Fez — La Mamounia has added two new honors to its growing list of international distinctions, taking the top spot in Morocco and North Africa in the 2026 Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards.
The US edition ranked the Marrakech hotel No. 1 in Morocco with a score of 99.65 out of 100. The awards drew 798,867 reader votes across travel categories this year.
Across the Atlantic, the UK edition also named La Mamounia the No. 1 hotel in Northern Africa, awarding it a score of 99.31.
According to a press release shared with Lifestyle magazine from La Mamounia, the hotel also placed 14th worldwide in the US edition.
The results arrive shortly after another major recognition. In September, the “MICHELIN Guide” awarded La Mamounia Three MICHELIN Keys, its highest hotel distinction.
The guide currently lists only 155 Three-Key hotels worldwide, with La Mamounia among two Moroccan properties in that highest category.
Recognition across different travel rankings
Although hospitality rankings use different methodologies, La Mamounia has appeared repeatedly across several major travel publications in recent years.
In July, Travel + Leisure ranked the Marrakech property No. 12 among its 100 best hotels worldwide and No. 1 among city hotels in North Africa and the Middle East, with a reader score of 99.51.
The hotel had also appeared in the publication’s rankings for at least a decade, leading “Travel + Leisure” to induct it into its Hall of Fame in 2025, according to La Mamounia.
Its relationship with Condé Nast Traveler extends beyond this year’s Readers’ Choice results. In June, La Mamounia joined the publication’s “Triple Crown,” a collection reserved for properties that have appeared across three of its major distinctions: the “Hot List,” “Gold List,” and “Readers’ Choice Awards.”
The hotel has appeared in the Readers’ Choice Awards every year from 2017 through 2026, according to its Condé Nast Traveler profile.
That consistency is particularly notable because the recognitions are not all based on the same type of assessment. Reader awards depend on travelers’ votes, while MICHELIN Keys are awarded following evaluations by the guide’s inspectors.
MICHELIN considers criteria including architecture and interior design, service consistency, character, value for money, and a property’s contribution to its setting.
More than a century in Marrakech
La Mamounia’s continued presence in international rankings comes more than a century into the hotel’s history.
Located near Marrakech’s medina, the property combines Moroccan architectural references with gardens, restaurants, guest rooms, suites, and private accommodations.
The “MICHELIN Guide” describes La Mamounia as a 206-room property surrounded by 17 acres of gardens containing olive trees, orange trees, palms, flower beds, and vegetable gardens used by its kitchens.
Those gardens also connect the property to a history predating the hotel itself. The land was given in the 18th century by Sultan Sidi Mohammed to his son Moulay Mamoun, from whom La Mamounia takes its name, according to the guide.
For La Mamounia, however, the latest awards are also being framed around repeat visitors rather than rankings alone.
The hotel said at least 30% of its guests currently return, with some families visiting across several generations. It said guest feedback frequently highlights staff hospitality, followed by the property’s gardens, architecture, and atmosphere.
“These distinctions are an honor, but they are never an end in themselves,” General Manager Pierre Jochem said.
He added that the recognitions encourage the hotel to maintain its standards while continuing to evolve, describing guest loyalty as its most important form of recognition.
The latest results reinforce Marrakech’s continued visibility within the international luxury hospitality market.
They also show how La Mamounia has maintained a place in that conversation not through a single award cycle, but through repeated recognition from readers, editors, and independent inspectors using markedly different criteria.
