Where to stay in Morocco: the best places and hotels

Marrakech is Morocco's great showstopper. Inside its rose-red walls lie the souks, the Koutoubia mosque and Jemaa el-Fna, the square that turns into an open-air theatre of food stalls, musicians and storytellers every evening. Outside them, palm-shaded resorts, golf estates and smart restaurants cater to a different kind of indulgence.

Sleep in a riad in the Medina for the full experience, or in Hivernage for modern hotels with big pools and nightlife a short walk from the walls. The city is also the natural base for day trips into the High Atlas and the Agafay Desert.

Fez el-Bali, the old medina, is one of the largest car-free urban areas on earth and one of the best-preserved medieval cities anywhere, a warren of thousands of lanes where donkeys still carry the goods. Peer down into the leather tanneries, slip into the tiled courtyards of the madrasas and let yourself get thoroughly, gloriously lost.

The best stays are restored palaces and riads inside the walls, many lovingly decorated by local craftsmen, with roof terraces looking over a sea of minarets. For something contemporary, Sahrai sits on a hillside overlooking the medina, with a sleek, designer take on Moroccan style. Hire a guide for your first day: you'll thank us.

High in the Rif mountains of the north, Chefchaouen is the Morocco of a thousand photos: a hillside medina washed in every shade of blue, with flower pots on the steps, cats on the doorsteps and the mountains rising steeply behind. Life centres on Plaza Uta el-Hammam, beside the old kasbah, and on the spring at Ras el-Maa, where locals gather in the evenings.

Hotels are small and personal: riads in the medina with roof terraces and mountain views, a spa riad by the Bab el-Onsar gate, and larger hotels with pools a short drive out of town. This is a place to slow down, hike in the hills and linger after the day-trippers leave.

Essaouira is Morocco with the volume turned down. Its whitewashed, blue-shuttered medina sits behind sturdy sea ramparts, the fishing port bobs with blue boats and wheeling gulls, and sardines are grilled almost as soon as they're landed. The Atlantic wind that keeps it cool in summer also makes it a favourite with kitesurfers and windsurfers.

Pick a riad inside the walls with ocean views from the roof, a seafront hotel a short walk along the long sandy beach, or the golf resort on the edge of town, with two courses and a spa. The Gnaoua music festival fills the streets every year.

Agadir was rebuilt from scratch after the 1960 earthquake, so don't come for old-world charm. Come for the beach: a long, gently curving bay of golden sand with a palm-lined promenade and a mild winter climate that makes it a favourite escape from the British grey. The ruined kasbah on the hill above town has the best view of it all.

Big, comfortable hotels line the bay, many with spas, kids' clubs and pools a few steps from the sand. Surfers and style-seekers head a little north to Taghazout Bay, where a surf village has grown into a resort area with Fairmont and Hilton hotels overlooking the Atlantic.

Over the High Atlas, Ouarzazate is the hinge between mountains and desert, a sun-baked town of earthen kasbahs and enormous skies. Its film studios have hosted a long list of Hollywood epics, and the extraordinary fortified village of Aït Benhaddou, about 30 km away, has starred in more films than most actors.

It's a natural overnight stop on the road to the Dadès and Draa valleys and the dunes beyond. Stay in a central hotel with a pool, a guesthouse with a spa, or an ecolodge in the quiet palm oasis of Fint, just outside town.

This is the Sahara of the imagination. Near Merzouga, the dunes of Erg Chebbi rise in great orange waves, glowing at sunrise and sunset, and camel treks lead out to camps among the sand. Erfoud, the nearest town, is known for its dates and fossils and makes a comfortable base 30 to 40 minutes from the big dunes.

Sleep in a kasbah-style hotel in a palm grove, a palace-style riad at the edge of town, or a luxury camp in the desert itself for the full star-filled experience. It's a long drive from Marrakech, so build in a night in Ouarzazate or the Dadès Valley on the way.

Tangier has always been a crossroads. Perched on the Strait of Gibraltar with Spain in sight on clear days, it has a whitewashed kasbah, a medina tumbling down to the port and a long history as a magnet for writers and artists. A smart modern waterfront has polished it up without taking away its edge.

El Minzah is the classic address in the centre, facing the strait, and the Hilton is a modern city-centre option. For beach time, stay at the Hilton Al Houara, set in protected forest with private access to the Atlantic, or the Sofitel Tamuda Bay on the Mediterranean coast to the east.

Casablanca is Morocco's economic engine and its most cosmopolitan city. The Hassan II Mosque rises straight from the Atlantic, its minaret among the tallest in the world, while the centre is a trove of Art Deco and Moorish-revival buildings. Plenty of flights land here, and it's worth a night rather than a glance from the taxi window.

Hotels are polished and business-friendly, from the Four Seasons to a 28-floor tower with panoramic city and sea views. About an hour up the coast by train, Rabat, the capital, is calmer and greener, with the Kasbah des Oudayas, the Hassan Tower and a Waldorf Astoria 34 floors up in the Mohammed VI Tower.