Rabat- Some 5,000 items from La Mamounia have sold at auction for three million euros ($6 million) ahead of the reopening of the legendary Marrakesh hotel in September, auctioneer Claude Aguttes said.

Featuring a treasure trove of art deco and oriental furniture and fittings, the four-day auction that ended Sunday at the Marrakesh convention centre generated huge interest in Morocco and abroad.

"Never were there fewer than 300 people in the auction hall," said Paris-based Aguttes, as the hotel - owned by Moroccan state railways - undergoes a complete renovation.

Opened in 1992 in what used to be a Moroccan prince's residence, the five-star La Mamounia has welcomed a host of entertainers and politicians including Josephine Baker, Edith Piaf, Orson Welles and several US presidents.

Britain's wartime prime minister Winston Churchill was a regular guest, too, which could explain one item that went under the hammer - a ceramic English bulldog.