Hotel Description

Les Borjs de la Kasbah

A 4-star Riad-Hotel in the Marrakech medina combining modern comforts and traditional charm

In the Kasbah quarter of the ancient Marrakech medina, easily accessible by taxi, minibus and horse-drawn calèche and only yards from the Royal Palace, Les Borjs de la Kasbah is a luxury riad hotel in Marrakech meticulously created by craftsmen over a period of three years from a complex of six small town houses (dars) and one riad. On entering this haven of tranquillity you will be struck by the restful atmosphere of contemporary refinement and arabo-moorish charm, the whole contrasting sharply with the frenetic activity of the thronged medina beyond its walls.

All 18 bedrooms are disposed around, and look out on, one of four original patios, each planted with flowering shrubs or orange trees, a couple of them echoing to the sound of water spilling from ornamental fountains. The highest level of modern comforts is also assured, traditional features throughout being combined with contemporary overtones in the stylish furnishing and décor of the bar, two lounges and restaurant. A few yards away, at the foot of a renovated borj (one of the defensive towers built into the ancient walls of the Kasbah), a separate leisure area has been created with a pool and spa.

Our aim is to provide a high quality of experience for our visitors in terms of accommodation and meals with service provided by professionally attentive, friendly but unobtrusive restaurant and housekeeping staff. Many of the largely female, 24 strong team speak French while Reception and Restaurant staff also speak English. Tom Bruce-Mitford, our Franco-British Director, also speaks Japanese, Spanish and some Italian. Both he, his Moroccan wife, Nora (co-director) and their Reception team are always delighted to help with general advice about what to see and do in Marrakech and to make bookings on request for excursions around Marrakech, up into the Atlas mountains and in the surrounding area.

Accommodation

Les Borjs de la Kasbah features 18 sound-proofed, well insulated rooms dispersed between four separate patios. Each room is well-appointed with bath or shower (some have both), heating and air conditioning, personal room safe, hairdryer, minibar, telephone, free Wi-Fi connection and flat-screen TVs linked to satellite channels. Five rooms on ground floor level (one of them a single) offer easy access while the remainder, on first floor, are reached, respectively, via five separate stairways. Though very similar in terms of decor and facilities, no two bedrooms are identical. All are non-smoking rooms. 

Room prices (see Rates) are based mainly on room size. Premium rooms have space for a comfortable sitting area while Suites are even larger and have additional features and services such as a complimentary fruit bowl, a plate of Moroccan patisseries and water. Suites 303 and 107 have four poster beds. Suite 303 has windows overlooking the pool on one side and a small patio on the other.  Perhaps our best room, it is often reserved for honeymoon couples and those celebrating other special occasions. Whichever room you choose to book, requests for flower bouquets, champagne and other such items can always be met.

Twin bedded rooms, of which there are five in all, two in Standard and three in Premium rooms, can be configured as doubles where required. In each of the three spacious Suites an additional folding single bed may be added for a child (5-12 years). Older children may reserve a separate single room.

Small Room

We have two so-called Small rooms, each for 2 people, one (15 sq m) with a double bed, the other (12 sq m) with two singles.

The rooms are adjacent and on the ground level of a small patio (see photo) a few paces from the main patio.

Room Facilities

Shower

TV With Satellite Channels

Telephone

Minibar

Hairdryer

Personal Room Safe

Heating/Air Conditioning

Standard Room

Our five Standard rooms, two of them on ground floor level, are between 16² and 19 m². Two rooms have twin beds (0m90 each), three having doubles (1m60). Three of the rooms have a bath and separate shower cubicle. The other two have bath and shower respectively.

Room Facilities

Bath Or Shower

TV With Satellite Channels

Telephone

Minibar

Hairdryer

Personal Room Safe

Heating/Air Conditioning

Premium room

We have 5 Premium rooms, each 20 - 22 m², four of them with a bath, one also having a separate shower cubicle. Three rooms have twin beds, which can be configured as doubles when required, the other two having wide doubles (1m80). All these rooms are on first floor level overlooking the hotel's main patio.

Room Facilities

Bath Or Shower

TV With Satellite Channels

Telephone

Minibar

Hairdryer

Personal Room Safe

Heating/Air Conditioning

Suite

Our three best rooms are the largest, each being 27 m² to 30 m². All have a bath and separate shower cubicle and the beds are 1m80 wide (Suites 107 and 303 have four posters).

Complimentary fruit bowl, mineral water and Moroccan patisseries are provided in each Suite.

