Tan-Tan – La Mamounia, the iconic Marrakech palace hotel, has been named Morocco’s top hotel in Condé Nast Traveler’s 2026 Readers’ Choice Awards.
The palace ranked first among hotels in Morocco with a score of 99.65 out of 100, according to the US edition of Condé Nast Traveler. It also ranked 14th worldwide. The British edition placed La Mamounia first in North Africa, with a score of 99.31.
“There’s a very particular effect exerted by La Mamounia, which seems to take hold the moment you head up the green tiled steps to this most bohemian of grandes dames,” Condé Nast Traveler says.
The results come less than three weeks after La Mamounia received three MICHELIN Keys, the highest distinction in the MICHELIN Guide’s hotel selection, the Marrakech palace hotel noted in a press release. The 2026 selection recognized 31 hotels in Morocco, with La Mamounia and Kasbah Tamadot receiving three Keys.
Condé Nast Traveler’s awards are based on votes from its readers. Nearly 800,000 readers took part in this year’s global survey, according to the magazine.
A Marrakech landmark
La Mamounia’s reputation goes well beyond its recent rankings. The hotel opened in 1923 on the site of a 13-hectare garden that dates back to the 18th century, when Sultan Mohammed Ben Abdallah gave the property to his son, Prince Al Mamoun, as a wedding gift. The prince turned the gardens into a venue for traditional receptions known as “nzaha.”
The hotel was designed by French architects Henri Prost and Antoine Marchisio, combining Moroccan architectural traditions with Art Deco influences. Its interiors feature zellige, carved plaster, Moroccan craftsmanship and Amazigh textiles, while its gardens remain one of its defining features.
Over the decades, the palace became closely associated with the international cultural and political elite. Winston Churchill was a regular winter visitor and painted Marrakech from the hotel’s balconies. The hotel later named its Churchill Bar after him.
Other prominent visitors have included Franklin Roosevelt, Charles de Gaulle, Charlie Chaplin, Marcello Mastroianni, Francis Ford Coppola and Yves Saint Laurent. The Rolling Stones also stayed at the hotel in the late 1960s, while Paul McCartney reportedly wrote the song “Mamunia” after his time in Morocco.
The hotel has also been part of Marrakech’s film history. Several scenes of Alfred Hitchcock’s The Man Who Knew Too Much were filmed there in the 1950s.
A legacy that keeps evolving
La Mamounia has undergone several renovations while keeping its traditional identity. A major redesign led by French designer Jacques Garcia between 2006 and 2009 placed greater emphasis on its Moroccan and Arabo-Andalusian heritage. Another renovation was completed in 2020, followed by additional work for the hotel’s centenary in 2023.
Its appeal today extends beyond accommodation, with restaurants, bars, gardens, and a large spa forming part of the experience. The hotel’s culinary offering includes restaurants associated with chefs such as Simone Zanoni and Jean-Georges Vongerichten, as well as French pastry chef Pierre Hermé.
La Mamounia said the latest awards are less important to the hotel than the loyalty of its guests. According to the hotel, around 30% of its guests return, in some cases across several generations.
It added that the latest recognition follows several years of strong results. Condé Nast Traveler readers named La Mamounia the top hotel in North Africa in 2024 and the top hotel in Africa in 2025. In 2026, Travel + Leisure ranked it first among city hotels in North Africa and the Middle East and 12th worldwide. It has also been included in Robb Report’s 2026 list of the “50 Greatest Luxury Hotels on Earth.”
“These distinctions are an honor, but they are never an end in themselves. They encourage us to keep moving forward with the same standards of excellence and the same care for our guests. Their loyalty remains our greatest recognition. And behind every one of these distinctions lies, above all, the daily commitment of the teams at La Mamounia,” says Pierre Jochem, General Manager of La Mamounia.
