Rabat – La Mamounia hotel in Marrakech has recently been the subject of significant attention, making headlines after its role in ending the journey of fake socialite Anna Sorokin was highlighted by a new Netflix series.
Titled “Inventing Anna,” the series tells the real story of Anna Sorokin, who managed to maintain a fake lifestyle as a high class socialite while using the name Anna Delvey.
Sorokin’s scam had a successful run for many years, but it was foiled when she could not afford a stay at La Mamounia, with a friend who accompanied her on the trip to Morocco uncovering her years of unpaid bills and collaborating with the authorities.
Sorokin was sentenced to 4 to 12 years of prison time in the US, and her story captivated many who were fascinated by her social skills and the lengths she reached to keep up her scam.
Notably, however, eyes were drawn to La Mamounia in Marrakech as a luxury destination that attracted even a high class (fake) socialite.
Read Also: ‘Inventing Anna’: How Morocco’s La Mamounia Hotel Ended Journey of Fake Socialite Anna Sorokin
La Mamounia Hotel
Located at the heart of the old city of Marrakech, La Mimouna faces the Atlas Mountains.
Built by the pioneering French architect Henri Post and Antoine Marchisio in 1929, the hotel is not only renowned in Morocco, but also considered one of the best worldwide.
Options for accommodation at the hotel range from luxury rooms to private Riads. The hotel’s rooms mix western influences and Art Deco aesthetics with more traditional Moroccan decor.
Its 135 rooms offer various options, such as twin or deluxe rooms, as well as La Mamounia’s signature “Superior” rooms.
Suite options in the hotel are equally varied, with various options of views and locations, including terraces and the hotel’s own garden suites.
In addition, the hotel offers its signature suites to visitors, each of which draws from the history of the hotel, the city, and Morocco.
Notably, these include the Churchill suite, where Britain’s legendary Prime Minister used to stay during his visits to the city, and the Koutoubia suite, which draws inspiration for its decorations from the city of Marrakech itself.
The Churchill suite features Arabic calligraphy art and overlooks the same gardens where he loved to paint during his visits to Morocco.
Last but not least, the establishment offers extravagant luxury Riads to its visitors, including accommodations for up to six people as well as private pools and terraces.
No luxury hotel experience stops at the accommodations, of course. La Mamounia offers a host of fine dining establishments, such as “L’Italien Par Jean-Georges” and the hotel’s Moroccan restaurant.
In addition to this, the hotel offers bars, tea halls, and spa facilities. Visitors can also savor exclusive facilities like La Mamounia’s luxury cinema hall, and seminars and other events that get occasionally organized.
The hotel’s guests can enjoy a luxury cinema hall exclusive to the establishment.
International accolades
La Mamounia is known worldwide for its impeccable courtly service, as travelers are often welcomed by fresh glasses of beverage and dates, emblematic of Morocco’s signature hospitality.
This service is perhaps what earned the hotel a worldwide reputation as one of the best hospitality establishments.
The hotel has gained international acclaim, with many travel and tourism publications and organizations crowning it the best in Morocco and Africa — and of course one of the best in the world.
La Mimounia is known for courtly service that reflects the hospitality values that Morocco is well known for.
Last year, Conde Nast Traveler, a luxury travel and hospitality magazine, ranked La Mamounia as the best hotel in the world.
“There’s a reason that the actors and rock stars have kept coming; the fashionistas with kaftans and cigarettes,” the magazine’s review read. “For all that it is woven into Marrakech like the knots in a Berber rug, La Mamounia has never, ever been boring.”
Another review of La Mamounia in Conde Nast reads: “It sounds as though it would all be a little too ornate and too much. “And then you get there, and the tiled walls, silk-draped ceilings, marble fountains and extensive gardens all make sense.”
Having known no shortage of notable visitors, from Winston Churchill to Paul McCartney, Marrakech’s iconic hotel was even the place where cinema legend Alfred Hitchcock filmed his 1956 film The Man Who Knew Too Much.
It therefore only makes sense that the establishment has become synonymous with the city in which it is located, and that it has become a must see destination for high class travelers and socialites of the world, including the fake ones.
