La Mamounia
La Mamounia entrance
General information
Architectural style	Moroccan architecture and Art Deco
Location	Avenue Bab Jdid, 40 040 Marrakech, Morocco
Coordinates	31°37′15″N 7°59′50″W / 31.62083°N 7.99722°W / 31.62083; -7.99722Coordinates: 31°37′15″N 7°59′50″W / 31.62083°N 7.99722°W / 31.62083; -7.99722
Completed	1929; 93 years ago (1929)
Design and construction
Architect	Henri Prost Antoine Marchisio

La Mamounia is a five-star hotel in Marrakech, Morocco, opposite the Kutubiyya Mosque.^[1][2] It is one of The Leading Hotels of the World. For several years; Condé Nast Traveler has named La Mamounia as the best hotel in the world.^[3] "Mamunia" means "safe haven" in the Arabic language.

The hotel has 135 rooms (with each room covering 30 to 45 square meters), 71 suites (with each suite covering 55 to 212 square meters), and 3 riads (with each covering 700 square meters) for rent.^[4] The riads each have three bedrooms, three bathrooms, salons, private swimming pools and terraces; and 24-hour butler service.^[4] Deluxe rooms have balconies, some of which overlook the gardens^[1] which include 700 orange trees and 5,000 rose bushes.^[5] The mattresses are from Sealy Corporation.^[1] The hotel also includes colonnaded courtyards, mosaic-tiled reflecting pools; including an 800-square-meter pool inspired by Menara gardens, and a 2,500-square-meter spa with three hammams; 10 wellness rooms, a hairdressing salon, manicure and pedicure cabins, an indoor heated pool, a jacuzzi, and a health club in a glass cube equipped with Life Fitness machines.^[4][6] It has signature restaurants by chefs Pierre Hermé and Jean-Georges Vongerichten.^[5] The wine cellar holds more than 3,500 bottles of wine.^[4] The hotel has a signature scent designed by perfumer Olivia Giacobetti which is reflected in the bath products.^[4][1]

Notable guests have included politicians such as Charles de Gaulle, Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Nelson Mandela, Ronald Reagan, and Helmut Kohl; entertainment industry stars include Kirk Douglas, Paul McCartney, Charlie Chaplin, and Omar Sharif, and athletes such as Zinedine Zidane.^{[7][3][5][4][8]}

History

The hotel was conceived in 1923 by architects Henri Prost and Antoine Marchisio on the 15-hectare palace and garden that sultan Mohammed ben Abdallah gave to his son, Moulay Mamoun in the 18th century. The hotel opened in 1929 and combines Moroccan architecture with the Art Deco style.^[4]

In a 1935 letter to his wife, Winston Churchill wrote about the hotel; "This is a wonderful place, and the hotel is one of the best I have ever used".^[7] One of the bars at the hotel is now named after Churchill.^[9]

La Mamounia was a filming location for Alfred Hitchcock's film The Man Who Knew Too Much, starring James Stewart and Doris Day in 1956.^[3]

"Mamunia" was written by Paul McCartney in 1973 whilst staying at the hotel.

Fast forward to September 2009, the hotel reopened after being closed for a 3-year renovation.^[10] The renovation was led by designer Jacques Garcia.^[9] It added more reds, yellow and black colors to the design as well as LED displays used for advertising and the removal of some original features during this renovation was controversial.^[1]

From 2010 to 2015, the hotel offered the La Mamounia literary award, a Moroccan literary prize of 200,000 Moroccan dirhams.

In 2019, the Government of Morocco announced that state-owned railway company ONCF which owned a 60% stake in the hotel would sell its interest in a privatization deal.^[11]

In 2020, the mansion, its four restaurants, four bars, and various pavilions were renovated. Chefs Pierre Hermé and Jean-Georges Vongerichten each redesigned one of the restaurants.^[12]