Amanjena

Amanjena is the first Aman resort in Africa, open since 2000 on the Ouarzazate road 12 km outside Marrakech, next to the Amelkis golf course. Pavilions and villas stand around a monumental reflecting basin in roughly 5 hectares of palm and olive groves. It is a MICHELIN Key hotel. Nothing is walkable.

"The first Aman in Africa, all domed pavilions and private pools around a monumental Moorish basin, serene and architecturally singular but isolated from the city."

Aggregate 9.2/10 on our editorial scale (Room & Design, Service, Location). Independently scored; see our methodology. This is our opinion, not an aggregate of user reviews.

Affiliate disclosure: we may earn a commission from bookings at no cost to you. We never accept payment for placement. Hotel status, room counts and awards were verified against official sources in July 2026. Michelin does not operate a restaurant guide in Morocco, so no restaurant listed here is starred; Michelin Keys are a separate award for hotels.

What makes Amanjena special?

Amanjena is an architectural set piece before it is a hotel. Ed Tuttle designed it in pise-style ochre with soaring domed pavilion ceilings, and organised the whole resort around a monumental Moorish bassin modelled on the historic basin in the Menara gardens. That bassin is ornamental, a reflecting basin rather than a swimming pool, and it is the single image that defines the property: a still sheet of water with the pavilions and the Atlas Mountains behind it. No other hotel in Marrakech attempts anything like it. It also carries a genuine first. Amanjena opened in 2000 as the first Aman in Africa, which is why it reads as an Aman rather than a Moroccan hotel with an Aman sign on it. The layout is low, geometric and quiet, the scale is domestic rather than palatial, and the estate covers roughly 5 hectares of palm and olive groves alongside the Amelkis golf course, with Atlas views. Amanjena is a MICHELIN Key hotel in the Guide's 2025 inaugural selection. No restaurant in Morocco holds a MICHELIN star, because the Guide publishes no restaurant selection for the country, so Keys are the only MICHELIN distinction in play here.

Which room should you book?

Every room at Amanjena is a standalone building, which is the point. Aman does not publish a total on its own site; multiple trade listings state around 39 pavilions and villas, so treat that as indicative rather than official. The published categories run Pavilion, Deluxe Pavilion, Pool Pavilion, Pool Pavilion South, Two-Bedroom Pool Villa, Grand Two-Bedroom Pool Villa, Three-Bedroom Pool Villa and Heritage Two-Bedroom Villa. The distinction that changes the stay is the private pool: Pool Pavilions and every Pool Villa category have their own heated pool, while an entry-level Pavilion does not. Given the resort's isolation, a private pool is worth more here than it would be at a hotel where you can walk out to a restaurant. All of it sits around the central bassin in roughly 5 hectares of gardens, with the domed ceilings and pise-style ochre walls that give the place its scale. The name Amanjena means peaceful paradise, and the layout is built to deliver on it.

Where should you eat and drink?

Amanjena's current dining line-up is four venues and no celebrity-chef signature. The Moroccan Restaurant covers Berber, Moroccan, Andalusian and Middle Eastern cooking; Arva is Aman's group-wide Italian concept; Pool Terrace and Olive Grove handle all-day and breakfast dining under ancient olive trees; The Bar covers drinks. Ignore older articles that describe a Japanese restaurant called Nama here. Nama is an Aman brand concept, but it is not part of Amanjena's current dining offer on aman.com, and writing otherwise sends guests looking for a restaurant that is not there. No restaurant at Amanjena holds a MICHELIN star, and none in Morocco does, because the Guide publishes no restaurant selection for the country. Be realistic about this department. Food and beverage draws more criticism from published reviewers than any other part of Amanjena, on consistency as well as price, and because the resort is 12 km out of town with nothing walkable nearby, you eat here or you get in a car.

What is the spa and pool like?

The Aman Spa handles the wellness side with Moroccan hammam rituals, treatment suites and yoga, which is a focused offer rather than a large clinic. Swimming is better specified. The main outdoor pool runs 33 metres and is heated, there is a separate heated children's pool, and Pool Pavilions and every Pool Villa category come with their own private heated pool. The large central bassin is not a swimming pool; it is an ornamental reflecting basin and guests should not book expecting to swim in it. Sport is unusually strong for a Marrakech hotel: there is a clay tennis court on site, the 27-hole Amelkis championship course is immediately adjacent, and Aman's golf break packages green fees at Amelkis, Royal and Assoufid, so a serious golf trip works from here without changing hotels.

Where is Amanjena, and how do you get there?

Amanjena is a country estate, not a city hotel, and that decides whether it suits you. It sits 12 km out on the Route de Ouarzazate, next to the Amelkis golf course, in palm and olive groves with Atlas Mountain views. It is not in the medina and it is not in the Palmeraie; it stands on its own southeast of the city. Marrakech Menara Airport is a 20-minute drive by Aman's own figure, and round-trip airport transfers are included in every stay, which is a genuinely useful inclusion. Aman describes the resort as just minutes from Jemaa el-Fna and the UNESCO medina; in practice budget roughly 20 to 25 minutes by car each way, and plan your days accordingly. Nothing at all is walkable from Amanjena. There is no cafe, no shop and no restaurant you can reach on foot, so the car is the resort's real front door.

What do guests consistently say?

Published reviews of Amanjena divide on whether the isolation is the product or the problem. Guests who come for the architecture, the calm and the Aman service model report exactly what they wanted: a quiet, low, geometric estate where the bassin and the Atlas views do the work and nobody hurries you. Those who want Marrakech itself find the same setting frustrating, because every outing to the medina, the souks or a restaurant in town is a car journey of roughly 20 to 25 minutes each way. The strongest recurring criticism is food and beverage, on consistency as well as price relative to the room rate, and it comes up more often than any other department. A second theme is age. The property turned 25 in 2025, and some reviewers feel parts of the public areas and the food and beverage operation have not kept pace with newer Marrakech competition.

Honest cons: who should skip it?

Isolation is the first and largest caveat. Amanjena sits 12 km out on the Ouarzazate road surrounded by nothing of interest, so every trip to the medina, the souks or an independent restaurant is a car journey of roughly 20 to 25 minutes each way, and there is no walkable alternative in any direction. Second, food and beverage draws more criticism than any other department in published reviews, both on consistency and on price relative to the room rate, and the isolation makes that harder because you cannot simply eat elsewhere on a whim. Third, the resort turned 25 in 2025 and some reviewers feel elements of the public areas and the food and beverage operation have not kept pace with newer Marrakech competition. Two smaller points: the central bassin is ornamental and not for swimming, and an entry-level Pavilion has no private pool, which matters more here than in town.