MARRAKECH, Oct 18 — A luxury hotel in Marrakech which has hosted everyone from Winston Churchill to Jennifer Aniston and Vladimir Putin has been named the leading hotel in Africa.
La Mamounia, with its royal, exotic gardens, hand-cut tiles and palatial grandeur, was given the crowning title over properties from the Four Seasons and Fairmont brands at the World Travel Awards Africa in Nairobi, Kenya this week, an event known as the Oscars of the travel world.
Most recently, Putin’s daughter chose the lush hotel for her wedding nuptials last year. In 2009, to celebrate their grand re-opening following an extensive three-year renovation, the hotel threw a gala party that drew Hollywood A-listers such as Aniston and Gwyneth Paltrow to Morocco.
At its peak, the redesign, helmed by French designer Jacques Garcia, involved more than a thousand craftsmen who were commissioned to carve millions of tile mosaics by hand to blanket the property.
Travellers seeking a luxury, bush life experience, meanwhile, may want to consider booking a trip to the Shambala Private Reserve in South Africa, named Africa’s leading private game reserve for offering elephant safaris, romantic bush picnics and sunset river cruises in luxury, honeycomb-shaped chalets, decked out in chic Afro French Provincial style.
Here are a few of the major winners from the gala event:
- Africa’s leading airline: South African Airways
- Leading hotel: La Mamounia
- Leading safari lodge: Finch Hattons
- Leading luxury lodge: Thanda Private Game Reserve, South Africa
- Leading national park: Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya
- Leading new hotel: Villa Rosa Kempinski, Nairobi
- Leading private game reserve: Shambala Private Reserve, South Africa
- Leading tented safari camp: Gamewatchers Safaris & Porini Camps, Kenya — AFP/Relaxnews
