Best Pet-Friendly Family Hotels in Marrakech

The real choice in Marrakech is between the medina and the outskirts. Inside the walls, you are close to Jemaa el-Fna and the souks, but your dog has to cope with crowds, scooters and noise. In the Palmeraie or towards the Atlas foothills, you trade that proximity for gardens and space where a dog can walk calmly, with the old city a taxi ride away.

The medina riads suit families who want to walk to the souks and accept that the dog will need time to adjust. Riad Serendip is a renovated 19th-century riad with seven rooms around a tiled courtyard, and its owner, described as a French-Moroccan dog handler, walks first-time visitors through the medina to help dogs get used to the noise and crowds. Dar HISANE, in the Mouassine quarter, has five bedrooms around a small central patio, accepts dogs under 15 kg free of charge and has English-speaking owners. Both are small, so the courtyard stays quiet in the evening once the lanes outside fill up.

Royal Mansour Marrakech is the medina option with the most space. It is a palace built around a 53-villa enclave inside the walls, and each riad-style suite has its own private courtyard with grass, which solves the morning and evening walk without stepping into the lanes. The hotel offers in-suite pet bedding and dietary catering for animals. For a family with a larger dog, or with children who will not want to queue in the busy souks every day, a private courtyard is the feature that makes a medina stay workable. It also keeps you a short walk from the Koutoubia and Jemaa el-Fna.

Outside the walls, the Palmeraie north of the city gives you gardens instead of alleys. Almaha Marrakech Restaurant & SPA has 30 garden suites, a hammam and walled grounds with irrigated lawns and shaded paths, which is the easiest setting on this page for daily dog walks. Its pet policy is spelled out: bedding and food bowls are provided, with a one-off cleaning fee rather than a nightly surcharge. Further out, Upupa de l'Atlas sits 20 minutes south of the medina at the foot of the Atlas Mountains, with a swimming pool, organic gardens and grounds large enough for off-lead walks. Pets are accepted there with a small supplement.

My recommendation follows the size of your dog and how you plan to spend your days. For a small dog and a family that wants to explore the souks on foot, I would choose Dar HISANE or Riad Serendip, the latter for its owner's help with the first walk in the medina. For a larger dog or a calmer stay, I would choose Almaha in the Palmeraie, where the walled lawns make every walk simple. Upupa de l'Atlas suits families who would rather base themselves in the countryside and visit the old city on a day trip, with the Atlas foothills on the doorstep.