It all started out so well. Beautiful gardens, impressive reception, luxurious restaurants. Then we were shown our room. Obviously the carpet, curtains and bed linen were to celebrate Churchill's arrival! First tip - pay the extra for a pool view room. Our superior North side had no view, even grilles to prevent you seeing the eyesore of the reception roofing holding filthy looking chicken coups etc.
Breakfast at L'orangerie was always lovely, although the cooked breakfast buffet was always a little cold. Staff also found it amusing that birds were allowed to fly in and eat off diners plates whilst they had gone to top up their fruit juice etc.
The nightmare began however on check-out when a fully loaded credit card was declined. On calling London Visa confirmed that the amount had already left my colleague's account and that the hotel had actually tried collecting a further 6 times. Despite giving the cashier a confirmation number he refused to accept. Reservation manager was called - most unhelpful. Hotel manager was demanded, they refused. Our luggage was seized and my colleague was escorted into town to withdraw the cash. Despite the finger constantly being pointed at us, a queue at the cashier's desk was growing as no-one's card was working, yet they could not see the problem was with their country's banking system. The reservation manager then revealed that American express cards never work at La Mamounia. And this is a 21st Century Leading Hotel of the world ?
3 days later and the money has now been refunded, no explanation, no apology, no mention of the flights they caused us to miss. They say La Mamounia is the best, if that's so, don't go to Marrakech - Despite the beautiful gardens, the city is full of open sewers, goat's heads in the souk and all sorts of debauchery in the square.

Every time I think of Morocco, I think... “Boy, is hot there in September!” Actually what I really reminisce about is the very enjoyable stay I had at La Mamounia. We decided we wanted to stay at La Mamounia for historical reasons. I'm a big fan of Winston Churchill, and we had just been in London for week which included a visit to the new Churchill museum.

We had a junior suite on the top floor overlooking the pool and the gardens, just around the corner from the suite where Winston Churchill used to stay and paint on the terrace. Every morning when I wake up in Los Angeles I reflect on the wonderful breakfasts of juice, coffee and croissants, sitting on the terrace on the top floor overlooking the pool and the lush 40 acres of gardens. I can still smell the fresh pastries and see the palms trees shifting easily in the morning breeze. I remember thinking that I could be content waking up like this every morning.

I loved the design of the hotel; all the fountains with fresh rose petals and the craftsmanship of the extraordinary tile work. I found the service was quite pleasant but not exceptional.

La Mamounia is unique in Marrakech, it has enormous grounds with a beautiful garden, many restaurants (the Moroccan one is fantastic, as is the old school cocktail bar). The hotel is in need of a renovation, but it still has plenty of charm. Don't expect state of the art (you're in Morrocco after all), but do expect a grand hotel with a rich history and beautiful surroundings.

It's not really comparable to a Riad, they're two completely different experiences. If you're going to Marrakech and prefer a big hotel to a small guesthouse you'll have trouble finding a place with more character.

Many reviews of this hotel focus on the price and how expensive everything is from the food to the price of the rooms. Yes - it is expensive. No - you do not have to stay there. For anyone who is watching the pennies I would advise seriously to give this place a wide berth. For those lucky enough not to have to worry too much about the old bank account I would say go and enjoy yourself. This is one superb hotel. It certainly prefers to cater for the well-healed in that if you are going to complain about eveything from the price of a plate of spagetti to the cost of a dash of soda in your scotch, then they would rather you stayed elsewhere and I would guess they are pretty good at letting you know it. We stayed at La Mamounia for 4 nights in January 2006 and we found the service excellent and the staff friendly and helpful. We ate in the Italian restaurant, the poolside restaurant, and the Moroccan restaurant and the food in all three was superb. We also enjoyed our stay in the Ambassador suite which consisted of a large double bedroom with ensuite jacuzzi bath and separate wc, a large sitting room / dining room and a double balcony overlooking the pool, the gardens and the wonderful snow-capped Atlas mountains beyond. Pity it rained most of the time (do take warm clothes if you visit Morocco in January)
The hotel itself is a bit kitsch but who cares? Its like a bit of theatre - everywhere you turn is another stage set. I believe most of what you see within the walls of the hotel is repro, but what's the alternative, another dreary Pond hotel?