La Mamounia is a lovely old hotel in the heart of Marrakech. If you go to their site, it says they have the distinction of being the #1 hotel in Africa in 2018, #1 hotel in the world in 2018 and the best urban hotel in the world in 2018. I’m not sure how they arrive at these ratings, but I would agree that this hotel is a very special destination. The hotel has been around for 100 years and is in pristine condition, having been renovated within the past 10 years.
They have a 19 acre garden adjacent to their hotel facility and it is a lovely respite from the busy city of Marrakech. Alex and I wandered through the garden during our recent visit to this city and found a unique and lush mediterranean garden, complete with dramatic allées of olive and citrus trees, with beautiful garden vistas throughout.
The entrance consists of old olive trees on either side of the pathway – many of which are purported to be 700 years old. On either side of the olive trees are perfectly rowed orange and lemon trees – a couple hundred of them!
They have a large, wonderful vegetable garden towards the back of the 19 acres, which the hotel chefs use for meals within the hotel restaurants. We found large beds of spices, including many varieties of mint (chocolate, bergamotte, orange, Moroccan, to name a few), which they use in their staple: mint tea. Also growing were many other local spices: coriander, verbena and lemongrass – all meticulously labeled.
As we returned to the hotel, we encountered a pretty succulent garden that married beautifully with the other plant material throughout the garden.
While this garden was in the heart of Marrakech, we felt like we were a million miles away from civilization. Beautiful gardens will do that, won’t they?
