The Fairmont Royal Palm Marrakech resort, film set of “L’Heureuse élue”: rates, rooms and golf

The Moroccan setting of ‘L’Heureuse élue’, Frank Bellocq’s comedy broadcast on television on Sunday 27 September 2026, is the Fairmont Royal Palm Marrakech, a five-star resort nestled in an olive grove 12 km from the medina. Its ochre building, large bay window and tiered pools bordered by palm trees appear just as they are in the aerial shots of the film, released in cinemas in September 2024.

The palace of the fake fiancée

In the film, Benoît, riddled with debt, takes a fake fiancée·his private hire driver played by Camille Lellouche·to stay with his parents in a Moroccan palace to extract money from them. Frank Bellocq originally wanted to film in a hotel in the Peloponnese, but high season prevented him from doing so: the crew fell back on Morocco in the low season and found a nearly empty hotel. Neither the resort nor the production officially communicated about the location, but the film’s views correspond identically to the hotel’s official photos.

A resort within an olive grove

Opened in 2013 under the name Royal Palm Marrakech by the Mauritian group Beachcomber, it has been managed by Fairmont, an Accor brand, since May 2017. The estate spans nearly a square kilometre facing the peaks of the Atlas Mountains, featuring a main 2,000 m² swimming pool·touted as the largest in the city·a country club with tennis and squash courts, and a kids’ club.

Rooms, villas and dining

The 135 keys begin with 72 m² Deluxe rooms featuring a terrace and marble bathroom, extending up to the 741 m² Prince Villa with a private pool and hammam. Rates checked on 29 September 2026 show €437 a night in a Deluxe room with breakfast for 2 December, though rooms were fully booked by mid-November, when a suite cost €1,357. For dining, Capricci (Italian), L’Olivier (by the pool), Al Aïn (Moroccan, beneath hand-painted ceilings) and Le Bar share the estate.

Golf, spa and the Atlas

The 18-hole championship course, designed by Cabell B. Robinson, is accessible with a day pass priced at 1,400 dirhams. The Fairmont Spa is designed like a riad, complete with a hammam, sauna and adults-only indoor pool, open daily from 9 am to 9 pm. Guests rate it 4.7 out of 5 based on over 1,100 reviews. Discover all our hotel news in Morocco.

Our perspective

Marrakech is not short of cinematic palaces, but the Royal Palm plays a different card: space, golf and the tranquillity of an olive grove, far from the hustle and bustle of the medina. This is precisely what Frank Bellocq was looking for: a spectacular and empty palace. To treat yourself to the same serenity, autumn and winter, outside of school holidays, remain the best windows.