Mandarin Oriental, Marrakech

If your idea of a visit to Marrakech just wouldn’t be complete without a stay in a riad hotel in the medina, then we’ve got dozens of options for you. But the new Mandarin Oriental, Marrakech might just open your eyes to another way of experiencing this most storied of North African cities. It’s no riad, of course — the scale just wouldn’t work for a venture of Mandarin Oriental’s stature — but neither is it a traditional full-size luxury hotel. Instead it takes a page from the villa resorts of the Far East, encompassing over fifty villas, each one practically a riad unto itself.

There are suites as well, in case you don’t need a whole villa’s worth of space. Even at the entry level they’re impossibly luxurious, mixing modern comforts and contemporary design with traditional Moroccan materials and crafts. Meanwhile the villas seamlessly blend indoor and outdoor spaces, and come with Jacuzzis, walk-in steam showers, and an external kitchen for your butler (!) to prepare meals.

All accommodations, from suites to villas to penthouse, come with a plunge pool or a proper lap pool, and the spa adds an indoor pool as well as a fitness center, a hammam, and an encyclopedic menu of treatments. Four restaurants include not just Moroccan and Mediterranean cuisines but a Chinese option as well. If there’s one sacrifice you make, it’s that you’re twenty minutes from the medina — understandable, given how much space a hotel like this requires. But thanks to the hotel’s shuttle service, you’ll be in the souk in two shakes, any time you like.