September 26, 2024, 6:02 am | Read time: 3 minutes
Elegant inner courtyards lead into an exclusive garden where you will want to linger. The Royal Mansour Marrakesh offers its guests a very special flair. This is not only guaranteed by the exceptionally well-trained service staff or the star chef Yannik Alléno. The real reason that makes this place so extraordinary lies underground…
Morocco is also known for its winding old towns and traditional Moorish architecture, and the larger cities such as Casablanca, Agadir, and Marrakesh, in particular, often attract tourists. Marrakech has a hotel with an unusual feature: secret tunnels. The underground system of the luxury hotel was created for a very specific purpose …
We are talking about the Hotel Royal Mansour in the heart of Marrakech, whose history is as exclusive as the hotel itself: None other than the King of Morocco himself decided to have the hotel opened in 2010.
Pure exclusivity at the Royal Mansour
For extravagant accommodations, 53 courtyard houses were built in the traditional Arabian style, known as riads. These are not classic hotel rooms but relatively small, unique apartments where you can quickly feel at home. The riads range in size from 140 to 600 square meters and feature an exclusive, private garden. “Where dreams live and emotions are born” is the slogan on the hotel’s homepage.
Secret tunnels for privacy
The highlight of the luxury hotel is a big secret for most people – and it should stay that way. To ensure that the guests of the Royal Mansour are not disturbed by the service staff, architect Karim Chakor designed tunnels that run underneath the riads and are only intended for the 500 hotel employees. This means that the service staff, also known as butlers in royal jargon, can disappear in secret and do not have to walk between the buildings. This creates the impression for guests that their rooms have been tidied up as if by a ghostly hand.
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No photos!
Hardly anyone gets a glimpse into the magical underworld of the Royal Mansour. “The tunnels are only for our staff,” says hotel manager Kenza Zizi when asked by TRAVELBOOK. She states that photos cannot be provided to us. This is for security reasons, and, of course, the tunnels do not represent the hotel itself in any way.
If you still want to try your luck and discover which secret doors the employees use to discreetly enter the guest riads, you can book a night at the Hotel Royal Mansour starting at 1050 euros. In the high season, the night costs 1800 euros. The largest riad, featuring four bedrooms and five bathrooms, can be booked for approximately 50,000 euros per night. Leading politicians and business bosses are usually accommodated here, as the hotel manager reveals. Of course, the tunnels are not open to such VIPs either.
The original of this article was published in 2017.