By the Best Mountain Hotels editorial team ·
Michlifen Resort & Golf is Morocco's grand mountain retreat, an alpine-style lodge at 1,650 metres in the Middle Atlas, just outside Ifrane, the town known as Little Switzerland. With 71 rooms and suites, a 3,500-square-metre spa with hammam rituals, a golf course looking over forested slopes and one Michelin Key, it is a surprising, luxurious escape from the heat of Fez.
Michlifen Resort & Golf is Morocco's grand mountain retreat, an alpine-style lodge at 1,650 metres in the Middle Atlas, just outside Ifrane, the town known as Little Switzerland. With 71 rooms and suites, a 3,500-square-metre spa with hammam rituals, a golf course looking over forested slopes and one Michelin Key, it is a surprising, luxurious escape from the heat of Fez.
Location: Ifrane, the Middle Atlas
The Middle Atlas is Morocco's green mountain range, north of the High Atlas, with forests of Atlas cedar, crater lakes, Barbary macaques and winter snow. Ifrane, built in the 1930s in the style of an Alpine town, with chalets and pitched roofs, is one of the few places in Africa where it regularly snows.
Michlifen stands on a hill just outside Ifrane, at 1,650 metres, about an hour by road from Fez.
Rooms at Michlifen
There are 71 rooms and suites with the bones of an Alpine lodge, with wood panelling, fireplaces and roll-top baths in the suites, and views over the forested slopes.
Facilities at Michlifen
The spa covers 3,500 square metres, with hammam rituals and a Turkish bath, and the golf course looks out over forested hills towards the distant desert. There is a restaurant and a bar. The cedar forests around Ifrane are home to Barbary macaques, and in snowy winters there is sledging and simple skiing in the area.
The mountain moment
The defining moment is a walk through the cedar forests of the Middle Atlas, where troops of Barbary macaques play among the trees, followed by a long afternoon in the hammam.
In winter, waking up to snow on the cedars is one of the great surprises of Morocco.
Why Michlifen is one of the best mountain hotels
Michlifen earns its place as Morocco's most luxurious mountain hotel, in a landscape few visitors to the country ever see.
For the High Atlas, see Kasbah Tamadot and Kasbah du Toubkal, and for a simple stay near Imlil, Douar Samra.
When to go to Michlifen
Spring, from April to June, and autumn, from September to November, bring mild days and green forests. Summer is pleasantly cool compared with Fez and Marrakech, and winter brings snow and crisp, sunny days.
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Questions, answered
- Where is Michlifen Resort & Golf?
- Michlifen is just outside Ifrane, at 1,650 metres in Morocco's Middle Atlas, about an hour by road from Fez.
- Does Michlifen have a spa?
- Yes. The spa covers 3,500 square metres, with hammam rituals and a Turkish bath.
- Does it snow in Ifrane?
- Yes. Ifrane is one of the few places in Morocco where it regularly snows in winter.
- Does Michlifen have a Michelin Key?
- Yes. Michlifen holds one Michelin Key.
- When is the best time to visit the Middle Atlas?
- April to June and September to November; winter for snow.
