Magical Morocco
Marrakech is truly an assault on the senses, coming at you from every angle! Home for the first three nights was the Movenpick Hotel Mansour Eddhabi, a large hotel away from the frenetic medina with spacious rooms and beautiful gardens and pool area. Thankfully, we had a guide for a first foray into the medina as it would be so easy to get completely lost in the myriad lanes that comprise this ancient maze!
Viewing Jemaa el Fnaa from the ‘safety’ of a roof terrace it was easy to see the chaos and enormity that is home to snake-charmers, medicine-men, hawkers and eateries. Dinner at Salama, a contemporary restaurant offering classic Marrakech cuisine with a modern twist, was the perfect end to our first day.
Beachcomber Royal Palm was our first visit the next morning. About 20 minutes’ drive away from Marrakech this hotel offers a calm oasis offer a great choice of sumptuous rooms and villas with views of the Atlas Mountains then it was off to the Royal Mansour, a great concept of luxurious riads comprise this hotel’s accommodations but still with hotel facilities such as an enormous pool and fabulous dining.
After lunch we headed to La Maison Arabe for a cookery class which was great fun and finished with us sampling our own efforts of a delicious Moroccan tajine – like we really needed any more food!!
My favourite evening was dinner at Le Palace, a premier club-restaurant, with fine dining, superb wine and dancing – and a fabulous singer, she was amazing!
Next morning followed my favourite hotel, l’Amandier in the Ourigane Valley. There really aren’t enough superlatives to describe both the situation and the property, the location is jaw-dropping, nestled in the Atlas mountains the views are sublime. It is hugely apparent that the owners have invested their hearts and souls into the hotel, its villas and vistas. There’s no spa (yet) but I felt so relaxed in those few hours it really wasn’t necessary – and I love my spas!
Back in Marrakech, Jad Mahal was the venue for dinner and although the food didn’t compare with everywhere else the focus this evening was on the lithe dancers, not really my cup of tea, but the place was packed so clearly a popular choice for many.
Our last day and night was spent in Essaouira, Morocco’s windy city on the Atlantic coast. After checking in to the Atlas Hotel & Spa we visited Sofitel Essaouira Mogador Golf & Spa resort which is located about 10 minutes’ drive away. What a stunning hotel, offering peace and quiet, a host of accommodation choices, facilities and great dining. The medina here is so much more relaxed than Marrakech’s, with wider alleyways and a great choice of stalls, still atmospheric but much less chaotic!
Dinner at the fabulous l’Heure Bleue Palais perfectly rounded off our Moroccan discovery. Situated within the ancient town it offers refined elegance combined with traditional North African charm coupled with a colonial ambiance.
Morocco really does offer something for everyone – it feels very exotic yet is so close to home. If you’d like some help planning and booking your own experiences in Morocco please do get in touch, I’d be delighted to help.