Les Cinq Djellabas
A pisé lodge facing the pool, in the olive grove · © Les Cinq Djellabas 
In the Palmeraie, fifteen minutes from the medina, Les Cinq Djellabas lines up ten lodges under conical thatched roofs among an olive grove. A human-scale guesthouse, designed by its owners around a heated pool and a Moroccan table. You come here for the calm and the orchard, not for the souks at the door.
Our verdict
Les Cinq Djellabas is not a medina hotel, it is a house set in the Palmeraie. You reach it in a fifteen-minute taxi from Jemaa el-Fna, on the tracks running under the palms north-east of the city. No lanes or souks at the door: ten pisé lodges topped with conical thatched roofs, spread across a fenced olive grove, around a pool and a kitchen garden. The house was designed by its owners, and it shows in the stance - you come here to sit down, not to slip out to town between visits.
Each lodge is a stand-alone circular suite: a sitting room, a fireplace, a four-poster bed under an exposed reed frame, and a large bathroom. The decor plays pisé, tadelakt, dark wood and a few salvaged pieces rather than postcard Moroccan folklore. Outside, the heated pool takes the middle of the garden, lined with white sun loungers and olive trees - it stays usable in winter, which is not a given everywhere in the palm grove. The table holds the house: modern Moroccan cooking on a set menu, home-made bread and pastries, served at breakfast under the olive trees and by candlelight in the evening. Massages and yoga sessions are arranged on site. The team also organises excursions to the Atlas, Essaouira or the medina. For calm and orchard, the address plays the same tune as the other Palmeraie houses, on a more intimate scale.
That leaves the distance, which decides everything. Fifteen minutes from the medina, you do not slip down for a souks round between two naps: each outing to town has to be planned, by taxi or car. That is a deal-breaker for a short stay built around the old town, and it is the very point for anyone after the opposite - a couple, a quiet stay, the orchard rather than the buzz. Two caveats to know before booking: Wi-Fi is limited to the main building, worth flagging if you have to work, and the pool and table lean clearly towards adult guests, which makes it a poor fit for families with young children. The overall score is solid (9.2 on Booking), but rests on a modest review count, in line with a ten-key house. From around £224 a night depending on the season, airport transfer and breakfast often included, you pay first for an olive grove and a silence, not a city-centre address.
What sets it apart
- Thatched-roof lodges Ten circular suites topped with conical thatch, each with a sitting room, fireplace and four-poster bed. Pisé, dark wood and tadelakt replace folklore. You shut your door far from the next lodge.
- The pool in the olive grove A heated basin lined with white sun loungers, open onto the grass and the olive trees. Heated in winter, which is not a given in Marrakech. The calm centre of the house.
- The Moroccan table Modern Moroccan cooking on a set menu, pastilla and home-made bread included. Breakfast under the olive trees, candle-lit dinner. You dine where you sleep, no heading out.
- A ten-key house Not a resort but a closely run guesthouse, rated 9.2 on Booking. Airport transfer and yoga on request, Atlas or Essaouira excursions arranged on site.
Worth knowing
Reckon a fifteen-minute taxi to the medina and Jemaa el-Fna. Plan for a car or taxi for each outing in town. Free parking on site. Free Wi-Fi, but limited to the main building - little to no signal in the lodges. Moroccan breakfast and airport transfer often included in the rates. Pool and table leaning adult. Check-in from 3pm, check-out by noon. From around £224 a night depending on the season.
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Details checked and cross-referenced by the editors - June 2026.
