The Mandarin Oriental, among the finest hotels in Marrakesh, could be the first of city's palaces to change hands in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. According to our information, owner Omar Kabbaj (the head of Interdec, which also runs the Hytatt in Casablanca) is considering selling the 20-ha property, despite having spent five years and some 700m dirhams ($78m) to build it. The trouble is that competition at this lofty end of the market has never been fiercer. The Royal Mansour (owned by King Mohammed VI), the mythical, recently renovated Mamounia (Africa Intelligence, 29/05/20), and several five-star establishments built near the city's golf course have all been trying to "out-opulent" each other to attract guests. That doesn't come cheap. And although Morocco reopened its borders to tourists in September, even the usually busy end-ofyear season has left the city's hoteliers down on their uppers, with very low occupancy rates. The Mandarin Oriental's managing director, Jean-Philippe Moser, has already jumped ship: he moved sideways to Barcelona in September.
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