La Mamounia, Marrakech, Morocco
Hotel Overview
Review of La Mamounia, by Graeme Harwood
The most famous hotel in Morocco, La Mamounia is still every bit as much a legend in its own lifetime as the umpteen global celebrities who’ve stayed here. You can read their comments in the Livre D’Or guestbook. One thing is clear: they keep coming back.
Experiencing the Mamounia is more than just about staying in the most centrally located of the smart hotels in Marrakech – a ten minute stroll away or five minutes by horse and buggy. It’s more than the aggregate of its deluxe five star facilities – impressive restaurants, bars, tennis courts, squash courts, a golf driving range, hammam, a casino, superb swimming pool and all the usual malarky.
It is to feel supremely good about yourself and life, knowing that you are plugged into something special. In 1943, Churchill magnanimously shared the secret with Roosevelt: his balcony at La Mamounia was ‘the most lovely spot in the whole world’. It was a view he painted in comfort many times over.
At La Mamounia, high quality 'moments' hit you one after the other. The common parts, to use a woefully inadequate term, are verging on the monumental. That’s why you will see visitors reeling around in awe, cameras clicking and flashing , films dropping out like so many shelled peas. This can be off-putting for some - the place is a tourist attraction in its own right. And, by the way, if the Moroccan restaurant doesn’t knock you senseless you need surgery.
The 17 acre, 200 years old gardens, originally an 18th-century Sultan’s gift to his son, Moulay Mamoun (hence, ‘La Mamounia’) are beautifully healing, whether or not the souks are beginning to get to you. Just try a swim in that large, heated outdoor pool, simultaneously under the direct rays of the sun and snow-capped gaze of the Atlas Mountains.
Feast on the hotel’s heady mix of Art Deco meets Morocco, haunted throughout by a beguilingly understated perfume especially designed for and exclusive to La Mamounia. Best of all, leave the comfortably informal, muted earth tones of the bedroom and get onto that balcony facing Parkside - and do sunrise, lunch and sunset there. Marrakech doesn’t have that many visitable tourist sights anyway so don’t feel guilty: you will remember a day in the Mamounia long after the others have been forgotten.
May I leave you with one final thought? To stay even one night at La Mamounia will be as good for your soul as USD 500 a night for a Parkside Double will be bad for your wallet. But it *should* have been worth it. You may have bought what is normally unbuyable: a deep contentment.
Facilities
Hotel Policies
Rooms
240Who stays here?
La Mamounia was made famous by Winston Churchill, who wintered in the hotel, painting the palm gardens, and Yves Saint Laurent, another Marrakech aficionado. The guest-book registers the signatures of Hollywood celebrities and heads of state – Hitchcock filmed the Doris Day-Jimmy Stewart thriller ‘The Man Who Knew Too Much’ here, while the royal houses of Spain, Japan and Monaco have wandered through its historic arches.
Come for...
- The gourmet delights of the three restaurants
- Cultural exploration of Marrakech
- Seriously exotic shopping
Not Suitable for...
- Shallow pockets
Children
Not ideal for young children needing constant supervision, however the luxurious three-bedroom riads in the gardens are great for large family groups.
Eating in
There are three world-class restaurants, in the hotel: L’ Italien and Le Français both have two Michelin stars, led by chefs Don Alfonso Iccarino and Jean-Pierre Vigato respectively. Meanwhile, Le Marocain is destined to become one of the best tables in town to experience Moroccan cuisine: the 12-plate Moroccan salad entree is a must. The restaurants are open to the public.
The Press Say
"If you can’t afford to stay, at least take a look around the gardens: 17 wonderful acres of olives and oranges, palms and peacefulness, created as a wedding present from a sultan to his son." Times 06
Reviews
Review of La Mamounia, by Belinda Jackson
Finally, North Africa's most renowned hotel, the grand dame La Mamounia, has reopened after an extensive three year renovation led by French designer Jacques Garcia, whose project include Paris's Hotel Costes and the Sultan of Brunei's Parisian address.
Built in 1923, the Moroccan icon is right beside Marrakech's main square, Djamma el Fna, and the crazy markets of the historic old town, where snake charmers, fortune tellers, belly dancers and henna tattooists compete in a raucous melee.
However, stepping into the hotel, calm reigns and the codeword is 'elegance'. The sensitive and lavish restoration renovation sees the number of rooms and suites double from 100 to 214, including three luxurious riads, set amongst the eight acres of historic, 200-year-old gardens.
The hotel is set amongst luxuriant palm gardens, which curl around pavilions housing Le Marocain restaurant and an intimate Salon de The, and the original 28x28 meter pool is lined with bespoke design sun loungers. If souks aren't your style, the shopping gallery features luxury labels including Gucci and Chopard. The lavish spa is 2500m2 featuring Shisiedo and traditional Moroccan ingredients such as argan oil, rosewater and mineral clays with manicures by Le Ric and hair by Jean-Michel Farerta Paris.
The rooms and suites are now set in two wings, looking toward the square and the landmark 12th-century mosque, El Katoubia, or out over the pool and the palm gardens that stretch to the snow-capped Atlas Mountains. The design blend chic Arabesque style with non-intrusive modern touches, such as iPods and flat screen televisions.