Heure Bleue Palais

What you find behind the door

The hotel opened in June 2004, after three years of work, in the former residence of the pasha Caïd Mbark Saidi, built on an old fondouk. The house dates from the late 18th or the late 19th century: the sources disagree. The central patio gives onto all 33 rooms and suites, every one of them non-smoking.

The 14 Classic rooms, on the first floor, measure 27 m² and cannot take an extra bed. The 5 Deluxe rooms measure 45 m² and take a cot for children up to 4. The Suites, on the second floor, and the Premium Suites, on the second and third, measure 60 m². The Family Suite combines two bedrooms and two bathrooms for five adults, over 105 m² according to the hotel, 60 m² according to Relais & Châteaux.

On the roof are a heated pool and SAMA, the terrace restaurant, which serves lunch. Dinner is served in the Salon Oriental, drinks in the English Lounge, and breakfast as a buffet in the patio. The restaurants and bars close at 23:00 every day.

Where exactly, and how to get there

Number 2, rue Ibn Battouta backs onto the medina wall, about 25 m from Bab Marrakech as the crow flies, so the tower of Borj Bab Marrakech is your landmark on arrival. The car stays outside the walls: the hotel has private parking for guests at the Bab Marrakech gate, at the entrance to the old town. Ring +212 524 78 34 34 when you reach Essaouira and the hotel will tell you where to park.

The Supratours coach stops five minutes’ walk from the hotel. Private transfers run from the airports at Essaouira (15 minutes), Marrakech (about 2 hours 45) and Agadir (about 3 hours), priced on request. Our view: if you are driving, ring before you enter the town. The car park gate is about 25 m from the building, but the exact spaces are not given.

Who it suits, and what to know before booking

With 33 rooms, a 24-hour concierge and room service, this is a hotel in an old patio palace, best compared with Essaouira’s hotels. If you want a house of a few rooms, see our Riads section: L’Oasis d’Essaouira, with three rooms, sits at the other end of the range. To sleep by the bay rather than inside the walls, look at Le Médina Essaouira Thalassa MGallery.

A lift and a room accessible to guests with reduced mobility: yes according to Relais & Châteaux, no according to an OpenStreetMap entry from 2024. If someone in your party has trouble walking, get it confirmed in writing before you book. Children are welcome, and pets in at least one room.

Outside the rooms, three things have a price in dirhams. The “Pool & Lunch” package costs 550 MAD per person: a two-course lunch at SAMA without drinks, plus the pool, a sunbed and a towel, booking required. Chef Ahmed Handour’s cooking class costs 1,000 MAD per person including dinner, starts at 15:00, lasts about 2 hours 30 and must be booked 24 hours ahead. The spa is open to non-residents, Monday to Saturday, 10:00 to 12:00 and 14:00 to 21:00. For the other two, nothing is said about non-residents: ring before you come. Our hammam and spa pages set this spa against the others.

Rooms are sold in euros only, and nothing says whether breakfast is included. Ask when you book.