The Mövenpick Hotel Mansour Eddahbi in Marrakesh is an amazing hotel with great views over the High Atlas Mountains and the gardens surrounding the hotel. I stayed at the Movenpick Hotel in Marrakesh for three nights during a conference in March 2018.
The Movenpick Hotel has various swimming pools, a sauna, a spa, lots of restaurants and bars and even waterfalls! It was absolutely incredible staying there, much of the time I felt like I was in the Alhambra in Granada – totally loved it!
The room cost EUR126/night, including breakfast, so I would say it was more or less the same as an average room in a mid-range hotel in London or Moscow nowadays.
Finding the Movenpick Hotel in Marrakesh
The Movenpick Hotel in Marrakesh is in the Hivernage district, which is about 2.5 kilometers from the main Jemaa el Fna Square in the Medina. The Hivernage is the new town with lots of hotels and large apartment blocks, surrounded by walls and gardens.
Basically this is where the upmarket places are and a lot of the rich locals frequent this area. There is also a huge shopping center here and various other fixed price shops.
Getting here is very easy by taxi, bus or bicycle, which is what I used while I was staying here. A taxi from the airport should cost no more than 70-100 dirham and if you are coming from the Medina don’t pay more than 50 dirham.
They will try and charge you 200-300 dirham or basically the sky is the limit – just agree a price up front and get out if you don’t want to ride with them.
Entering the Hotel
The main entrance is just past the taxi rank, next to the palm trees and the small pond. The pond actually has a special feature: at night they set the water on fire! It looks incredible as the gas fire burns on the surface of the water.
I tried to take a good photo but unfortunately it did not work out very well in the dark. Anyhow, there will be lots of porters that will come and grab your bags and help you to the reception.
As you walk up the first steps there will be lots of water features everywhere, just like in the Alhambra in Granada. Then, turning right you will walk down a corridor with four waterfall features on either side. This corridor will lead into a circular room plastered in brass, with a camel drawn cart at the center.
The room is lit up by about two dozens of orange coloured electric candles, making the whole place look like you have just walked into a golden chamber! It was totally amazing – I loved walking through that entrance.
The Lobby Area
As you cross this circular room the sliding doors will lead into the main lobby with a nice fountain at the center. Above the fountain was a huge multi storey chandelier in the shape of a water drop. I was completely mesmerized by the time I reached the reception desk!
Here, everything was plastered in black and white marble and there were lots of plush sofas and armchairs everywhere. The receptionists checked me in even though it was only 9AM! It was perfect so I could have a quick shower and head out into town after dropping my bags off.
Checking In
The check-in process was pretty smooth – the receptionist at the Movenpick Hotel took my credit card, passport and booking confirmation and then I filled out the form and got my key.
I booked the room through the Movenpick website and I registered with their loyalty scheme in advance. I pre-ordered a room facing the garden on a high floor, in a quiet corner and I got all of that! It was fascinating that they managed to deliver all my expectations, doesn’t often happen!
The Lift and Public Areas
The porter stayed with me during the check in process and then helped me to my room. The building I was staying in was at the end of the compound, just past the main swimming pool and a small outdoor fountain.
The gardens looked very lush and walking to the room felt like crossing an oasis in the middle of the desert! It was really hot outside, brimming sunshine but the palm trees provided some much needed shade.
It took a few minutes of walking to get to the El Mehdi building where my room was. The lift was a bit slow and I thought it looked a bit grubby: the paint was not very well maintained and the carpet hasn’t been hoovered in weeks.
Also, not all the buttons worked in the lift so I had to press my floor button several times before it registered. The screen also did not work properly so I never knew which floor I was on when the door opened.
Instead of taking the lift I started using the stairs as it was much faster at times – perhaps upgrading the lift is something to consider.
Inside the Room
The room was very spacious with a big window letting in lots of light. There were at least a dozen lamps and light fittings in the room as well as a big flat screen TV. They had a small table next to a futon kind of thing and the big double bed was in the middle of the room, facing the TV. The window also functioned as a sliding door, leading out to the balcony where there was a table and two chairs.
During sunrise I would come out here and take some photos of the surrounding mountains, while at night I enjoyed the view of the colourful swimming pool light show.
