Revealed: The world’s most welcoming hotel for 2024

By Tamara Hardingham-Gill, CNN

(CNN) — It was designed by the King of Morocco, and this luxury Marrakech resort has been pulling out all the stops to make guests feel like royalty since its launch back in 2010.

Now the Royal Mansour Marrakech, situated within the ancient walls of old Marrakech, is being singled out for its “outstanding” service.

The exquisite hotel, made up of a collection of private riads, has been revealed as the winner of the Art of Hospitality Award by World’s 50 Best Hotels ahead of the inaugural list, which will be announced in September.

First-class experience

Set within six acres of lush gardens, Royal Mansour Marrakech is described as a “benchmark for the luxury hotel industry” thanks to its “exceptional” hospitality and attention to detail.

Conceptualized with the notion of creating a “medina within a medina,” the secluded resort has a network of hidden tunnels and “secret doors” that help to provide guests with exclusivity and ultimate privacy.

And according to the World’s 50 Best Hotels Academy, which consists of around 600 “anonymous” hotel industry experts from across the globe, Royal Mansour Marrakech is truly unbeatable when it comes to being welcoming and hospitable.

“Providing each guest with their own private palace and personal butler, Royal Mansour Marrakech epitomizes the art of hospitality,” says Emma Sleight, Head of Content at the World’s 50 Best Hotels, who went on to praise the hotel for its resilience after a devastating 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit central Morocco last September.

The Marrakech Medina, a UNESCO World Heritage site that dates back centuries, was among sites left badly damaged after the quake.

“Despite the challenges that the earthquake brought, the team at Royal Mansour continues to deliver a first-class experience to its guests.”

Crown jewel

In order to determine the winner, academy members were asked to name the property where they’d received the “single-best hospitality experience” within the 18-month voting period, paying particular attention to its ambience, delivery of “unique experiential elements” and the overall warmth of the hospitality and environment.

Jean-Claude Messant, Managing Director of the Royal Mansour Collection, says he’s “extremely proud” of the award, which went to Scotland’s five-star Gleneagles Hotel in 2023.

Messant credits the “fantastic” team at the five-star resort for being “faultless in delivering the highest level of warmth, hospitality and service for our guests.”

“We want all guests to leave our hotels with the happiest and most magical memories from their stay,” says Messant, who described Royal Mansour Marrakech, home to four fine dining restaurants, as the “crown jewel” of the Royal Mansour Collection.

The iconic Royal Mansour Casablanca, located in the heart of the Art Deco district of Sidi Belyout, reopened back in April, while beachfront resort Royal Mansour Tamuda Bay launched earlier this year.

Last year, 24-key Italian property Passalacqua, which overlooks Lake Como, was named the top hotel in the first-ever edition of the World’s 50 Best Hotels list, which honors 50 different hotels from various destinations around the world.

“Creating truly memorable experiences and working with like-minded people who put hospitality at the heart of everything they do is one of the main reasons that people get into and fall in love with this industry, so we felt that the Art of Hospitality award was one of the most fitting awards to announce first,” adds Sleight.

The World’s 50 Best Hotels 2024 will be announced in an awards ceremony held in London on September 17.

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