Suite Facilities

TV With Satellite Channels

Telephone

Minibar

Hairdryer

Personal Room Safe

Heating/Air Conditioning

Bath And Shower

'Le Jasmin' Restaurant

The aim of our restaurant, Le Jasmin, is to provide a range of high quality, local cuisine, much of it with a distinctly French influence although most dishes are imbued with the unmistakeable influences of Moroccan herbs and spices.  All dishes are prepared from fresh local produce by our young Moroccan chef and his team. 

Dinner

Our à la carte menus work out at around 300 dh for 3 courses, excluding the cost of inexpensive but good quality Moroccan wines. In addition to the two à la carte menus, offering French and Moroccan specialities, we also offer a daily-changing, 3-course table d'hote menu (200 dh), with more limited choice, comprising our dishes of the day.

Vegetarian options are included in both a la carte and daily menus. 

Moroccan themed evenings: subject to numbers, these are organised on a regular basis, either in the dining patio next to the bar or in the main patio, and include a traditional Moroccan menu with entertainment provided by local musicians and dancers. 

Breakfast

Included in room prices, this will usually take the form of a generous buffet including fruit, freshly squeezed local oranges, delicious home-made yoghurts and smoothies, bread, viennoiseries and pastries. Omelettes and home-made pancakes are cooked to order, the latter being a local speciality served with honey. Continental breakfasts may be taken in bedrooms or, where possible, on adjoining terraces.

Smoking Policy

We should point out that while smoking is permitted in the open areas of the hotel, such as the main patio and leisure area, a no-smoking policy applies in the restaurant, both the closed dining room and its adjoining patio, and also in the bar.

The hotel bar, adjoining the patio of our restaurant, serves a full range of familiar spirits and aperitifs as well as local beers and a tempting selection of interesting house cocktails. There is also a good range of quality, reasonably priced Moroccan wines. Bar service is also provided by the pool, in the two lounges and in the meeting room, during major sporting events featured on TV.

Heated Pool at Les Borjs de la Kasbah 

Les Borjs de la Kasbah is one of the few riad-hotels in Marrakech with a swimming​ pool, as opposed to an ornamental plunge pool. Discreetly located some 25 m from the hotel's main patio is the secluded leisure area, on a site formerly occupied by three small houses. Here we find an imposing, renovated 'borj' (watchtower) set into 7m high defensive walls at the foot of which is a 10m x 5m heated swimming pool, its depth shelving from 1m to 2m. Along one side is a south facing sunbathing terrace with loungers and parasols.

On the opposite side of the pool from the sun terrace is a new building housing the first floor spa and, at ground level, a small poolside bar where drinks are served, including an outstanding range of cocktails, including non-alcoholic options. Snacks and light meals, prepared in the hotel's kitchen, may also be taken here. Adjacent to the bar are two changing rooms with showers and toilets for pool users. Towels are provided.

Please note: in common with most of the hotels with pool in Marrakech, our dress code requests pool users not to frequent public spaces in the hotel itself (i.e. patios, lounges and dining room) in swimwear or other inappropriate attire. 

Spa & Wellness Marrrakech 

Set in the peacefully secluded leisure area, some 25m from the hotel's main patio, our Spa & Wellness, L'Arganier, includes a classic, marble-clad, domed hammam plus two treatment rooms and a rest area, each having traditional latticed windows (menze) overlooking the swimming-pool and sun terrace.

A hammam session in a traditional steam bath involves a washdown and numerous dousings with hot water and concludes with an invigorating bucket of cold. This is followed by a 'gommage' (a vigorous scrub down using black beldi soap made from olives and eucalyptus leaves) and then by a gentle massage of back, neck and shoulders administered by a spa therapist to relieve muscular tension.

During pre-booked hammam sessions wear the kind of clothing in which you feel comfortable, a swimsuit, ideally, or underwear. In the Spa you will find changing cubicles, lockers for your clothes and personal effects, bathrobes, sandals and towels. Allow 15 mins following your treatment to relax and recover, sipping some mint tea or refreshing iced water before returning to the outside world.

In addition to hammam sessions, a range of invigorating and soothing massages is offered in the spa, most of them derived from ancestral tradition and an understanding of the beneficial effects of herbal therapies. At each treatment session plant oils are carefully selected by our qualified, experienced therapist to suit different skin types and the needs of each client i.e. massages can act both as a stimulant and to generate a feeling of total relaxation.