In a nutshell: Styled on a Moroccan palace and with spacious, lush gardens, this hideaway’s vast pool makes it a soporific spot to unwind outside the city centre. The sort of place where the owner’s Arabian horses have digs almost as nice as the guest suites.
The neighbourhood
This one’s outside Marrakech’s city centre, though only a 12-minute drive from Menara Airport and more like 20 to the historic Medina. It’s on the big road out toward the Atlas mountains and indigenous Amazigh (Berber) villages, close to other big resorts popular with winter-sun chasers. This means you have tons more space than in one of the city’s compact riads – space the wealthy family that owns Le Selman has used to cultivate verdant, exotic gardens of palms, olive trees and scented lavender and rosemary. These sit immaculately and symmetrically planned around a head-spinningly long swimming pool (80 metres) and pristine white, cushioned sun loungers and day beds. If you’re visiting the souks and historic sites in town, you’ll want to book a taxi or a guided tour for at least a half day, but you’re well placed for journeying into the rock desert and Atlas mountains, too. There’s not much around the hotel itself, but there’s a pharmacy and convenience store just to the left of the entrance if you need to pop out for anything outside of your luxe bubble.
The vibe
A proper winter sun holiday less than 20 minutes from the airport – people spend big to stay here, but every inch of the property and grounds feels expensive and pampering. The buzzword here is “tradition”: from the djellaba-clad gentleman playing the gimbri (a guitar-like stringed instrument) under chandeliers at breakfast to a fire, belly-dancing and horse show at one of the restaurants. As you wander the marble, velvet and gold interiors, you’ll smell oud-y North African scents and hear the trickle of fountains across the grounds. It’s lavish, but somehow unstuffy – we felt right at home. The photogenic swimming pool and terrace is framed by tall palms, giving it a Beverly Hills feel, but far more exotic thanks to a ruffle of snow-dusted Atlas Mountains as the backdrop.
The interiors at Le Selman are unashamedly opulent
(Le Selman)
Bed and bath
Basic (Deluxe) rooms are generous here, with living room furniture and balconies facing the pool or gardens. Each has…
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