At the beginning of September, I spent 4 days at La Mamounia Marrakech, a luxury hotel in Marrakech. Here is my review.
La Mamounia Marrakech, an iconic hotel in Marrakech
La Mamounia is an incredible hotel that was voted best hotel in the world Readers’ Choice 2015, and the Best Hotel Middle East and Africa Readers’ Choice Award 2015. So many reason for all this awards that we will present you in the hotel review below!
La Mamounia History
First of all this hotel has a long story starting with a fairytale. La Mamounia is named for its 200-year-old gardens, which were given as an 18th century wedding gift to Prince Moulay Mamoun by his father. It was transformed later on into an hotel in 1923.
La Mamounia and Winston Churchill
Since 1923, La Mamounia was the house of statesmen like Charles de Gaulle, Rossevelt or Churchill who was a regular and called this place, “the most lovely spot in the whole world”. Winston Churchill is long gone but the hotel paid him a tribute by naming a bar at his name and by conserving the room he used to stay at.
La Mamounia and celebrities
But not only statesmen stayed in this hotel, royalty and celebrities also know this corner of paradise. Alfred hitchcock filmed the movie “the man who knew too much” and a part of Sex and the City was also filmed there ( I can hear you say : OMG it’s there !!!;).
It is also where David Beckham celebrated is 40’s birthday and Poppy Delevigne got married.
If all those people like to stay there it is for the simple reason that this place is magical. It made me feel like a Princess from A Thousand and One Nights.
Arrival and check in at la Mamounia Marrakech
La Mamounia organized at the airport a very quick security check at the airport and a chauffeur that brought us in a very nice Jaguar to the hotel. At check in, we sat in the lobby and experienced a traditional Moroccan welcome drink made out of almond milk and dates while a musician dressed in traditional Moroccan clothes was playing a stringed instrument nearby.
The lobby and most of the interior is in art deco style and was redesigned by french architect and interior designer Jacques Garcia ( who also designed places like hotel Costes to Fouquet’s restaurant in Paris) in 2009 after La Mamounia closed it’s door for a few years.
Pictured below : entrance and lobby of the hotel
Executive suite at La Mamounia, Marrakech
After this delicious snack we went up to our room, an executive suite with two balconies overlooking the 8 acre-garden of the hotel, the most comfortable bed and a white marble bathroom a girl can only dream of. In the living room we got a bottle of red wine as a welcome. Every day we got delivered fresh fruits in the morning and good night sweets in the evening.
Book your room at La Mamounia here
Pictured below : our room, an executive suite
Le Maroccain, La Mamounia restaurant
After relaxing a bit we went down for dinner at le Maroccain, one of the three restaurant of La Mamounia where we ate Tajine and Couscous while listening to live Morrocan traditional music.
I did ate a lot of couscous in my life (my mum used to have a passion for couscous, so she took me to a lot of Moroccan restaurants in Paris and learned herself how to cook couscous) but this was from far the best couscous I have ever eaten. As a starter I also ordered a plate made of a few traditional Moroccan dishes and had the most famous Moroccan dish : lamb brain !!
Pictured below : Restaurant and bar Le Marocain
Most luxurious rooms at La Mamounia
The following day, we started the day with a visit of the Winston Churchill room aka the room he used to stay in when he visited the hotel. In this room, some of his watercolours painting are exposed. We also visited one of the three private riad with private pool. All decorated in classic Moroccan-style courtyards for the ultimate luxury experience.
Pictured below : the Churchill room
Pictured below : one of the private riad
Everyday we started with a breakfast at the pool with a large offer of Moroccan and french pastries, all kind of eggs, french toast, pancakes, and local fruits.
Talking about local fruits, La Mamounia has its own 1500 square meters potager, and the food offered at La Mamounia comes from there.
During the day, we explored the buzzling city of Marrakech but came back to the hotel to relax and enjoy it’s many leisure amenities.
Indeed unlike most of the other riad in Marrakech, La Mamounia is situated outside the Medina and therefore in a more calm area but still not far away from any of the attraction in Marrakech so you can do everything by foot.
Garden and facilities at La Mamounia, Marrakech
La Mamounia has 200 guest rooms but since the hotel is so big and there is so much to do, you always feel like you are there alone. Pure luxury! During our stay, we took a walk into the 8 acre-gardens, enjoying exotic flowers, centuries-old olive trees, cactus plants, sculptures.
We also went window-shopping in the designer boutique of the hotel, my favorite stores were studio 14 and La Mamounia that is selling products and perfume of the hotel.
We swam, sunbathed and drunk mint tea at the outdoor pool, or enjoyed the indoor spa that has got the most beautiful indoor pool I have ever seen. Princess from A Thousand and One Nights, feeling here again.
Pictured below : the garden
Pictured below : pools of La Mamounia
