La Mamounia Hotel in Marrakech has successfully retained its status among the world's premier hotels, despite slipping to the 75th position in the 2026 rankings, as announced this week by The World’s 50 Best Hotels platform. This list showcases hotels ranked from 51 to 100, with La Mamounia standing as the sole African representative in this category, eagerly awaiting the unveiling of the top 50 hotels worldwide during the ceremony scheduled for September 15 in Paris.
The Moroccan hotel now ranks 75th, just behind Mexico's Four Seasons Tamarindo at 74th and ahead of Turkey's Maçakızı in Bodrum, which holds the 76th position. This year's ranking reflects a decline compared to previous years, where La Mamounia achieved a commendable 30th position globally in 2025 and 31st in 2024. The hotel previously reached its highest ranking in 2023 when it was placed 6th in the world.
Despite this drop in ranking, La Mamounia continues to uphold its reputation as a leading destination for luxury hospitality in Morocco. Its advantageous location in Marrakech, combined with a rich history spanning over a century, contributes to its allure. The hotel's architectural style elegantly merges traditional Moroccan design with luxurious hospitality elements.
The ranking highlighted several features that maintain the hotel's appeal, including its expansive gardens, intricately carved cedar wood ceilings, Moroccan zellige tiles, and balconies overlooking olive and orange groves, along with traditional hammams adorned with mosaics. Furthermore, the historic connection of La Mamounia to Winston Churchill, the late British Prime Minister, has been noted. Churchill was a frequent visitor to Marrakech and one of the prominent figures known to have stayed at the hotel during his visits to Morocco.
Since its opening in 1923, La Mamounia has evolved into one of the most renowned symbols of hotel luxury in the kingdom, welcoming distinguished personalities from politics, arts, and culture throughout the decades. The hotel boasts over 200 rooms and suites and has undergone successive renovations and restorations to maintain its standards and international prestige.
The World’s 50 Best Hotels ranking is based on the opinions of over 800 travel and hospitality experts, each of whom selects seven hotels based on their personal experiences from stays over the past three years. The organizers of the ranking emphasize the independence of the selection process, as hotels cannot directly nominate themselves or purchase positions on the list. The results are determined based on evaluations and experiences shared by voting committee members.
Currently, all eyes are on the main list that will feature the top 50 hotels in the world, with anticipation regarding whether Royal Mansour and other Moroccan and African hotels will make the cut, further solidifying Morocco’s presence in the realm of luxury hospitality rankings.
As reported by iktissadkom.ma.
