Palais Anthea
The white-curtained cabanas at the pool edge · © Palais Anthea 
A white palace with tile roofs, a water canal running to the steps, curtained cabanas at the pool edge: at km 10 of the Ourika road, the Palais Anthea holds eleven suites on a hectare of gardens. It is one of the best-rated addresses of this road. It is not a historic house.
Our verdict
The Palais Anthea carries the name of an old house and is not one. We searched: no founder, no opening date, no architect, no origin of the name. The house’s site speaks of a “legendary palace” without ever naming the legend, and also presents itself as a rental villa. The first reviews go back to the early 2020s. Everything points to a recent build, in a neo-Moorish vocabulary held from end to end, and it is better to know than to discover: if you are after the walls of an 18th-century riad, this is not it. If you are after a decor that works, on the other hand, this one works.
The arrival makes its impression. A long white building with tile roofs, palms, tall-grass beds, and a straight water canal leading to the steps. On the other side, a pool lined with white-curtained cabanas and daybeds, and a lawn. Inside, the decor goes to the end of its idea: cut-iron moucharabieh, beige marble bathrooms with long basins and geometric lanterns, and a games room that cuts through - black ceiling, indirect lighting, green velvet armchairs, billiard table, contemporary paintings. It is coherent, and it is photogenic, which is no flaw when selling a country stay.
The scale is what makes the address readable: eleven suites, twenty-two people at most, one hectare of gardens. Big enough to hold a spa with hammam, a hot tub, a gym open round the clock and a real restaurant. Small enough for the service to be personal. That is what travellers cite before the gardens and the decor: the welcome, at 9.5 out of 10. The estate also rents whole - weddings, seminars, private evenings - and on that count the spring 2024 edition of Origins Festival was held in its gardens, before the festival moved to another estate on the same road. That said, no recent review complains of noise or music, and the place is described as peaceful. Nothing points to a weekly rhythm, but the house does not publish a calendar. Ask about yours.
Two concrete caveats, and they both hit the water. The pool is open year-round but not heated. March clients find it too cold to swim. More than that, hot water in the rooms is produced by solar panels, and a January client says plainly that it did not keep up in mid-winter. That is the kind of detail no brochure mentions and that settles a February stay. Between December and March, the house has to answer that before you pay.
The rest is the usual contract of the area, a little more expensive. At eleven kilometres, the location gets 8.1 out of 10, the lowest score of the house, and travellers who comment on it come back to the same point: the taxi, around £21 from the medina, quickly becomes the line you had not planned. From around £149 a night, breakfast included, for two in a careful decor with a service cited before the rest: it is a good call if you come to sit down, and a bad one if you plan to head back into town every evening.
What sets it apart
- Eleven suites, twenty-two people, one hectare That is the right scale to make sense of the address: big enough to hold a spa, a games room and drawn gardens, small enough that staff know you. The welcome, at 9.5, sits just behind the very smaller top-rated houses of the area.
- The host, more than the hotel That is what travellers cite before everything else, before the gardens and before the decor. On a road where you are far from everywhere, knowing someone looks after you counts more than elsewhere.
- A claimed kitchen garden, a lunch open to non-residents The kitchen, Moroccan and international, claims produce from the garden. Lunch by the pool is also open to non-residents, on a day basis, which lets you see the place without sleeping there.
- A decor owned to the end Moucharabieh, marble, cut-iron lanterns, and a games room with a black ceiling, billiard table and contemporary paintings. You like it or not, but it is held from the facade to the towel rail.
Worth knowing
Km 10, route de l'Ourika, Tassoultante commune, about 11 kilometres from Jemaa el-Fna and 20 to 25 minutes by road. Eleven suites, twenty-two people at most, on a hectare. The estate also rents whole, for weddings, seminars or private evenings. Breakfast included, served in the room, at the pool edge or in the restaurant. Restaurant open midday and evening, kitchen-garden produce. Day access for non-residents, pool and lunch, from 10am to 6pm. Hammam, massages, hot tub, gym open 24 hours. No treatment rates published, ask. Outdoor pool open year-round but not heated. Hot water produced by solar panels: winter clients say it falls short. Check between December and February. Airport transfers on request, paid. No regular shuttle to the centre. Clients report about £21 for a taxi from the medina. From around £149 a night depending on the season. No official star rating.
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Practical info
Details checked and cross-referenced by the editors - June 2026.
