★★★★★ Rated 4.5/5 — 204 Google reviews · 576 reviews · 5.0/5 on Tripadvisor · Written by a licensed Marrakech tour operator, on the road since 2011
Marrakech’s grande dame has done it again: La Mamounia has been named among Robb Report’s 50 Greatest Luxury Hotels on Earth for 2026 — the American luxury bible’s experts placing the century-old palace in their Africa selection, weeks after Travel + Leisure crowned it Best City Hotel in North Africa and the Middle East. For a hotel that turned one hundred in 2023, the trophies keep arriving with remarkable regularity.
Why this hotel keeps winning
La Mamounia is not simply old and beautiful; it is the rare palace hotel that renews itself without losing its soul. Opened in 1923 inside royal gardens — land gifted in the 18th century by the sultan to his son Prince Moulay Mamoun, whence the name — it has absorbed a Jacques Garcia restoration and a 2020 refresh by design duo Jouin Manku while keeping what matters: eight hectares of centuries-old olive trees inside the medina walls, craftsmanship in every ceiling, and a staff culture that treats hospitality as inheritance rather than industry. That last part is what the juries keep rewarding.
The legend, briefly
Winston Churchill wintered here for decades, set up his easel on the balcony and told Franklin Roosevelt this was “the loveliest spot in the whole world” — the hotel’s bar still carries his name. Alfred Hitchcock shot scenes of The Man Who Knew Too Much in the gardens in the 1950s; the guest book since reads like the 20th century’s index. Few hotels anywhere carry this much story per square metre.
Do you need to sleep there to taste it?
Honest answer: no — and yes. Non-guests have traditionally been able to book the restaurants, the pâtisserie terrace or afternoon tea and walk the gardens with a reservation and smart dress (policies shift with season and occupancy — we confirm before sending anyone). But the full spell, the one the awards describe, belongs to the overnight: the gardens at dawn before the city wakes are the point.
Where it fits in a Morocco trip
La Mamounia is the address our guests ask about most when the brief says Marrakech luxury — the palace-hotel tier in our riad-palace-resort taxonomy — and it slots naturally as the Marrakech chapter of our Royal Morocco journey (from €1500 per person) or any tailor-made luxury route. Book the house early: the famous suites go months ahead in high season, awards or no awards. The wellness rituals that pair with a stay — hammam culture above all — live in our wellness FAQ.
Everything on this page can be woven into a private itinerary — start from Morocco city breaks or book the 7-day Imperial Cities circuit, and we shape the rest around you.
Salma Benkirane — Salma writes about the Marrakech that sits one layer beneath the postcards — riad architecture, garden history, the hammam ritual, and where the city's craftspeople actually work. She spends most of her research time walking: a route is only recommended here after she has timed it, priced it and found the shade along the way. Her favourite hour in the city is the one just after the dusk call to prayer, when the lanes north of the Ben Youssef Medersa go quiet.
