At a Glance

• Location: Marrakech, Morocco
• Number of Rooms: 40 pavilions and maisons (larger two-bedroom, two-storey accommodation)
• Room Stayed: Pool Pavilion South (Room 16)
• Dates of Stay: May 2026
• Rates: From €1,100
• Value For Money: Good for an Aman, particularly given the room size, architecture, setting and overall sense of space. However, the food and beverage offering needs to be much stronger.
• Best For: Travellers wanting a quiet resort-style stay just outside central Marrakech, especially those who appreciate architecture, space and a more traditional Aman aesthetic.
• Not For: Travellers wanting a quiet resort-style stay just outside central Marrakech, especially those who appreciate architecture, space and a more traditional Aman aesthetic rather than being in the heart of the Medina.
  Would I Return? Yes, but I would want to see a stronger food and beverage offering and higher service standards.

What It Does Well

• Beautiful architecture and overall setting
• Generous room sizes
• Calm, resort-style atmosphere outside the city
• Relatively good value for an Aman

Areas For Improvement

• Food quality, especially breakfast
• Service consistency
• Pre-arrival communication
• Management engagement
• In-room amenities and small operational details

First Impressions

Amanjena looks like it should be excellent. The rose-toned walls, archways, courtyards and long central basin all create exactly the kind of calm, highly composed arrival you expect from an older Aman. It is not new, but the design has held up because it was never chasing a trend in the first place.

The problem is that the hotel is more convincing as a piece of architecture than as a fully operating luxury resort. It has the atmosphere, scale and visual drama, but the food and service do not consistently support the promise of the setting.

Setting

Amanjena sits just outside Marrakech, close enough to access the city but removed enough to feel quiet and resort-like. Both the airport and the Medina are around 20 to 25 minutes away by car.

The location works best for travellers who want space, privacy and a break from the intensity of the Medina rather than a stay directly in the centre of town. For a first visit to Marrakech, I would start with a couple of nights in a riad, such as Royal Mansour, for a more traditional and immersive experience, then move somewhere quieter, like the Aman, for the rest of the trip.

Arrival

Our room was not ready, so we went to the pool for lunch, and the hotel gave us access to a spa room to change. That was useful, but the room had not been properly checked. There was a dead cockroach on the floor, and a staff member appeared to kick it away hoping we had not seen it.

After lunch, we still had to follow up ourselves to find out whether the room was ready. At this level, guests should not have to ask. The arrival had some beautiful Aman touches, but operationally it lacked follow-through, which became a theme during the stay.

The Room

We stayed in a Pool Pavilion South. The room itself was very nice and one of the strongest parts of the stay. We had a private pool, which I would recommend booking if budget allows. I would also suggest booking a south-facing category, as the orientation gives you better light in the morning and again later in the day.

The bed was on the firmer side, which some guests will like, although it is worth noting if you prefer a softer hotel bed. The outdoor area around the private pool was pretty, but slightly bare. It had the right bones, but could have used more furniture, better styling and a few softer touches to make it feel more inviting. There was also a fireplace, which would be a lovely feature in the colder months.

I also did not love the Toto toilet here, although I should admit I find them annoying in general. I know they are supposed to be a luxury feature, and I realise objecting to a high-tech toilet is hardly a human rights issue, but in a traditional Marrakech room it felt slightly out of place. Sometimes a beautiful bathroom just needs to be a beautiful bathroom.

Some details gave away the age of the property. The safe was so well hidden that for the first day we thought the room did not have one, which almost felt believable in an older hotel. We eventually found out where it was from another guest by the pool. There were also elements of the joinery that could have been better considered. For example, there were no drawers in the bathroom, which felt like a basic miss in a room of this size. The bathroom was large enough to host a small diplomatic meeting, but apparently not large enough for somewhere obvious to put a hairbrush.

One thing Aman tends to do well is small gifts that feel connected to the destination. At Amanjena, these included handcrafted bowls, pillow mist and soaps at turndown. On check-out, the team also attached the usual personalised Aman luggage tag to our suitcase. It is a very Aman detail: unnecessary, but exactly the kind of thing people who love the brand remember.

Some of the more practical details were less convincing. We were not able to get a hair straightener, as the hotel did not keep one on site, which felt surprising for a luxury hotel at this level. The bathroom products were also disappointing. They were unbranded and presented in bottles that felt much cheaper than the rest of the room. Given Aman has its own Aman Essentials brand, it seems strange not to use those products in the rooms, where guests could actually experience them during the stay and potentially be drawn to purchase them afterwards.

The boutique also stocked only Aman Essentials, which felt a little limiting. I understand wanting to keep things in house, but it would be nice to see more variety, particularly when the in-room bathroom products themselves feel underwhelming.

Dining

Amanjena has several dining options, including a Moroccan restaurant, an Italian restaurant, poolside dining, a bar and room service. On paper, that should be enough for a resort stay. In practice, dining was one of the weakest parts of the experience.

Breakfast was particularly disappointing, probably one of the weakest I have had at a luxury hotel. It never felt generous, polished or especially high quality, which is a problem at a resort where breakfast is not just a meal, but the first daily opportunity for the hotel to prove it knows what it is doing. One morning, our order was incorrect twice. The issue seemed to be communication, but rather than clarifying what we were asking for, staff appeared to guess. Old water was also left sitting on the table, which was a small detail but a telling one.

