Royal Suite — 32 m² in the medina
The Royal Suite is the most heavily decorated room at Riad Dar Alhambra, and the only one built around a fireplace. It occupies 32 m² on the upper floor, where grand carved archways open straight onto the gallery that runs around the courtyard — so the room borrows light and air from the patio below rather than from a street-facing window. Deep ruby velvet drapery sits against ochre walls, and the ceiling above the bed is hand-painted zouaq, the layered geometric woodwork that takes a Marrakech craftsman weeks to finish by hand.
A fireplace, not a feature wall
Very few riad rooms in the medina have their own fireplace, and this one is the real thing: sculpted stucco, set into the wall, with two deep armchairs drawn up in front of it. It is the reason most guests choose this suite over the Dunes Suite at the same price. Marrakech nights are genuinely cold between November and February — the medina’s thick earth walls hold the chill — and a fireplace changes how a winter evening in the riad feels. If you want to know whether it can be lit during your dates, ask us when you book and we will tell you exactly what is possible.
Light from the courtyard, not the street
The carved archways face inward over the zellige-tiled patio. That is the traditional riad logic: blank outer walls, everything turned toward the courtyard. In practice it means the suite is quiet, because no sound reaches it from the lane outside, and it means the light is soft and indirect rather than harsh.
Specification
| Room size | 32 m² |
|---|---|
| Category | Suite |
| Floor | Upper floor |
| Beds | One double bed |
| Sleeps | 2 guests (a child counts as one of the two) |
| Bathroom | Private en-suite with spa bath |
| Outlook | Inward, over the courtyard |
| Climate | Air conditioning and heating |
| Terrace | Shared rooftop terrace, plunge pool in warmer months |
| Lift | None — the riad is an old medina house |
| Rate | From €170 per night, breakfast included |
Who this room is for
A good fit if you are…
- Couples, and honeymoons in particular
- Winter and shoulder-season stays, for the fireplace
- Guests who want the most ornate room on the property
- Anyone who values a quiet, inward-facing room
Book something else if…
- Groups of three — the suite takes two guests
- Anyone who cannot manage stairs: it is on the upper floor and the riad has no lift
Inside the Royal Suite
What is included, and how you reach the room
Included in the rate
- Moroccan breakfast, made in the riad each morning
- Air conditioning and heating — both matter here; medina walls are cold in winter
- Fast free WiFi throughout the riad
- Spa bath and a separate seating area — included with all three suites, not with the standard rooms
- Private en-suite bathroom with free toiletries and a hairdryer
- Mini bar, flat-screen TV and a wardrobe
- Rooftop terrace, shared by all guests, with a small plunge pool open in the warmer months
- Daily housekeeping, and help arranging an airport transfer on request
Finding the suite, and getting to the riad
This room is on the riad’s single upper floor, reached by the main staircase from the courtyard — there is no lift, and like most old medina houses the stairs are steeper and narrower than you would find in a hotel. If that is a problem, the Chaouen Suite is the one room on the ground floor.
Worth knowing before you arrive: the medina’s lanes are pedestrian, so a taxi cannot reach the door and the last stretch is on foot. Tell us your arrival time and we can arrange an airport transfer and help you in with luggage.
What is around you
Riad Dar Alhambra is inside the medina, the walled old city — which is the reason to stay in a riad rather than a hotel in Guéliz. The Ben Youssef Madrasa, the 14th-century Quranic school with the courtyard everyone photographs, is a two-minute walk from the door. The souks, the tanners’ quarter and Jemaa el-Fna are all walkable, and you come back through the lanes to a house where the noise simply stops at the entrance.
That is the trade a riad asks you to make: no car to the door, and in exchange a quiet courtyard house in the middle of the old city. Most guests decide it is the right one. More about the riad.
Comfort, as standard
The rooftop plunge pool is small and open in the warmer months — we would rather tell you that now than have you arrive expecting a swimming pool.
Royal Suite — questions
Can the fireplace be lit during my stay?
Is the Royal Suite bigger than the other suites?
Which floor is it on, and are there stairs?
Does it have a private terrace?
Compare it with the others
What else the riad does
Your arrival transfer is included — the concierge meets you at the drop-off point and walks you in.