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Five-star One MICHELIN Key Medina, Essaouira

Heure Bleue Palais

An old riad built against the medina walls beside Bab Marrakech, thirty-three rooms round a flowering courtyard, and a heated pool on the roof above the old town.

Book with the hotel for Heure Bleue Palais (opens in a new tab) Fly to Essaouira

Opens the hotel's own website. We have no arrangement with the hotel.

MICHELIN
One Key
Rooms
33 rooms and suites
Membership
Relais & Châteaux
From the airport
About 15 minutes from Essaouira

The hotel

The sleeping beauty by the gate.

Heure Bleue stands just inside Bab Marrakech, one of the gates of the walled medina of Essaouira, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and shares its back wall with the old town ramparts. The riad went up on the site of an old fondouk, a lodging for traders passing through the port. In the town it is known as the sleeping beauty.

It opened as a hotel in 2004 and is now a member of Relais & Châteaux. Four floors of rooms look down on a central courtyard planted with flowers. Around it are a billiards room, a bar in the colonial style, glass lamps and a small cinema that shows old films. Up on the roof, a heated pool looks out over the old city.

  • The roof A small heated pool with a deck and loungers, a bar and a grill, above the rooftops of the medina at sunset.
  • Evenings in A billiards room and a home cinema with surround sound, best booked ahead.
  • Hammam and spa Black marble walls, a traditional hammam and argan oil massages.

Rooms & suites

Four styles of suite round the courtyard.

Rooms and suites are spread over four floors; suites come in African, Portuguese, English and Oriental styles, with king beds and large tubs.

  • Rooms Classic and Deluxe Rooms The Deluxe rooms are a little larger. Standard rooms have a shower only.
  • Suites Senior Suites A central fireplace divides the bedroom from the sitting area; the Oriental suites are a deep red.
  • Families Family Suite Two bedrooms, each with its own bathroom, and a large living room.

Dining

Courtyard, salon and roof.

Restaurants as listed by the hotel and travel specialists. Shown for information.

  • Salon Oriental Moroccan, Souiri and European Themed nights at weekends
  • Salon Anglais Cocktails, tea, kemia and small plates In the salon or on the patio
  • SAMA Grills The new restaurant on the roof terrace

Good to know

Before you go.

  • Arrival Check-in from 2 pm, check-out by noon.
  • Children All ages welcome. Under-fours stay free in a cot or an existing bed; extra beds are charged and must be confirmed by the hotel.
  • Pets Not accepted.
  • The pool It has no shallow end and no lifeguard.

Getting there

Flying to Essaouira.

Essaouira-Mogador airport is about fifteen minutes away by car, and private jets clear customs there too. Marrakech Menara, with many more flights, is two to three hours inland by road.

Business & First Class Airline flights Ryanair connects Essaouira with London Stansted and Madrid, Transavia with Paris Orly, and Air Arabia with Rabat. easyJet and Vueling add seasonal flights from France and Spain. Request a fare Private Jet Private aviation Foreign aircraft can clear customs here directly. Slots are required for every movement, and the tower works from sunrise to sunset, with other hours on request, so we arrange both when the flight is booked. Request a jet
Approximate flying time by midsize jet to Essaouira
  • Lisbon 1 h 25
  • Madrid 1 h 50
  • Geneva 3 h 10
  • Paris 3 h 15
  • London 3 h 25

Questions

What guests ask first.

How many MICHELIN Keys does Heure Bleue Palais have?
One. The MICHELIN Guide lists Heure Bleue Palais with one Key.
Is Heure Bleue Palais inside the medina?
Yes. It stands just inside Bab Marrakech, built against the old walls of the medina.
Which airport is best for Heure Bleue Palais?
Essaouira-Mogador, about fifteen minutes by car. Marrakech has more flights but sits two to three hours away by road.
Can SkyCourtage arrange the flight to Essaouira?
Yes. We arrange Business and First Class seats on scheduled airlines and private jet charter to Essaouira, with one final price, our margin included. The hotel is booked with the hotel or through our booking partner.

Also in Essaouira

Other hotels worth the trip.

All of Essaouira

Staying at Heure Bleue Palais?

Book the room, then the flight.

Rates and availability come from the hotel itself. For the journey to Essaouira, a Business or First Class seat or an aircraft of your own: tell us the date and we come back with one final price, our margin included.

Book with the hotel for Heure Bleue Palais (opens in a new tab)
Business & First Private Jet

Opens the hotel's own website. We have no arrangement with the hotel.