Riad du Ciel Marrakech
The patio pool, under the orange tree · © Riad du Ciel 
Five rooms around a patio pool, in a derb of Diour Saboune, north of the medina, an eight-minute walk from Jemaa el-Fna. The Riad du Ciel is an old dwelling, painted cedar ceilings and zellige walls, with a real swim basin in the court and one of the highest terraces of the quarter. You come here for the calm and the position, near the Ben Youssef Medersa.
Our verdict
The Riad du Ciel holds in five rooms behind a medina door, in a derb of Diour Saboune, in the north of the old town, towards Bab Taghzout. The quarter is residential and calm, off the pressure of the souks, but within reach of everything: the Ben Youssef Medersa and the Marrakech museum are a few minutes away, and you reach Jemaa el-Fna in an eight-minute walk going down south.
The house is old and has kept it: painted cedar ceilings, sculpted plaster friezes, zellige walls, and a large formal portrait watching over the court from an arch. At the middle, what sets the address apart from most riads in the quarter - a real swim pool, a square basin in zellige fitted with massage jets, in the shade of an orange tree. You swim a few strokes, where most quarter houses make do with a water point. The five rooms open onto the patio or on the floors, each in its register - embroidered hangings, sculpted-wood bed frames, copper lamps, private bathrooms. Wi-Fi is decent for working.
The terrace, on the top level, ranks among the highest of the quarter: a pavilion, sun loungers, a small basin, and the view running over the medina rooftops to the foothills of the Atlas. You take the continental breakfast here in the morning, go back up at sundown. The Moroccan table books ahead, with vegetarian, halal and gluten-free options, and you can close the day at the hammam, the sauna or under a massage, at a supplement. Travellers give the house 9.4 on Booking on two hundred reviews, with a mention for couples’ stays, which says the address’s profile. For anyone after the same register, the old town has no shortage of houses run in this spirit: see the other medina riads.
That leaves who it fits. The caveat has to do with access, common to all addresses in this corner: you arrive on foot in lanes sometimes crowded with carts and mopeds, and Diour Saboune, further north, takes a little more walking than the riads next to Jemaa el-Fna. The house rents only five rooms: at this scale, you share the patio and the terrace with the other guests, which makes the address’s charm but little intimacy on a full night. Treatments and transfers are paid at a supplement, and you go up by stairs. For a couple or two friends wanting a real old medina house, calm, a pool where you swim and a terrace with a view from around £60 a night, the address lands right and is well placed. For anyone travelling in a large family or expecting hotel services with a lift, better look at the big garden houses of the Palmeraie. Here, you pay first for old walls, a swim basin and a spot in the middle of the old town.
What sets it apart
- A real patio pool At the middle of the court, a square swim basin in zellige, with massage jets, in the shade of an orange tree. One of the rare medina houses to offer a pool where you actually bathe, and not just a cool water point.
- The rooftop terrace On the top level, a terrace among the highest of the quarter, with pavilion, sun loungers and a small basin. The view runs over the medina rooftops to the Atlas and the neighbouring minaret. You take breakfast here and the sundown.
- An old medina house The riad takes over an old dwelling: painted cedar ceilings, sculpted plaster friezes, zellige walls and a large painted portrait watching over the patio. The five rooms keep this register, far from decors rebuilt new.
- Two steps from the Ben Youssef The address sits in a derb of Diour Saboune, near the Ben Youssef Medersa and the Marrakech museum. You reach Jemaa el-Fna in an eight-minute walk, through the souks, no taxi needed.
Worth knowing
The riad sits in a derb of Diour Saboune, towards Bab Taghzout, north of the medina, near the Ben Youssef Medersa and the Marrakech museum. Reckon an eight-minute walk to Jemaa el-Fna, through the souks. The car does not go to the door: you finish on foot in the lane, and the house picks up the bags on request. Paid public parking on site (about £6 per day, on booking). Airport transfer possible for a fee, Marrakech-Menara being about twenty minutes by car. Continental breakfast included, Moroccan table on booking, vegetarian, halal and gluten-free options. Hammam, sauna and massage on site at a supplement, patio pool and panoramic terrace. Reckon from around £60 a night, more for the suites and in high season.
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Practical info
Details checked and cross-referenced by the editors - June 2026.
