Where to Stay in Marrakech with Kids: 10 Family-Friendly Hotels and Riads

Most Marrakech accommodation guides will tell you to stay wherever your budget lands and leave it at that. The problem is that Marrakech has a specific quirk that matters enormously when you're travelling with young children: a lot of the city's most stylish, popular riads quietly don't accept children under 12. The ones that do vary wildly, from genuinely family-friendly with cots, interconnecting rooms and staff who don't flinch when a toddler runs into their courtyard, to places that will technically accommodate children but make you feel slightly apologetic for bringing one.

We visited in February with our then 2 year old daughter, and choosing the right place to stay made a real difference to how the trip felt. The medina is loud, dense and relentlessly stimulating. Having somewhere calm and considered to retreat to (including somewhere with a private courtyard where our daughter could run around safely) and staff who knew the city well enough to point us in the right direction for everything else was worth more than any pool or spa.

This guide covers where to stay in Marrakech with kids across three areas: the medina (split by neighbourhood), the Kasbah district, and the modern Hivernage area for families who want more space and facilities. For the full trip plan, check out our 7-day Morocco family itinerary covering Marrakech, the Atlas Mountains, the Agafay Desert and the Atlantic coast.

A Few Practical Things Before You Book

Riad or Hotel - What's Best with Kids?

Riads are traditional Moroccan houses built around a central courtyard found inside the medina. They are usually small (anywhere from four to twelve rooms) which means a more personal, home-like feel and staff who actually get to know you. The tradeoff is that most riads are modest in size and facilities. It's worth bearing in mind that most riads have staircases and small decorative courtyard pools so if you have accessibility or mobility considerations a hotel might be better. Whilst we had a pram and lots of luggage we found the staff were always very helpful and it wasn't too difficult.

Larger hotels and spa resorts tend to sit outside the medina, in districts like Hivernage or the Palmeraie. They offer more in the way of pools, grounds, and dedicated children's facilities, but you lose the medina experience (the souks, the architecture, the noise and colour) and you'll likely need a taxi every time you want to sightsee.

For most families visiting Marrakech for the first time, I would recommend a riad in the medina as your base. The ability to step out directly into the city and then retreat to somewhere peaceful is worth more than a large pool.

Venturing out of Marrakech

If you have enough time and feel like a break from the city, then why not spend a night out of Marrakech? Only 50 minutes drive from the city is the Agafay Desert, with plenty of options for luxury glamping. Spend a night under the stars in complete silence, go for a camel ride and have a traditional Moroccan dinner with a show! We stayed at Agafay Pearl Camp and I couldn't recommend it enough - I even wrote a post about our experience which you can read here.

Getting to Marrakech

Menara Airport (RAK) is just 15–20 minutes from the medina, and flights from the UK are plentiful. I would recommend arranging your airport transfer in advance through your accommodation - it might be a little more expensive than a taxi off the rank, but they know the parking situation, they'll meet you at arrivals, and you won't have to negotiate a price with an unofficial driver while dragging a car seat through a crowd.

Getting around

We mainly walked around the medina as a lot of the streets aren't accessible to cars, but taxis are cheap and easy for anything further afield (you'll find lots of taxis around the square Jemaa el-Fnaa). If you're planning to venture beyond Marrakech (the Atlas Mountains, the Agafay Desert, the coast) I would recommend hiring a car (we used Dollar/Hertz and had a good experience) or booking tours. A lot of the information we read online prior to our trip advised against driving, but we found the roads easy and had no issues (the area around Marrakech can be a bit hectic, but once you're further out it's like driving anywhere else). Check out our full 7-day Morocco family itinerary for more on that.

Where to Stay in Marrakech with Kids: 10 Family Friendly Recommendations

Property	Area	Price from	Best For
Riad Zehar & Spa	Central Medina	~£55/night	Budget families wanting a central, calm base
Riad Les Hibiscus	Central Medina	~£60/night	Families with toddlers who need an explicitly welcoming riad
Riad Saba	Southern Medina	~£75/night	First-timers wanting character and warmth
Riad Samsli	Central Medina	~£95/night	Couples wanting a spa evening after bedtime
Riad Soundouss	Northern Medina	~£90/night	Families wanting the best-rated small riad in the city
2Ciels Boutique Hotel	Hivernage	~£130/night	Families wanting space, a pool, and a calmer base
Dar Darma	Northern Medina	~£180/night	Adults who want luxury design with family logistics sorted
Les Jardins de la Médina	Kasbah	~£260/night	Families with children over 4 wanting a garden hotel with a proper pool
La Sultana Marrakech	Kasbah	~£400/night	Luxury splurge with full spa and rooftop dining
La Mamounia	Central Medina	~£450/night	The bucket-list stay with a children's pool and lifeguard

The Central Medina

The heart of Marrakech's old city, roughly within 10 minutes walk of Jemaa el-Fnaa. Staying here puts you closest to the souks, the main sights, and the particular energy of the medina that makes Marrakech feel unlike anywhere else. It's also the loudest and most disorientating part of the city to navigate, which some families find overwhelming, especially on day one. The riads here act as pressure valves: you close the door and the noise disappears almost entirely.

