The welcome started with something sweet

One of the first things we noticed at Mandarin Oriental Marrakech was the food. Not a huge meal or anything complicated, just a freshly made fruit juice with rose petals and three little Moroccan sweets. Morocco is very good at pastries. There is such a long tradition around them, often using ingredients like dates, argan, nuts and honey. I have honestly had Moroccan pastries that I preferred to most of the ones I have eaten in France, and that says quite a lot. These were sweet without being too sweet, with something savoury to balance them. It was a very good first introduction to the property.

And then there was breakfast...

We had breakfast before leaving for our next property and it was one of those meals where you keep finding something else you want to try. The buffet had an enormous variety of breads, pastries, salads and sweets, and there was also an à la carte menu. I always order an omelet when I am staying at a good hotel. It tells me a surprising amount about the kitchen. Eggs are not difficult because they are complicated. They are difficult because there is nowhere to hide when the temperature is wrong. The omelet here was one of the best I have had.

Moroccan food at Shirvan

We unfortunately had an allergy problem during our stay, so I couldn't experience the full Moroccan menu at Shirvan in the way I would normally have liked. That was a shame because Moroccan cuisine is one of those cuisines where the traditions are so deeply rooted. The way spices are blended and used is very different from what we are used to in much of Europe, and the food has a real sense of place.

Shirvan is the property's Moroccan restaurant and is Michelin noted. Looking through the menu, it was very clear that this wasn't an attempt to make Moroccan food more familiar for international guests. The tradition is very much there. That is something I always look for when travelling. I don't need every restaurant to serve local food, but when a hotel does offer it, I want to see that it is taken seriously. And at Mandarin Oriental, there is plenty of choice beyond Moroccan cuisine too.

From Moroccan cuisine to Hakkasan

That is one of the things I like about the dining here. You are in Marrakech, but the property doesn't assume that every guest wants to eat Moroccan food for every meal.

Ling Ling by Hakkasan brings Cantonese-inspired cuisine to the resort, which gives you a completely different option for an evening. There is something quite appealing about that contrast. You can spend the day in Marrakech and then decide that tonight you want Chinese food instead.

There is also a more relaxed restaurant and bar for lighter meals and snacks, so the dining doesn't feel like it is built around one particular type of evening.

For us, though, the most memorable meal was actually the one we had in our villa.

Dinner without leaving the villa

Our villa had a little dining area facing the property, and that was where we decided to have dinner. It was incredibly private. The fireplace was going, the pool was outside, and the lighting created beautiful geometric shapes and shadows from the traditional details of the villa.

The setting was already difficult to beat. Then the service made it even better. The dinner arrived five minutes early, before Marisa had returned from her spa treatment. Instead of leaving the food and accepting that it was slightly too early, the team took everything back to the kitchen and completely redid the dinner so it could be served properly when she returned.

That is unusual attention to detail.

I had salmon because of my allergy at the time, while Marisa had a wonderful chicken tagine with preserved lemons. Sitting there privately, with the fire going and the villa around us, it felt almost like having a Michelin-level restaurant brought into our own home. And that is probably why the meal stayed with us. It wasn't just the food. It was the setting, the service and then what was on the plate. When those three things come together, you don't really need to leave the villa.

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Further reading about Mandarin Oriental Marrakech:

The Butler Experiences at Mandarin Oriental Marrakech

Inside the Spa at Mandarin Oriental Marrakech

Our in-depth Villa review of Mandarin Oriental Marrakech

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Planning Your Stay at Mandarin Oriental Marrakech?

If food is part of what makes a hotel stay memorable for you, we can help you plan the property around that. Whether you want to experience Shirvan, have dinner privately in your villa, or simply make the most of the breakfast and spa, these are the details we like to arrange before you arrive.

As Virtuoso advisors, we can also arrange your Mandarin Oriental Marrakech stay with the following Virtuoso benefits included in the rate:

• Complimentary private roundtrip airport transfers
• Daily breakfast at Shirvan restaurant
• Upgrade, subject to availability
• USD 100 dining or spa credit to use during your stay
• Early check-in and late check-out, subject to availability
• Complimentary Wi-Fi
• Butler service

And because we know the property personally, we can also help you decide which villa or room works best for your stay and how to combine the hotel with the rest of your Marrakech itinerary.

Want to experience Mandarin Oriental Marrakech for yourself? Get in touch with us and we can start planning your stay.

Book your call here.

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Robert Poortinga  
Travel Booking Assistant  
River cruise & Europe destination expert  
Culinary and art travel specialist

Concert Pianist

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