Numa Marrakech
The patio basin, under the old studded door · © Numa Marrakech 
Six rooms run by Mauro behind a medina door, at Rahba Lakdima, a seven-minute walk from Jemaa el-Fna. Numa Marrakech is a former house redrawn in a contemporary vein: white lime and tadelakt, a cool patio basin, rooftop terrace, basement hammam. You come here for the calm and the table, not for large-hotel facilities.
Our verdict
Numa Marrakech holds in six rooms behind a medina door, in a derb of Rahba Lakdima, two steps from the Spice Square. The quarter is one of the liveliest of the old town: the Spice Square and its terraces sit at the door, the souk starts at the corner, and Jemaa el-Fna is a seven-minute walk away. You are at the core of everything, which makes the address’s point and its flip - the lanes are busy, and the return by night takes knowing your way.
The house is old, but it has been redrawn in a contemporary vein that cuts through the loaded decors you expect here: white lime, terrazzo floor, hand-rubbed tadelakt, green zellige touches and designed furniture. At the middle of the court, a square basin in pale stone, under an old studded door set against the wall, in the shade of a banana tree. The six rooms and suites open onto this court or on the floors, each in their style - deep green wall, wrought-iron headboard, grey tadelakt bathroom with a zellige-dressed shower. A midnight-blue corridor, topped by a cluster of brass discs, leads from one wing to another: this is a decorator’s house as much as a family one.
In the evening, dinner books ahead, Mediterranean and Moroccan cooking, served in the fireplace sitting room or on the terrace. Several travellers talk of it as the best meal of their stay, and it is likely where Mauro, the host, puts the most care. The terrace, on the top level, stays modest - a corner for breakfast and the sunset, not a rooftop with bar and pool. You can end the day at the hammam, with scrub or massage on site. Travellers give the house 9.7 on Booking on more than three hundred reviews, with a 9.5 mention for couples’ stays, which says the profile of the address. For anyone after the same register, the quarter has no shortage of houses run in this spirit: see the other charm riads of the medina.
That leaves who it fits. The first caveat is the basin: what Booking calls a pool is a patio water point, good to cool off, not to swim lengths. You need to know before booking. The location, in the middle of the medina, is a strength by day and a constraint by night: busy lanes, late-evening noise flagged by light-sleeping travellers, taxi access stopping at a distance. Staff do not always speak fluent English, and you go up by stairs. For a couple or two friends wanting a real medina house, calm inside, a careful table and a design out of the ordinary from around £105 a night, the address lands right and is well placed. For anyone travelling with a large family, expecting a pool to swim in or hotel services, better look at the large garden houses of the Palmeraie. Here, you pay first for a spot at the core of the old town and a house redrawn with taste.
What sets it apart
- A redrawn house Numa takes over a former medina residence, redone in a contemporary vein: white lime, hand-rubbed tadelakt, green zellige touches and designed furniture. An author's riad, far from the loaded decors you expect here.
- The patio basin At the middle of the court, a square basin in pale stone, under an old studded door set against the wall. You dip your feet at hot hours, in the shade of a banana tree: a cool point, not a pool to swim in.
- Mauro's table Dinner books ahead and is taken in the fireplace sitting room or on the roof. Travellers talk of it as the best meal of their stay, Mediterranean and Moroccan cooking. The host, Mauro, runs the house with care.
- Six rooms, no more The house rents only six rooms and suites, each in its style - green wall, wrought iron, tadelakt bathroom. At this scale, you share the terrace and the sitting room with the other guests, and you keep crossing the same faces at breakfast.
Worth knowing
The address sits in a derb of Rahba Lakdima, at the core of the medina, two steps from the Spice Square and the souk. Reckon a seven-minute walk to Jemaa el-Fna, a bit more than a kilometre to the Koutoubia. The car does not go to the door: you finish on foot in the often-crowded lanes, and the house picks up the bags and walks you back to the taxis in the evening. No parking. Airport transfer possible for a fee (Marrakech-Menara is about 4 km). Hammam, scrub and massage on site, rooftop terrace, guest table in the evening on booking. Continental breakfast included. Reckon from around £105 a night, more for the suites and in high season.
Facilities & services
Location
Practical info
Details checked and cross-referenced by the editors - June 2026.
