Pure Luxury at the Royal Palm Marrakech

After our weeks stay in Marrakech, I couldn't resist spending one final night at the brand new 5* Deluxe Royal Palm property. It is the second Royal Palm, flagship of the Beachcomber Hotel group, the original being in Mauritius. This is their first venture out of the Indian Ocean, and I was really looking forward to it.

To get to the hotel, you drive south out of Marrakech itself, with a simply stunning view of the plains and then the Atlas Mountains in front of you. At the end of March, they were still covered in snow and you can even ski there. 20 minutes later and we had arrived. The care and attention on our arrival was to continue throughout the stay, with a member of staff appearing before you even realised you needed them.

At the moment there are two restaurants open but when the hotel is completed in September 2014, there will be two more. We ate lunch in l'Olivier which is the pool restaurant, and again, the staff could not be more helpful. While there wasn’t a specific children's menu, the chef suggested sea bass fillets and fries, which were absolutely delicious and wolfed down by hungry children before they ran off to the pool. The Executive Chef, Philippe Jourdin, has run many two Michelin star restaurants, so there is a high standard (and the prices reflect this!)

The wonderful pool which runs along the front of the hotel is heated all year round and has a shallow children's section at the far end. The children loved the kids club, where they were treated like little prince and princesses, with their own (heated) splash pool, mini tennis courts and a huge range of inside activities from dressing up, arts and crafts to a fantastic tree house, and lots of lovely wooden toys and games. Our lovely guest relations manager Cherihane, arranged for their dinner to be served there so that we could eat in the main restaurant, Le Caravane, at night.

There can't be much nicer ways to start an evening than a cocktail, watching the sun set over the Atlas Mountains. Dinner was, as you would expect, excellent, and the sommelier was more than happy to recommend a wine to match the salmon and lamb dishes we ordered. The rooms (all suites) are definitely the most luxurious that I have stayed in and I have been lucky enough to stay in some lovely hotels! Thick fluffy towels were large enough to wrap two children in, the 20 million thread count sheets were as soft as you like and the duvets were made of the finest thing that duvets can be made of. OK, so I liked the rooms.

I was shown some other rooms the following day, including one of the four penthouse suites which tops each accommodation building. Stunning views of the mountains from the 18 hole golf course (apparently one of the best in Marrakech, according to some other guests we met), two separate bedrooms, a plunge pool, fireplace and Butler service, this really is the ultimate in luxury.

I would not hesitate to recommend the Royal Palm Marrakech to anyone who is arranging a special birthday or celebration, for groups of friends or golfers, for a luxury family break or just for the sheer hell of it. You will not regret it and it will be an unforgettable experience!

I have used some of the hotels own images, as mine would never do it justice!