Marrakech Marathon 2027 for Groups: Privatise Riad Vendôme

Riad Vendôme has 12 rooms and is hired exclusively for 25 to 35 runners, rising to around 50 people with a partner riad 100 metres away. During an exclusive hire there are no other guests in the house: every room, the pool, the hammam, the rooftop jacuzzi and the terrace belong to your club alone. Bed configuration is set before you arrive, so doubles, twins and triples are arranged to suit how your group wants to room together.

Exclusive hire is priced per night according to group size: around 1200 euros a night for about 25 runners, 1350 euros for 30 and 1500 euros for 35, over 3 or 4 nights. These are indicative rates to be confirmed against your exact dates and the services you want included. The rate covers the whole house, so non-running companions are counted the same as runners rather than charged separately.

Three or four nights around the race, with clubs usually arriving on Thursday 28 or Friday 29 January for the Sunday 31 January race. Four nights gives you an arrival day, a day for bib collection and a shakeout run, a quiet day before the race, race day itself, and an unhurried departure. Three nights works if your club is flying in on the Friday.

Yes. Chef Naima prepares a carbo dinner for the whole group on the eve of the race, pasta and rice based and served early enough that nobody is eating late the night before a marathon. It is included in the group exclusive hire rather than charged as an extra, and the menu is adapted to any dietary requirements the club sends in advance.

Yes. A recovery spa package for the whole group is included: traditional hammam with steam, black soap and a scrub, an argan oil massage, and the rooftop jacuzzi heated to 36 degrees. It runs through the afternoon and evening of race day in rotations of four to six, so nobody queues, and because the riad is privatised the spa follows your timetable rather than fixed opening hours.

Very much so. While you are on the course they have the run of the house, and Éric arranges a parallel programme: a Moroccan cooking class with Chef Naima, a guided walk through the souks and the Bahia Palace, or a half-day excursion into the Agafay desert. Companions are included in the exclusive hire headcount at the same rate as runners.

Yes, because the rate is for the whole house rather than per runner. A group of 30 made up of 22 runners and 8 supporters is priced exactly like a group of 30 runners. This usually works in a club treasurer favour, since supporters help fill the rooms and bring the per-person cost down for everyone.

The marathon starts at 7:45 AM and the half marathon at 9:15 AM, both on Menara Avenue, behind the Sofitel Hotel, in the Hivernage district, while the riad is in the medina. Some clubs walk it as a warm-up and others prefer to be dropped off; whichever you choose is agreed in advance and written into your group quote, so nobody is looking for a taxi at 6:30 in the morning.

At the Marathon Village on Koutoubia square, which is a few minutes on foot from the riad in Dar El Bacha. Being inside the medina means the whole club can collect bibs together without transport, usually on the Friday or Saturday before the race.

Yes. Race-day breakfast is served at whatever time your coach asks for, well before the 7:45 AM start, and it is kept deliberately plain: porridge, bread, honey, jam, bananas, coffee and tea rather than a full Moroccan spread. This is one of the practical reasons clubs privatise the whole house, since the kitchen runs on your schedule instead of standard hotel hours.

Yes. Check-out is normally 11:00, which on a marathon Sunday is roughly when the last runners are still on the course, so race day is handled differently and late check-out is held for the group. Everyone can shower, rest and eat before travelling, and the patio, pool and rooftop stay open to your group all afternoon as runners come back in across a wide spread of finishing times.

Late January in Marrakech is mild, with daytime temperatures around 18 to 22 degrees, and the early start means the race is run in the cool of the morning. The course is flat and fast, which is why many runners target a personal best here. It is also the cheapest time of year for flights into Marrakech, which matters when the cost is multiplied across a whole club.

Yes, return airport transfers are arranged for the group and staggered across the club different flights, since a group of thirty rarely lands together. Menara airport is a 15 to 20 minute drive from the medina. Because the lanes of the medina are too narrow for cars, a member of staff meets you at the nearest vehicle drop-off point and walks you in with your luggage.

No. Race entries are handled by the organiser on the official Marrakech Marathon site, where registration is open until 24 January 2027. We look after the accommodation, the meals and the recovery, not the bibs. If it is useful for your club secretary, we can set the two deadlines out side by side so that nobody enters the race and then finds the beds are gone.

Yes. Chef Naima adapts the menus, the carbo dinner and the cooking class to vegetarian, vegan, halal, gluten-free and allergy requirements, and the kitchen is halal by default. What we need is the club list in writing when you book rather than on the night, because the shopping is done at the market that morning.

Send your headcount and dates on WhatsApp at +212 600 608 608 and you receive a written group reply within minutes on WhatsApp, and a detailed quote within 24 hours. You then adjust it with your committee and confirm. Payment terms for group bookings are set out in that quote rather than applied automatically, which helps when a club is collecting money from thirty people over several weeks.

As early as the race date is confirmed, and well before individual entries open. Race weekend is the one date in the Marrakech calendar when the whole medina is booked by people wanting the same three nights, and a 12-room house can only be given to one group. Clubs that secure the riad tend to move first and finalise their runner list afterwards.

The next edition, the 37th, is on Sunday 31 January 2027. There is no separate 2026 edition: searches for "Marrakech Marathon 2026" refer to this same upcoming race.

Riad Vendôme is at 217 Derb El Halfaoui, in the Dar El Bacha district of the Marrakech medina. It is a 7-minute walk from Jemaa El-Fna square, close to the Koutoubia and the souks, so you reach the main sights on foot without needing a taxi. A member of staff meets you at the nearest vehicle drop-off point on arrival.

You book directly with the riad, not through a platform. Send your dates and group size on WhatsApp at +212 600 608 608 and you receive a first reply within minutes on WhatsApp, and a detailed quote within 24 hours. There is no automated booking engine: every stay is confirmed by a person, and the payment terms are set out in the quote you receive.