Two things make a Marrakech view: the Koutoubia minaret, the landmark of the Medina, and the High Atlas, which lies to the south, 45 km or more away. The mountains show on clear days and are sharpest in winter and spring, when the peaks carry snow; on hazy days they fade. The sun sets in the west, over the city and the plain, so evening light falls on the Atlas rather than behind it.
In the Medina, the view is from the roof: the riads face inwards onto courtyards, and the terraces above them look over the rooftops. Out of town, the view is the Atlas across open ground. Choose by what you want to look at, then book the room that has it, because at most of these hotels only some rooms do.
From the 1,300 m² roof terrace the Koutoubia minaret stands due south and close, near enough to frame every photograph from the day beds and the 13 m pool, heated to 24°C. A 30-foot marble bar runs along it, and in the evening the sun goes down to the west while the call to prayer carries across the rooftops at sunset, then candles come out after dark.
The roof and its bar are open to outside visitors from 12:00 to 23:00, and it is busiest at sunset, so go up when it opens at noon or after the sunset rush for a good seat; the pools stay for guests only. The view here belongs to the roof rather than to a room, so every guest shares it: put the money into space inside and the best seat in the house is still yours.
The room to book
Medium Rooms
from 30 m²€781 a night
The view is from the shared roof, so put the money into space: from 30 m² in the original house, with a sitting area and an open fire.
Beyond the Palmeraie, the land opens between the High Atlas to the south and the low Djebilet hills to the north, and the hotel is built to look at it. The rooftop Nomad Bar faces the palms with the Atlas on the southern horizon on a clear day, and the sun goes down to the west over the Palmeraie while the reflecting pools below pick up the colour of the sky.
The hotel promises the Atlas from three places: the rooftop, the Lounge Suites and the first-floor terraces of the Water and Mountain Palaces. The Lounge Suites are the ones a couple can book: 115 m², with large glass doors and a 50 m² terrace of their own facing the mountains, next to the panoramic bar. The cheaper rooms and suites face their own terraces, gardens and water instead, so for the mountains this is the one to book.
The room to book
Lounge Suite
about 115 m²€730 a night
It is the one room for two that the hotel sells with the Atlas: a 50 m² terrace facing the mountains, beside the rooftop bar.
At La Mamounia the view sets the price, and the view worth paying for is the gardens: olive trees two centuries old, orange groves, roses and palms, with the Koutoubia minaret rising to the north and the Atlas on the southern horizon. The Park Deluxe Rooms, 31 to 41 m², look over the gardens to the Atlas, and every one has a terrace. The Agdal Deluxe Rooms, on the upper floors, look over the pool, the gardens and the Atlas in the distance, and the Koutoubia Deluxe Rooms face the minaret or the gardens on that side.
The step up is the point. The two entry categories face Hivernage, by the main entrance, so the gardens begin one step up, with the Deluxe Rooms. If the gardens are why you came, that step is the one worth paying for.
The room to book
Park Deluxe Room
about 31 to 41 m²€1,642 a night
It is the one where the view is certain: every Park Deluxe Room has a terrace over the gardens with the Atlas beyond.
Every one of the 53 riads has a roof terrace of its own with a plunge pool, so the view is private: the Medina rooftops all round and, when the air is clear, the Atlas to the south. Down at ground level the riads face inwards, onto their own patios, which keeps the house calm and saves the view for the roof.
The Privilege riads go further. Their roof terraces face the city and the Koutoubia minaret, with a pool, a relaxation tent and a dining area up there, so dinner can be served with the minaret in front of you. They have two bedrooms and a butler, which makes them the riad for a family or two couples who want the landmark rather than the rooftops. The Prestige riads look over the hotel gardens to the Atlas.
The room to book
Privilege Riad
about 430 m², on three floors€3,988 a night
It is the riad whose roof terrace faces the Koutoubia minaret, with a pool and a dining area to enjoy it from, and room for four.
The hotel sits at the foot of the Koutoubia, between the minaret and the Royal Palace, and the rooftop bar faces the minaret from 18:00 to 21:00, for a drink at dusk. A plunge pool shares the roof.
The rooms take the view privately. The Rooms with Terrace are on the first floor, with an interior staircase up to a terrace of your own over the Medina rooftops, and from some of them a glimpse of the Koutoubia or, on clear days, the Atlas. The Small and Large Suites with Terrace look over the Medina, the Koutoubia or the Atlas from theirs. With 33 rooms and suites, no two alike, the terrace is where breakfast in the sun and a drink at dusk happen, with the Koutoubia 8 minutes away on foot.