There was one good breakfast service moment. We ordered one coffee with soy milk, and because the team was not sure whether the second coffee should also be soy or regular, they brought both options. It was thoughtful, and exactly the kind of small, anticipatory gesture that should have been happening more often.

Lunch by the pool was fine, though the menu was not especially appealing. The Italian restaurant was the strongest of the dining options we tried, but still not particularly memorable. Room service also missed the mark. One evening, we ordered a Caesar salad without anchovies, expecting a Caesar salad without anchovies. What arrived was an undressed salad, which felt like the kitchen had taken the request a little too literally.

The room service presentation was also too basic for the property. The cutlery and dishes felt cheap, which stood out in a hotel with such a strong visual identity. There is an opportunity to lean more into Moroccan craft through ceramics, presentation and tableware, but at minimum, the basics need to feel aligned with the level of the hotel.

Overall, the food and beverage offering needs to be much stronger. This is Aman, and the standard should be high. The setting and architecture create a level of expectation that the dining simply did not meet. If I stayed again, I would make more of an effort to eat outside the hotel rather than relying on Amanjena as the main dining experience.

Facilities

The pool area is beautiful, although I found it a little smaller and more tucked to the side than expected given the grand scale of the rest of the resort. As this is where many guests spend much of the day, it could have carried more of the drama and presence found elsewhere at Amanjena.

That said, the pool attendant was one of the stronger staff members we encountered. He was personable, attentive and genuinely good at his job. His service was one of the better examples of what Amanjena can do well when the right person is in the right role.

The spa felt fairly basic, although I did not have a treatment, so cannot properly comment on the quality of the therapists or treatments. The changing rooms, however, were nicely done, with plunge pools that made them feel more considered than a standard hotel spa changing area.

Wi-Fi around the pool was poor and, at times, basically did not work. For a resort where guests are likely to spend long stretches of the day by the pool, this felt like a fairly basic thing to get wrong.

Amanjena also offers onsite tennis clinics and has clay tennis courts at the property. For golfers, Amelkis is a nearby 27-hole championship golf course, making the hotel a convenient base for guests who want to play during their stay.

The facilities are there, but at times Amanjena felt more convincing as a setting than as a fully functioning resort.

Service

Service was average overall, with a few excellent individuals. The pool attendant was very good, and there were a couple of other staff members who stood out, but the experience as a whole did not feel especially proactive.

Follow-up during the stay was a recurring issue. We asked to tour some rooms and had to chase. We had to follow up on whether our room was ready. Pre-arrival communication was weak. None of these things are dramatic on their own, but together they made the service feel reactive rather than considered.

There were also some communication issues. One day, we booked the car and the driver took us to the wrong location because the destination had not been properly understood or clarified. The issue was less the mistake itself than the lack of clarification, which affected the day.

The General Manager was visible around the property during our stay, but made no effort to speak with us. That is not mandatory, but at a hotel like Aman, especially over several days, you notice when leadership is present but not engaged. This was also our fourth Aman stay, which made the lack of engagement more noticeable.

Post-stay follow-up was also poor. We raised our concerns with the General Manager, and while he did ask for further details. I took the time to send a detailed reply, hoping the feedback would be useful, but he never responded or even acknowledged it. Asking guests for further detail and then ignoring their response only added to the impression that the management was ineffective and lacked basic follow-through. We also emailed the hotel about a lost clothing item after departure and did not receive a response.

One thing I did appreciate was staff asking non-guests to stop taking photos when they appeared to be staging photoshoots around the restaurants and bar. Amanjena is exactly the kind of photogenic property that could easily become a backdrop for people who are not actually staying there, so it was good to see the hotel drawing a line.

Would I Stay Again?

Yes, but with reservations. Marrakech offers good value for money, and for travellers based in cities within easy reach, Amanjena is an appealing option for a warm long weekend during the colder months.

I would return for the architecture, space and calm, particularly in one of the private pool pavilions. But for a resort-style stay, dining matters, and the food and beverage offering needs to be much stronger.

Amanjena is still worth considering if you are drawn to the design, room size and peaceful setting, but I would go in with realistic expectations. The property itself is beautiful. The execution is where it needs to be sharper.

Final Thoughts

Amanjena has beautiful bones. The architecture is timeless, the scale is impressive, and the rooms still feel generous despite the age of the property.

The issue is that the food, service and finer details do not consistently match the strength of the setting. Amanjena looks like a classic Aman, and in some ways it still feels like one, but the experience is not currently as polished as it should be.

For a short stay just outside Marrakech, it can still be a very enjoyable hotel. The design is memorable, the private pool pavilions are strong, and the sense of calm is hard not to enjoy. But for a hotel with this reputation, better breakfast, stronger dining, more proactive service and sharper attention to detail would make a meaningful difference.

Amanjena is beautiful, but it should be better.

If you wish to have us assist with any bookings email us at bookings@stripetravel.com or contact us here. By booking with us, you will likely receive the following additional benefits:

• Upgrade on arrival, subject to availability
• Daily breakfast for up to two guests per bedroom
• $100 USD equivalent food and beverage credit to be used during the stay
• Early check-in and late check-out, subject to availability
• Complimentary Wi-Fi