At-home beauty in Marrakech, area by area

Gueliz is the modern centre, the grid of cafes, shops and apartment blocks laid out in the French era and still the everyday heart of the new town. If you are in an apartment rental or a small hotel here, this is the straightforward case: real street addresses, a door, often a lift, and parking the artist can actually use.

Give the street and building, the floor, and any door code or buzzer. The artist drives or taxis over and comes up. Mornings before the heat and evenings after work are the busy slots, so book ahead if you want one.

Just south of Gueliz, Hivernage is the hotel and nightlife quarter: the big hotels along Avenue Mohammed VI, spas, restaurants and clubs. If you are here, you are most likely in a hotel, which keeps things easy. Share the hotel name and your room number, and the artist signs in at reception if the hotel asks.

This is the classic get-ready-before-a-night-out area, since dinner and the rooftops are a short walk from the room. Evening makeup and a blow-dry before going out are the common bookings.

Northeast of the centre, the Palmeraie is the palm grove: villas, resorts and private homes spread out among the trees, quiet and green. Space is never the issue here, you are often in a villa with a garden. Distance is the thing to plan for, because it sits outside the centre and the drive can be twenty minutes or more depending on where you are and the traffic.

Share the villa or resort name, a pin, and the gate or reception details. If there is a guard or a private entrance, a heads-up means the artist reaches your door without circling. Book with a little more lead time than you would in town, given the drive.

The medina is the walled old city, and it works differently from everywhere else. The lanes, the derbs, are too narrow for cars, so riads inside the walls are reached on foot. The artist parks or is dropped at the nearest gate, Bab Doukkala, Bab Laksour, the edge of the Jemaa el-Fnaa, whichever is closest, and walks in carrying the kit. This is completely normal and we plan for it.

Two things make a medina visit smooth. Share the riad name with a pin and the nearest landmark, because medina addresses are genuinely hard to find on their own. And if your riad can send someone to meet the artist at the gate, take them up on it, that is the quickest way in. Allow an extra ten minutes for the walk. Once inside, riads are a beautiful place to get ready, with courtyard light most new-town rooms cannot match.

Those four cover most visitors, but not everyone. Agdal and Targa, the Route de l'Ourika, the newer developments south of the city, the road out towards the airport: the artist reaches these too. The rule is simple, the further from the centre, the more lead time helps, and a clear pin always beats a written address in Marrakech.

If you are not sure you are covered, drop your location in when you book and we will tell you. The service is the same wherever you are: an artist at your door, tools and products in the kit, and payment after you are happy with the result.