Owned by King Mohammed VI of Morocco, this hotel is regal in every way and yet just a few minutes drive away from the famous Square in Marrakech.
The Royal Mansour in Marrakech is a plush hotel which attracts VIP guests and world leaders almost every day. The French hotel manager seems to hot foot it at every turn to welcome them as soon as they drive up at the hotel's luxury fleet of Bentley's.
Giles Coren and Monica Galetti just do not experience the plush rooms of the hotel but spend some time working. Monica works with the executive housekeeper, does some cooking and also goes out to the field to handpick saffron with some local women.
Giles meanwhile drives one of the Bentley's and spends time as a Butler who are always on call and travel through a network of underground tunnels and lifts to ensure the discretion of the guests. I noticed both Monica and Giles speak fluent French which makes it handy, as it is the second language in Morocco outside of Arabic.
However despite the opulence, the hotel's management realises that the hotel is rather impersonal and maybe too discrete which is why they were adding a bar area within the pool so guests can mingle with each other more.
Giles befriends one of the butler's who hails from the Berber villages of Morocco. Employment with the hotel ensures he can financially maintain his family back in the village that Giles goes to visit.
However I could not help but notice that in a hotel where the cheapest rooms are over £1000 per night, some members of the staff seem to have gone several days without a proper's night sleep, always on the beck and call of the guests.