48 Hours at the Fairmont Royal Palm Marrakech
A bliss of Resort life in Marrakech
As much as my colleague and I enjoyed the city of Marrakech and our first hotel, we were super excited to finally be exploring a resort property for our last days in Marrakech. A little more outside than the Selman, where we stayed the nights before, the Royal Palm resort is situated a 20-minute drive southwest of the Medina and Marrakech’s old town. Actually, Royal Palm can be considered a gated community consisting of an 18-hole golf course, several privately owned villas and the Fairmont Royal Palm. Rather than at a riad, one can stay a week at the resort and not be bored at all. Our driver dropped us off at the main entrance and already upon entering the sumptuous modern lobby we were flashed by the Atlas mountains catching our breaths. Immediately we could feel a different vibe than at the Selman Marrakech. Everything was modern, light-filled and had a very first-world touch.
Check-in was smooth and very friendly. We were informed that we have been upgraded to a wonderful Atlas View Suite. All rooms and suites are spread over four free-standing building ensembles each housing a couple of rooms to make the whole resort feel less vast. I hoped that they would allocate us a room close to the main area with the huge outdoor pool, however, our suite was located in the building the furthest away from the lobby. There are staff members driving golf carts that pick you up and drive you around the property on demand. In the end, we didn’t even need the golf carts as we didn’t mind the five-minute walk from our suite to the main building. You are either walking along the golf course overlooking the stunning Atlas mountains or walking underneath olive trees while passing by the gym and spa buildings. I mean our Deluxe Suite overlooking the Atlas Mountains was simply stunning and well worth the long way.
When Suite life meets perfect vistas
Right beside the room door, there was a sideboard with a Nespresso coffee machine and a minibar with complimentary water. The main living room consisted of a spacious sofa, a huge coffee table with three lovely welcome amenities, an armchair, a writing desk with a bench and a huge glass sliding door opening onto the terrace. Speaking of which, this was one of the major highlights of the Deluxe suite as the terrace comes with a lounge chair, sofa and two chairs with a table for en-suite breakfast overlooking the Atlas mountains. A bottle of Morrocan red wine was an addition to the lovely sweets on the coffee table - a truly genuine welcome gift. Continuing the tour, we explored the bedroom with one of the most heavenly beds I have slept in within the last few years. The bedroom was equipped with a second television, an armchair, access to the terrace as well as a window opening onto the bathroom.
a whole new approach to wellbeing
Another true highlight of our Deluxe Suite was the spacious bathroom with double vanities, a vast bathtub, an enormous walk-in shower, a separate toilet and hotel-branded Neroli toiletries. Not to forget about the sumptuous walk-in wardrobe as big as an entire hotel room in Paris. Overall we truly enjoyed our suite very much and everything was properly maintained. One thing I would have wished for is the better water pressure in the shower. Apart from that the entire suite experience was above the bar and beyond our expectations. Fairmont delivers an excellent level of service and room standard, so there is nothing else to add to this point. After we settled in the room and made ourselves ready for a bit of relaxation, we headed towards the main building and pool area of the Fairmont Royal Palm. Walking along olive-laned streets, enabled us to discover the gym building.
the best of the west in the heart of morroco
As a stand-alone building, the gym is divided into a squash room, a cardio floor and a weight area. All of the areas are spread around the outdoor lap pool to refresh after your workout. Right next to the sports pool are the tennis courts. While I would have loved to beat my colleague at a round of tennis, unfortunately, there was nobody around to help us with renting tennis rackets or shoes. So we decided to dedicate ourselves to sunbathing and inspecting the outdoor infinity pool, which truly is the main attraction of the Fairmont Royal Palm aside from the golf course which is truly unique itself. With temperatures around 20 degrees Celsius and blue skies, there are no better conditions for a round of golf or a refreshing swim to later enjoy the Morrocan sun on your skin. Once we settled in our lounge chairs, one of the staff members already took our order and arrived with fresh drinks five minutes later. In case you are up for a light lunch, L’Olivier serves Mediterranean cuisine at the highest level. We enjoyed the delicious octopus carpaccio along with a Nicoise salad with tuna.
After our very enjoyable time at the pool, we were about to get ready for dinner and changed our swimsuits into elegant eveningwear. Right in time for sunset, we embarked on the journey to the bar. One has a huge variety of dining options at the Fairmont Royal Palm. There is the traditional Morrocan restaurant Al Ain with a live dinner show and authentic dishes on the first floor of the main building. If you’re up for Mexican dishes, the new Domi might be the right fit for you. Just next door is the hotel’s main restaurant Le Caravane (where breakfast is served as well) serving international dishes with a focus on French cuisine. Since we heard that Le Bar serves some of Marrakech’s best sushi and we had plenty of Morrocan food already, we ended up staying at the bar. In the end, we can say that it was the perfect choice for us since we did not just love the ambience, but also the food was excellent and the wines offered perfectly matched.
Without too much hustle and bustle, we ended the day earlier than the nights before. This way we were fully relaxed and fit when we arrived at the breakfast. While we had the choice of a beautiful table inside, we opted for our first breakfast alfresco in 2023. How can one turn down this possibility with a blue sky and a view of the Atlas mountains as clearly as possible? Honestly, I have seen many breakfast buffets in the last few years, however, I don’t remember the last time I was so impressed. Not just by the presentation but also by the high quality of products. Let’s begin with the mouth-watering bread, the sumptuous selection of pastries, the fresh salmon and the wonderfully presented egg dishes. Everything was just perfect. Service was attentive and we got coffee even after the breakfast buffet was closed.
Overall we had an amazing stay at one of Morroco’s best resorts. I can highly recommend Fairmont Royal Palm for discerning travellers. One will feel just like in any five-star luxury resort in Europe or the US with an array of activities and facilities on site. You do not need to leave the property and can still spend a week without problems here. While this property might just be perfect for families with kids, we as two adults travelling without children, didn’t feel disturbed at all. In the end, we didn’t even realize the families around us. Actually, it is really hard to succeed in attracting a broad target group for a resort. Anyways at Fairmont Royal Palm, they do very well and once I should be coming back to Marrakech, this will for sure be my go-to place.
Disclaimer: The stay was provided by Fairmont Royal Palm Marrakech and we were guests of the hotel for editorial purposes. However the above written has not been influenced and represents the author’s own opinion.