1. Riad Zehar & Spa (from around £55/night)

Best for: budget families who want a central, calm base with rooftop breakfast views

Set on a quiet dead-end street right next to Le Jardin Secret and about five minutes on foot from Jemaa el-Fnaa, the location here is as good as it gets for the price. What makes it work for families is the interconnecting room option - two connected spaces with separate bathrooms, which gives everyone a bit of breathing room without paying for a suite. Breakfast on the rooftop terrace, with views across the rooftops of the medina, is the kind of morning you'll remember. Children of all ages are welcome and cots are available on request. No pool, but at this price and location, that's a reasonable trade-off.

2. Riad Les Hibiscus (from around £60/night)

Best for: toddler families who want somewhere that actively wants you there

Worth knowing before you start searching: a significant number of Marrakech's most attractive riads don't welcome children under 12. Riad Les Hibiscus does, and it's actually set up for it. The family room has proper space for two adults and young children, the courtyard pool is a manageable size (not one of those small decorative ones that requires constant vigilance), and the staff have a consistent track record of being warm with young families. It's tucked into a quiet alleyway within easy walking distance of Jemaa el-Fnaa but far enough from the noise. Private parking nearby at around €5 per 24 hours, which is useful if you're arriving with a hire car.

3. Riad Saba (from around £75/night)

Best for: first-time visitors to Marrakech who want character, warmth and a base that feels like a home

Riad Saba is a beautifully restored property with carved plasterwork, a courtyard open to the sky with a fountain and exotic plants and the team running it know Marrakech exceptionally well. The hosts, Jabrane and Maria, are genuinely invested in making the stay work for you: insider tips, tailored recommendations, help booking onward transport. Cot available on request. A short walk to Bahia Palace and about six minutes on foot to Jemaa el-Fnaa. This is the kind of place that makes you want to slow down and actually be somewhere rather than just pass through it.

4. Riad Samsli (from around £95/night)

Best for: couples who want a hammam evening once the toddler is asleep

We checked in here for our final night in Morocco and were genuinely sad we'd only booked one. The rooms are spacious and thoughtfully decorated, the atmosphere is calm and considered and critically, there's an on-site hammam and spa, which means you can actually book a treatment once your toddler is down for the evening. (We fully intended to do this but both ended up asleep by 9pm. The possibility still made the stay feel more grown-up.) Cots are available on request, the staff are excellent, and the whole place has a quality that makes you want to stay longer than planned.

The Northern Medina and Souks

A little further from Jemaa el-Fnaa than the central medina properties, this area puts you at the entrance to the souks and within walking distance of the Ben Youssef Madrasa. It's quieter underfoot and the streets around the souks have a more residential feel in the evenings once the day-trippers have cleared out. The trade-off is a slightly longer walk to the main square (ten to fifteen minutes rather than five), which matters less than you'd think once you're oriented.

5. Riad Soundouss (from around £90/night)

Best for: families who want the best-rated small riad in the city, run by someone who treats it as a genuine vocation

Riad Soundouss is an intimate experience with only 5 room operation. You will be greeted with 18th-century architecture, think carved wood ceilings, a zellij fountain in the central courtyard, ornate painted plasterwork throughout and the dinners consist of delicious Moroccan tagines and pastilla. The family suite is properly sized for parents with young children, children's menus are available for dinner, cots are provided free of charge, and children under three stay free. It's a 10 minute walk to Jemaa el-Fnaa and closer to the entrance of the souks. If you're only going to Marrakech once, this is the kind of place you want to stay.

Hivernage: The Modern District

Hivernage sits to the west of the medina, a 20 minute walk or a short taxi ride from Jemaa el-Fnaa. It's newer, quieter, and considerably less chaotic with wide avenues and planted gardens instead of narrow alleys and motorbikes. It works well for families who find the medina intensity a bit much for the whole trip, or who want a base with a proper pool and more space.