The room was equipped with a big cupboard, a suitcase stand and safe, as well as two bedside cabinets. I found the desk under the TV a bit too small, although my laptop fitted on it fine. The problem was I could not stretch my leg out as the desk was very narrow and it was right beside the wall.
There was also a fridge in the room with the tea and coffee facilities on top of it. What I thought was a bit odd was the fact that the big wall facing the swimming pool had no windows, instead there was a big curtain hiding the empty wall. They might as well have put a painting or something there instead of the unattractive brown curtain.
What I also noticed was that on the third day the plugs on the side of the TV stopped working, but as it was my last day I just couldn’t be bothered to let the reception know about it.
The carpet was brown and the entire room had a brown theme, which was nice and soothing I thought. The air-conditioning functioned well in the room, although I never used it as the breeze coming in through the balcony was just enough for me.
The Bed
The bed was huge with four big pillows and a big duvet, which was light but warm. The pillows on their own were a bit too soft and I had to stack two on top of each other to make it firm enough. Otherwise I had nothing to complain about. There were two plugs on each side of the bed and the bedside cabinets were big enough for my book and phones.
I slept pretty well all three nights, except for the second when I thought the room was a bit too cold so I had to get up to close the door.
Wifi in the Room
The wifi was fast enough to watch youtube and check my email. I did not need a password and I connected on three devices without a problem.
The Bathroom
The bathroom was on the left when I entered the room, with a separate toilet on the side. The toilet door was well-hidden and I actually did not even notice it until I leaned on it and felt the handle dig into my side.
The bathroom was nice and big with black marble everywhere, including the shower cabin. There was no bathtub in the bathroom but it did not bother me – I never use the tub in a hotel.
What I was a bit surprised about was the fact that the cleaner doesn’t know how to properly polish up the marble. There were watermarks everywhere and instead of shining the marble looked very matt colored. I think the cleaner uses oil or soap based cleaning materials and those create smudges on the marble.
I am not an expert in marble polishing but I think a bit of clean, hot water and a clean cloth is all you need – although I will research this. Or, better still tell me how to polish marble properly in the comment section below!
Also, the tissue box was on top of the worktop next to the sink without any decorative cover or anything. So it was a bit unattractive like that – yet in the bedroom they had a nice leather box for the tissue by the bed. I don’t know why they did not put the tissue box in something in the bathroom, the cleanex cardboard box just lying on top of the worktop looked cheap.
I also noticed the taps and shower heads were not cleaned up properly and they were stained by the limescale from the water. On top of the small shower head I also noticed a long blonde hair, probably from the previous guest.
The water was hot immediately and the main showerhead was like a waterfall kind of thing so it felt amazing having a shower there.
The toilet was clean and tidy, although the toilet paper was not very high quality.
The Gym and Swimming Pool
The gym was pretty big although I did not use it at all. I saw running and cycling machines as well as lots of weights and the usual gym garb.
Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
The breakfast room was on the right as I came out of the lobby. It had about a hundred tables or more with a central area to serve the omelettes and other food options.
Breakfast was included in my rate with two options: continental or cooked breakfast. There was a lot of fruits, vegetables as well as cereals on offer but I ended up eating their special yogurts with granola and banana. I was not too keen on getting omelettes and otherwise I was not very hungry either.
Lunch was self-service in the same room but it came in at 440 dirham which I thought was pretty extortionate especially for what it was. There were a few cooked options like beef, lamb, chicken and so on with some salads and the like. There was also a couple of soup options and a lot of different breads plus a wide choice of deserts.
I was thinking of eating in one of the restaurants for dinner but they were completely overpriced and I did not like what was on offer. So instead of eating in the hotel I cycled down to the Medina and had some proper local food for the fraction of the hotel’s price.
Overall Impressions
The hotel looked amazing and I would recommend it for a visit to Marrakesh, although the on-site food offering was not exactly great. If you visit Marrakesh and want to avoid the hustle and bustle of the old town then the Movenpick Hotel will be the perfect choice for you!
Address: Avenue Mohammed VI, Marrakech 40000, Morocco
Telephone: +212 5243-39100
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