What a day trip gives you
Scenery, one or two activities, a meal, and your evening back in Marrakech. For most short trips that is the correct amount of desert, particularly if you also have a balloon morning or the medina to fit in.
What the night adds
The day groups leave in convoy around dusk, and the plateau goes quiet in a way it simply is not at midday. Dinner under canvas, a sky with no city glow in it, and sunrise over the Atlas ridge from your own terrace.
Who should stay
Couples, photographers, anyone on a second visit to Marrakech, and anyone whose trip is short on rest. Families with young children often do better with the dinner-and-show evening and their own beds afterwards.