The room to book
Room with Terrace
about 20 m²
It is the first rung with a private terrace over the Medina rooftops, one flight above the bedroom, where the Deluxe Room below faces a courtyard.
The building is round, and so is its roof: a 360-degree terrace over the city on every side, with a round pool, cabanas and the Atlas on the southern skyline on clear days. The mountains lie 50 to 65 km to the south, sharpest in winter and spring with snow on the peaks, and the sun sets in the west over the city and the plain, so sunset on the roof gives you both.
All 71 rooms are suites, and most look to the Atlas Mountains or the Koutoubia minaret. The Studio Suite looks from its veranda over greenery and the Medina walls to the Atlas, and the Nobu Penthouse Suite has a wraparound veranda over the palms, the Koutoubia and the Atlas. Some suites face the street, so the side you ask for matters.
The room to book
Deluxe Junior Suite
about 60 m²€829 a night
About 60 m², with a lounge behind floor-to-ceiling windows; on the Atlas or Koutoubia side, the view comes into the room.
The Agafay is a stony desert of bare hills, not dunes, and that is the view: rolling ground of rock and gravel, a canyon below the Desert Lagoon pool, and the High Atlas about 45 km away along the horizon on clear days, sharpest from November to April when the peaks carry snow. The tents are spaced apart and face out over the desert, and the light at sunrise and sunset is the reason to come.
After dark the view turns upwards: the nights are dark and the stars fill the sky. Suite n°19 is the one sold with the Atlas, a 50 m² suite with a 40 m² terrace and a private outdoor jacuzzi facing the desert and the mountains. The Infinity Pool, with its bar, looks out over the same emptiness.
The room to book
Suite n°19
about 50 m²€525 a night
It is the one room sold with the Atlas on the horizon, from a 40 m² terrace with a private jacuzzi.
Yes, to the south, on clear days. The High Atlas is 45 km or more from the city, sharpest in winter and spring when the peaks carry snow, and lost in haze on other days. Palais Namaskar's Lounge Suites, La Mamounia's Park Deluxe Rooms and Inara Camp's Suite n°19 are sold with the Atlas in view, and the round rooftop at Nobu Hotel Marrakech has it on the southern skyline.
Where can you watch the sunset in Marrakech?
Face west: the sun sets over the city and the plain, not behind the Atlas, which takes the evening light instead. El Fenn's roof terrace has the Koutoubia close by at sunset, Nobu Hotel Marrakech's round rooftop sees all the way round, and Palais Namaskar's Nomad Bar watches the sun go down over the Palmeraie. La Villa des Orangers' rooftop bar faces the Koutoubia from 18:00 to 21:00.
Which Marrakech hotels look at the Koutoubia?
El Fenn's roof terrace looks due south to the minaret, close by. At La Villa des Orangers the rooftop bar faces it, and some terrace rooms catch a glimpse. Royal Mansour Marrakech's Privilege riads have roof terraces facing it, and at La Mamounia the Koutoubia Deluxe Rooms face the minaret or the gardens on that side. Most suites at Nobu Hotel Marrakech look to the Atlas or the Koutoubia.
Is the garden view worth paying for at La Mamounia?
If the gardens are why you are going, yes. The Classic and Superior Rooms look over Hivernage on the entrance side, and the garden views start with the Deluxe Rooms. For 16 to 18 March 2027 a Classic Room was €705 a night, room only, and a Park Deluxe Room, with a terrace over the gardens and the Atlas, €1,642. The Koutoubia Deluxe Room, at €1,209, is the cheaper step, but not every one faces the minaret.
Can you visit a hotel rooftop in Marrakech without staying?
Yes, at some. El Fenn's roof terrace and bar are open to non-residents every day from 12:00 to 23:00, through the boutique entrance by Bab el Ksour; drinks are first come, first served, so arrive early for sunset. Palais Namaskar's Nomad Bar takes outside reservations by phone and is worth booking ahead. El Fenn's rooftop restaurant also serves non-residents at lunch and dinner; book a table there.
How did you choose these hotels?
Independently, through extensive research, trusted sources and first-hand visits. Hotels cannot pay to be included, and every one of the ten has to exist for a different reason.
The design one