6. 2Ciels Boutique Hotel (from around £130/night)

Best for: families who want a spacious, stylish base with a rooftop pool and a park on the doorstep

Directly across from Harti Park which is excellent for letting children burn off energy in a way that the medina's alleyways don't allow. 2Ciels has an Art Deco design aesthetic that manages to feel authentically Moroccan without being a reproduction of it. The rooms are considerably larger than anything comparable inside the medina, which makes mornings and nap times significantly easier to manage. The rooftop pool and terrace are the real draw: views of the Atlas Mountains, the city humming below you, and enough calm to actually relax. Cots available on request.

The Kasbah District

The Kasbah sits at the southern edge of the medina, a 15 minute walk from Jemaa el-Fnaa, adjacent to the Saadian Tombs and Bahia Palace. It's noticeably quieter than the centre and the streets around it feel more lived-in. The two hotels here represent the most serious luxury on this list.

7. Dar Darma (from around £180/night)

Best for: adults who want a seriously designed stay and don't want to compromise that for having a child in tow

An 18th-century private mansion with six individually designed suites, each so distinct they feel more like rooms in a private house than hotel accommodation. The interiors are dramatic with ornate carved doors, fine woodwork, velvet textures, oils burning throughout and the rooftop plunge pool with views across the medina to the Atlas Mountains gives you a reason to stay in as well as go out. The in-house chef prepares traditional Moroccan meals and cooking lessons are available. Cots and rollaway beds on request. It's set up for adults first, families second, but it manages both with considerable style. A one-minute walk from the Ben Youssef Madrasa.

8. Les Jardins de la Médina (from around £260/night)

Best for: families with children aged 4 and over who want a garden hotel with a genuine pool

Important note upfront: Les Jardins de la Médina accepts children aged 4 and over. If you're travelling with a toddler, this one isn't for you. If your children are older, it's exceptional. A former 19th-century palace in the Kasbah, converted into a 36-room hotel within grounds that featured in a BBC garden documentary which gives you a sense of the scale and quality of what's there. The centrepiece is a 16-metre heated pool surrounded by ancient palm trees, citrus trees and bougainvillea. The restaurant serves a mix of Mediterranean and Moroccan cuisine using local produce, and interconnecting rooms are available on request. About a fifteen-minute walk from Jemaa el-Fnaa, which is close enough to sightsee easily but far enough that the area around the hotel stays genuinely calm.

9. La Sultana Marrakech (from around £400/night)

Best for: the full luxury Marrakech experience with a spa that's actually bookable and a rooftop that earns its reputation

Five interconnected 18th-century riads in the Kasbah, steps from the Saadian Tombs and a ten-minute walk from Jemaa el-Fnaa. The design across the property is exceptional and includes Moorish archways, pink marble, intricate tilework, rooftop terraces that look out to the Atlas Mountains. There are two restaurants (the rooftop being the one to book for the views), a pink marble spa, heated outdoor pool, babysitting available, and cots at no charge for children under six. The rooftop cocktail bar is genuinely one of the better places to have a drink in the city once your toddler is asleep for the evening.

The Bucket-List Stay

10. La Mamounia (from around £450/night)

Best for: the once-in-a-decade splurge where you want the hotel to be an event in itself

La Mamounia has been open since 1923 and you feel it in the way the building carries itself. What surprises most people is how well it works for families: there's a dedicated children's pool with a lifeguard, interconnecting rooms, babysitting services, a vintage games room in the gardens with pinball and pool tables, and a cinema. A short walk from the Koutoubia Mosque and about fifteen minutes on foot to Jemaa el-Fnaa. The gardens are extraordinary with six acres of olive and orange trees. The breakfast buffet is the best I've eaten in Morocco. Cots available on request.

Our Verdict

For most families visiting Marrakech with a toddler or young child for the first time, I would go for a mid-range riad in the medina. You want to be within walking distance of the sights, you want a private courtyard to retreat to during nap time, and you want staff who know the city well enough to give you genuine recommendations rather than sending you to the nearest tourist restaurant.

My personal picks: Riad Saba for the character and warmth at a price that leaves budget for good food and excursions; Riad Soundouss if you want the finest small riad in the city and Samira's cooking; La Sultana if you want full luxury and a spa you'll actually use. Whatever you book, tell the riad you're arriving with a young child when you confirm. The good ones will have a cot ready, will give you the quietest room, and will probably have a plate of biscuits waiting for your daughter on arrival. Morocco, in our experience, takes exceptionally good care of families.

Planning the wider trip? Read our 7-day Morocco family itinerary for the full road trip from Marrakech to the Atlas Mountains, the Agafay Desert, and the Atlantic coast. And if you're considering a night in the desert, our Agafay Desert glamping review covers everything you need to know about Agafay Pearl Camp.