El Fenn

There’s a reason the style set books El Fenn for their jaunts to Marrakesh. Make that dozens of reasons. Rooms are Instagrammable dreams, thanks to polished lime plastered walls, carved cedar beams and camel leather floors; many have private plunge pools on their terraces. Guests can hit the candlelit hammam for perhaps the city’s best black-soap scrub, and the rooftop terrace for mojitos by sunset while overlooking the Atlas Mountains. And the on-site store is co-curated by Paul Rowland, who reinvented Ford Models and (obviously) has an eye for extreme beauty; you’ll want to leave space in your suitcase for bed linens, kilim blankets and Beldi bread baskets.

A 28-room collection of riads co-owned by Vanessa Branson (yes, that Branson).

Tech-forward. Let Richard focus on space flight—his sister’s hotel is all down-to-earth soul, no TV’s or telephones in sight.

Unlike most hotels in Marrakesh, El Fenn has pools—two of them are made of slabs of Carrara marble, and the third sits on a rooftop with commanding views of the Koutoubia mosque (the largest in the city) and the Atlas Mountains.

You’re lounging in one of the leafy courtyards, sipping what’s perhaps the most refreshing mint tea you’ve ever tasted, when you hear rustling behind you—and start to panic. Until, that is, one of the hotel’s resident turtles emerges, perhaps to remind you of something on this much-deserved vacation: Slow and steady wins the race.

The El Fenn Cocktail Bar & Restaurant - Moroccan and European fare The Roof Terrace - serving breakfast and lunch with a view of the Atlas Mountains. During warmer months, dinner is served as well.