Bab Jdid, Medina ramparts

La Mamounia

★★★★★

Few hotels anywhere have the aura of La Mamounia. The story begins in the eighteenth century, when the Alaouite sultan Mohammed ben Abdallah gave his son a vast orchard just inside the ramparts as a wedding gift, and the prince made it a place for garden parties. In the twentieth century the Moroccan railway company built a hotel on the site, and the French architects Henri Prost and Antoine Marchisio blended Moroccan building traditions with Art Deco, opening it in 1923. Winston Churchill wintered here in the 1930s and painted the view of the Atlas from his balcony, calling it a marvellous place; a bar and a suite still carry his name. In 1946 the painter Jacques Majorelle took part in a major renovation, and in 1953 Alfred Hitchcock filmed scenes for The Man Who Knew Too Much here, bringing a stream of stars in his wake. Jacques Garcia reimagined the interiors between 2006 and 2009 with Moroccan artisans, and the design studio Jouin Manku refreshed them again before a 2020 reopening, followed by a second phase completed in September 2023 for the centenary. The result is the most glamorous address in Morocco: a long, lantern-lit lobby of zellige and carved cedar, a garden of olive and orange trees, roses, cacti and palm-lined walks that feels like a private park, and a huge pool beneath a pavilion. Dining is a destination in itself, with four restaurants, four bars and two tea rooms, including an Italian restaurant led by Simone Zanoni, an Asian restaurant by Jean-Georges Vongerichten, a Moroccan restaurant and a pastry and tea room by Pierre Herme. The spa, with its hammams and indoor pool, is one of the finest in the city. Rooms, suites and private riads look over the gardens, the Koutoubia or the Atlas.

Who it suits: travelers for whom the hotel is part of the destination, honeymooners and milestone celebrations, and anyone who wants the Medina on the doorstep with a park-like retreat to come back to. Service is formal and polished, the dress code in restaurants and bars is smart, and the atmosphere is part grand hotel, part social hub, as Marrakech society comes for drinks, tea and dinner. Non-guests can book restaurants, tea and, at times, the spa, which is the best way to see the hotel if your budget does not stretch to a room.

Location math: the hotel is built against the ramparts at Bab Jdid, on the southwestern edge of the Medina. The Koutoubia is about ten minutes on foot and Jemaa el-Fna fifteen; the Saadian Tombs and the Kasbah are a similar distance to the south, and Hivernage restaurants and bars are just outside the walls. That combination, walkable to the old city yet calm and spacious, is the hotel's great advantage over Medina riads, which are more intimate but have no gardens on this scale and are harder to reach by car.

Practical notes: rates are among the highest in Morocco and peak in spring, autumn and over Christmas and New Year, when booking well ahead is essential. Garden-view and Atlas-view rooms on higher floors are the ones to ask for; Koutoubia views are lovely at dusk. Morocco charges a per-person nightly tourist tax on top of the room rate, often collected at check-out. Reserve tables and spa treatments when you book, especially in high season.