Splendor at the Palais Amador

Luxury on a budget is all about the art of balancing, and detailed research. For 70€/night, Palais Amador is the ultimate living pennant of Luxury with a shallow pocket.

For the last few days of our vacation and after our 3 day-trip to Sahara desert, I know that we would probably just wanna chill by the pool or wander around a garden full of citrus trees in serenity, which the 2-hectare estate surrounded by endless farmland would hopefully do ;)

Palais Amador was Another deal that I managed to snap for our Marrakesh trip. This truly amazing Palais is a 30’ ride outside of Marrakesh to the middle of nowhere --a family-run, 10-bedroom boutique showcasing Hispano-Moorish architecture and ornate interiors.

The way into the estate--surrounded by pure farmland & olive groves

After reading all the reviews raving about this place, our expectations were pretty damn high. Still this place EXCEEDS all those expectations.

Featuring a large outdoor pool surrounded by olive groves, the grounds are truly tranquil. Interiors are ornate and luxurious; each of the 10 bedrooms is individually designed. The restaurant serves delicious authentic cuisine - choose to eat al fresco or inside in one of the elegant spaces. There is also a spa and traditional hammam, for those afternoons when you need to escape the heat. –Voyage Prive

On the day of check-in, we were picked up from the city centre by the wondrously polite and considerate Chauffeur from the Palais, who came looking for us a bit earlier than agreed time and patiently awaited us. Upon arriving at the estate, we were personally greeted by the manager & the owner themselves Azzedine & Maria and led into the extravagantly decorated living hall and then served with exquisite Moroccan peppermint tea and Baklava. (What a welcome--is this what being rich feels like?;)

We had a large room with authentic mosaic detailings and a wonderful surprise as the owner herself took us to the room at the beginning—a balcony to greet the sun abundantly streaming in and with a perfect view of the spetacular Atlas mountains—nothing else better than that for a holiday!

The entire estate is extremely well-kept and relaxation-inducing, from the comfy pool lounge area next to a hidden turtle nestle full of tiny little baby turtles (who are actually already over one year old!!!); to the entire manicured surroundings of olive farm and citrus trees, climbing flowers and a variety of comfort zones, whether in the pool hammock or in the garden, spa area or veranda. There is even an over-the-top royal-styled granite hamman if you wanna spoil yourself to the moon. (We had to ditch in for a 4-hour treat in Les Bains de la Marrakesh instead that we already reserved before arriving.)

During our stay, we simply chilllaxed, wandered around in the endless orange, lemon & grapefruit trees, plucked enough of the most juicy and delicious oranges and mandarins I swear I have ever eaten in my life. I even got to play and feed the baby lamp with a milk bottle, who curiously follows the worker everywhere who has been feeding her warmed milk since her mother abandoned her. One other little gem was the hotel's adorable Frenchie dog called Alfie, who was always happy to say hello and have a little play!

For breakfast we were always served traditional Morroccan breakfast with different types of homemade breads—which I already found boring since day 1 in this country—I'm not so much a bread person, and homemade jam. The most important part is always the freshly squeezed mandarin juice-the most exquisite golden droplets I’ve ever tasted in my life. Dinner requires reservation in advance and is quite pricey, but fitting with such a high-maintenanced estate. We were served the best lamp tagine we have in Morrocco! Tender, juicy, thick, sweet with prunes and crunchy almond, we had it twice and still wish we could stay longer just to eat the lamb tagine!

Overall the estate is of such high standards with incredible attention to detail. During the entire stay we were treated as VIP guests by all of the staff, who’s polite, attentive and I just cannot enthuse enough about how sweet-natured Marrocans truly are. This really is one of the things that impress me the most about this beautiful country.

Enough said.

Another review from other travelers that I quote below as I fully attest to, absolutely 100%:

Palais Amador is a piece of heaven ran by angels. We were treated like a king and queen by All of the angels working there. Palais Amador is tranquil, the beds and pillows divine, the rooms amazing, the food and wine is out of this world. The gardens are amazing and sitting by the pool you will look round the gardens and pinch yourself , thinking am I really in paradise, yes you are..This is a place of peace and respect, for swimming, reading and eating and drinking amazing food and wine and having the most peaceful sleep, you will come back refreshed and wanting to go back

Tips for adding a bit of luxury to your budget trip:

🙌 always double-check and compare from several websites

🙌 If you’re deal-obsessed like me, regularly check for deals that pop up on sites like urlaubguru, voyager prive, secretescapes or hoteltonight---I am member of all these sites

🙌 Travel off-season! Even though it’s supposed to be in the middle of winter, we got extremely lucky with the weather as it warmed up to even 26 degrees during the day, and the sun was shining brilliantly our entire stay except for one slightly cloudy day, which brings about another different, more subdued atmosphere.