THE Royal Mansour Marrakech, Morocco, is planning a soft opening in June or July this year, followed by a grand opening around September this year, according to general manager of the hotel, Jean Pierre Chaumard.
The hotel, owned by the King of Morocco, is located behind the ancient wall of Marrakech within easy reach of La Koutoubia mosque and Jamaa El Fna square and between the old medina and the new city of Marrakech. The 3.5 hectare property will house 53 Riads from one (150 sq m) to four bedrooms (2,000 sq m) in size, and will include facilities such as three dining outlets, a juice bar at the spa and two bars.
Chaumard hopes to position it as the “best hotel in Morocco and thereafter as one of the most impressive hotels worldwide”.
So far Morocco attracts visitors from Europe with most coming from France, Spain and the UK. About 15 per cent of the hotel guests hail from the GCC. “GCC is for sure a very important market for us and we will certainly do all efforts as much as we can to attract the elite from these countries but we don’t plan packages for any market for time being,” said Chaumard.
“Morocco is also facing the same general crisis situation but its strategic location as a hub (with an average of three hours from major European capitals) is a huge bonus. In addition to this, safer, sub-tropical weather conditions are also important ingredient that will help us in the very near future,” he added Chaumard has worked in a number of hotels around the world and at one time he managed the hotel of the Shah of Iran Empereur Pahlavi, on the island of Kish.