there were also egg, pancake, or waffle stations too with an array of topping or fillings. The omelettes were delicious!
Restaurant & Bars
I’ve detailed them all below, where there was the option of breakfast in either Tamimt or room service, Azul during the day for pool drinks, snacks, or lunch; lunch or dinner in Tamimt the International/Moroccan restaurant; or dinner in Rivayat, the Indian speciality restaurant open for dinner. The main bar, Vue, opened late afternoon and into the evening for drinks or light snacks.
Spa & Wellness
As you would expect, there was a fabulous spa only a short walk from our villa, or the hotel buggies could pick you up from anywhere. Our first introduction, when touring the hotel on our first day, to the spa was a great show round by one of the personal trainers and fitness instructors, and it was definitely a wow facility.
We’d be back a few times to enjoy the Hammam, other thermal facilities, the gym, the yoga studio, treatments and maybe enjoy (not as much) the rather chilly indoor swimming pool!
Design & Architecture
Although a relatively new build (now open for just five years) this had been so traditionally designed to fit in so well to both the landscape as well as the Moroccan surroundings. The olive grove had been kept in as natural a state as possible, with the surrounding gardens feeling more dominant that the number of villas there actually was.
The central hotel area was absolutely stunning, with the design being inspired by the magnificent history of Moroccan architecture. The courtyard of the main building incorporates the design of the historic Medersa Ben Youssef, built in the 14th century and one of Marrakech’s most famous historic monuments.
What about the Marrakech location?
Only about 30 minutes from the international airport (RAK) and even less if you want to visit the Medina (there is a daily shuttle which leaves at 10:30am to take you straight to the Ben Youssef Mosque, then only a very short walk across to the main Jemaa el-Fnaa square, returning later in the afternoon).
We arrived by train from Fez and were expertly collected by the hotel with inclusive transfers, which was a slightly shorter drive, and then they took us back to the airport for our return flight. This was timed so that we would have a full two hours at the airport before departure - my recommendation would be to stick with this, and not think (as we often would) having checked in online and having Fast Track would allow for a shorter time.
Although we didn’t have the massive queues like we had seen online during our stay there, it was a very slow and onerous process to depart. Absolutely nothing to do with the hotel, but there were so many passport checks and even the Fast Track queues seemed really disorganised. As it turned out, by the time we got through the various security and passport control checks, we didn’t even get any time in the lounge before boarding.
That’s another story for my British Airways LHR-RAK-LHR flight review; such an incredibly disappointing first time experience of the (Royal Air Maroc) VIP lounge in the airport.
Top Activities at The Oberoi Marrakech
Some of the top activities I’d recommend doing at The Oberoi Marrakech are:
The Oberoi Spa
I’m a huge fan of spa treatments and therapies, from planning, research and trying new things, to then writing about my experience for either my own spa and wellness blogs, to articles for Travel & Spa magazine and the likes. There was a great selection here at The Oberoi (we had a couples’ The Sultans Ritual - a traditional [very definitely] luxury Hammam experience; then I followed this up another day with an excellent hour’s hot oil deep-tissue massage).
I’d wanted to try the Signature Kasa Bowl Therapy, but unfortunately wasn’t able to get this longer treatment (75 minutes) booked in during our stay for a time that suited. As well as all the treatments available (luxuriously appointed single and double treatment suites), there was a superbly appointed gym with yoga studio opposite, a sauna and steam room for any guests to use out with the Hammam experience (bookable) next door, an indoor swimming pool, and a retail outlet cum reception which sold a whole array of spa products, including my new favourite brand, Botanika Marrakech.
Sunrise Yoga
There were yoga classes a couple of times a week, or the hotel could organise private sessions. I joined one of the complimentary sunrise (well, a very respectable 8:30 in the morning time) and Lucy was an incredible teacher. The class, conducted in English, with perfect tuition, only had one other guest alongside myself (not a ‘Mrs.’ TPT thing). I did notice afterwards the large paddle boards by the spa pool, so I’m assuming there might have been (or is) a yoga class on paddle boards. Though I’m sure this is incredibly hard, it’s always something I’ve wanted to try.
Walk the grounds
A former olive grove, the grounds have been sympathetically restored yet with the addition of all the private villas there are still copious gardens and natural areas to explore and enjoy. There were numerous areas in between the villa entrances which had been designed and planted to reflect different types of garden - from grasses to cacti, succulents to rose gardens. ‘Mrs.’ TPT was in heaven.
Take the shuttle bus into the Medina, at least once
It was good to have the Medina experience whilst staying so close to it when we were at L’Hotel Marrakech, but it does come with a lot of hassle (no, we don’t want to go and get even more hassle and fleecing at the Tanneries, thanks). The Oberoi was the perfect blend where you could be whisked into the centre of town in less than 30 minutes by hotel provided shuttle, then brought back later in the afternoon.
If it was to be a one-time experience, 4-5 hours there would probably be more than enough for you to take in the main sites, enjoy some shopping, and have lunch.
Food and Drink at The Oberoi Marrakech
By the point at which we arrived at The Oberoi Marrakech, we’d been in Morocco for well over a week and despite an aborted (and disastrous) attempt at visiting an Italian restaurant whilst in Fez (another story, which you can read about in my Palais AMANI hotel review) we’d pretty much eaten Moroccan inspired food a lot (and other than two trips to the lovely Les Jardins Du Lotus in Marrakech which was very international). We had therefore been looking forward to trying Rivayat at the Oberoi, and it didn’t disappoint in any way - just exceptional, but then so too were all the other dining options as well.
Some of our favourite meals we encountered over the course of our stay at The Oberoi Marrakech were at:
Tamimt
Breakfast was served here each morning (and already included within our stay), as was a lunch and dinner option too. We only had dinner there one evening (excellent, as was everything) and lunch on our final day as an alternative to the poolside Azul restaurant, but what else can I say other than exemplary service, a great food and drink choice, and one heck of an amazing location overlooking the Grand Canal and the extensive grounds, with the appearing and disappearing (Atlas) mountain range to the rear depending on how clear the day was.
Azur
Yet another incredible location by the majestic swimming pool and extensive palm-fringed sun terraces (loved the subtle ‘nod’ to the Oberoi Indian heritage with the one-off Indian colourful parasol and the saffron-yellow pool towels). Like the GM, the Executive Chef always seemed on hand to check if everything was good (it wasn’t ever just good, it was always exceptional) and indeed we met him at numerous meals, at all different times. This all just added to a great experience throughout, in all areas of our stay.
Rivayat
With both a beautiful inside seating area (this was initially a traditional Moroccan restaurant on hotel opening, and recently converted to Indian fine-dining) as well as al ...
| Restaurant | Cuisine | Setting | Highlights |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tamimt | International/Moroccan | Overlooking Grand Canal & Gardens | Breakfast, lunch, dinner, exemplary service |
| Azur | Poolside Snacks & Lunch | By the swimming pool | Relaxed atmosphere, excellent service |
| Rivayat | Indian Fine-Dining | Beautiful inside seating | Exceptional Indian cuisine |
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