La Mamounia Melds Moroccan Heritage with International Hospitality

The riads of the medina walls are beautiful, wondrous little jewel boxes, but they can’t be compared to the grandeur and pomp of La Mamounia. Just over a century ago, the palace that the hotel calls home was a wedding gift from the sultan of Morocco to his son. Today, it’s the epicenter of elevated hospitality for the country. Explore the sprawling gardens—full of rosemary and fragrant mint—behind the central building or around the pool deck, and witness the fact that people have come here from every part of the world. With them comes an expectation of luxury that the hotel is keen to exceed.

La Mamounia balances heritage and style with new additions that speak to worldly travelers: an Italian restaurant under the helm of renowned chef Simone Zanoni, a padel court in the gardens was installed last year, and the signature spa is a welcomed reprieve from the dust encountered after a morning spent wandering the medina.

The remnants of the original palace can still be seen—in the tiered stairways and intricately carved moldings in the ceilings. The hallways are marked with portraits and sketches from the hotel’s background and history as a point of pride for the city and Moroccan royalty. Cab drivers, while bringing passengers to other hotels, regularly point to it as they pass and explain to riders, it’s “very beautiful, La Mamounia.”

There are two Jean-Georges restaurants, L’Asiatique and L’Italien, on site, as well as a Dior boutique, a spa, a cinema, tea rooms, and so much more. And once you’re rested and ready to get back to shopping in the heart of the medina or scooping up souvenirs for friends back home, the massive square of Jemaa el-Fnaa is only a ten-minute walk away.