The famous one

LA MAMOUNIA It’s the most famous hotel in North Africa, immortalised by Winston Churchill, who spent hours in front of his easel, capturing the “paintaceous” views of the distant Atlas Mountains. For years, the former palace was Marrakesh’s only beacon of luxury, securing the patronage of rich men and royals, stars and statesmen. It has 57 opulent suites and 171 regular rooms, several restaurants, a gorgeous outdoor pool and a tacky casino.

If you can’t afford to stay, at least take a look around the gardens: 17 wonderful acres of olives and oranges, palms and peacefulness, created as a wedding present from a sultan to his son.

Doubles from £150, room-only; 00 212 44 444 409, www.mamounia.com.

La Mamounia will close for several months this summer for a refurbishment

The romantic one

CARAVAN SERAI Even without the excitement of Marrakesh down the road, this would be well worth a long weekend. Caravan Serai sits on the edge of a Berber village, looking for all the world like it has sprung straight up out of the surrounding sand. It’s on an escarpment commanding views across acres of olive groves, with the white peaks of the Atlas frozen along the horizon. You’ll feel a million miles from anywhere, especially at night, yet you’re only a 15-minute cab ride from town (and there’s a free minibus).

Caravan Serai has 15 rooms, each with a terrace or a patch of garden and nine with working fireplaces. There are also two suites, with private plunge pools. There’s a biggish heated pool at the centre of the hotel, around which tables and banquettes nestle, plus a hammam and a roof terrace.

Doubles from £85 B&B; 01380 828533, www.caravanserai.com

The family one

CLUB MED LA PALMERAIE This offers all the in-house action you would normally expect from Club Med — huge pool, even bigger buffet, tennis, pitch-and-putt, a spa. But the great thing is, it’s just a 20-minute shuttle ride from the souks and the snake charmers, the storytellers, acrobats and fortune-tellers on the Djemaa el-Fna. In other words, it’s the ideal compromise option for families.

La Palmeraie’s 40 acres of grounds also contain a new and utterly tranquil oasis modelled on a riad, with 60 suites. Each has a private garden or roof terrace, and several interconnect for families. It’s a boutique hotel, but with child-friendly larks nearby.

Doubles from £164 (£49 per child aged 4-11), inclusive of food, wine, sport and entertainment, or £249/£73 for Le Riad. The best deals are packaged with flights; 0845 367 6767, www.clubmed.co.uk

The budget one

DAR AL SULTAN There are cheaper places, but why slum it when you can get the height of style for the price of a British B&B? Within the walls of the medina, tucked down labyrinthine side streets, this small 19th-century riad has been given a full makeover — it has already graced the pages of German Vogue. Three oblong rooms overlook a small inner courtyard with a birdbath-sized plunge pool. The house feels delectably private, but you can call on the attentive services of the young Swiss owner, Romain. Guests are free to use the well-equipped kitchen, or dinner costs about £13 a head and is served by candlelight, either indoors or on the roof terrace.

Doubles from £59, B&B, with airport pick-up, or £221 a night for the whole property; 00 212 44 386 783, www.daralsultan.com

The cool one

DAR LES CIGOGNES At least 250 Marrakesh riads now welcome paying guests, and about half of them like to think they’re the trendiest. But this pair of 17th-century merchant’s houses — bang opposite the Royal Palace and restored by Charles Boccara, the city’s hotshot riad converter — gets our vote every time. Behind its anonymous-looking wooden door lies a glass-roofed courtyard, complete with gurgling fountain, orange trees and exquisite filigree plasterwork. The dark wood and creamy stone can look a bit austere by day, but at night they are illuminated with scores of candles and are a picture of romance. The riad packs in an exotic hammam, a tiny boutique, a restaurant (dinner costs £23), and a roof terrace with umpteen fruit trees.

Doubles from £100, B&B; 00 212 44 382 740, www.lescigognes.com

I want to go

Getting there: British Airways (0870 850 9850, www.ba.com) flies year-round from Heathrow (from Gatwick and Manchester until May and again from October); from £129. Or try Royal Air Maroc (020 7307 5800, www.royalairmaroc.com) and Atlas Blue (www.atlas-blue.com). Flights take about 3½hr.

Tour operators: Cadogan Holidays (023 8082 8311, www.cadoganholidays.com) has three nights at La Mamounia from £771pp, including BA flights from Heathrow and transfers. Or try Best of Morocco (01380 828533, www.morocco-travel.com) or Pettitts (01892 515966, www.pettitts.co.uk).

Further information: www.visitmorocco.com.

Times recommends

• Burma: to go or not to go?
• The 8 best wintersun city breaks
• Dubai: the insider's guide