Marrakesh and the coastal resort of Essaouira.

Barbara Sutton on 05 April 2017
In March of this year I was lucky enough to be invited on a Travel Counsellors educational, courtesy of the Moroccan Tourist Board to explore the city of Marrakesh and the coastal resort of Essaouira.

On arrival at Marrakesh airport I was amazed at the stunning modern design of the airport and how smoothly we passed through. From there our transfer into the city was also a very pleasant surprise with wide, clean, modern boulevards and non of the chaos you might expect. We had a perfectly planned 5 day itinerary with our base in Marrakesh at the 5* Movenpick Mansour Eddhabi Hotel. The Movenpick hotel is a modern hotel adjoined to the city’s conference centre but is designed with traditional touches and water features throughout the hotel. It offers excellent rooms & suites plus 2 outdoor pools and a spa.

On our first afternoon we headed out to explore ‘The Red City’, the name given to Marrakesh due to all buildings having to be painted in the traditional ochre colour to match the old walls of the Medina. We enjoyed a tour of the old Souk on foot with a local guide who showed us the workshops where the goods sold in the more modern Souk are actually made. The shops sell a mixture of leather goods, slippers and scarves, woodwork and intricately patterned metalwork lamps, teapots and vases. Bartering is a must, especially in the old souk, always aim to pay around a third to a quarter of their original asking price. Don’t be afraid of walking away, they usually come running with a better price! You do need your wits about you in the narrow alleyways to dodge the locals squeezing through on their scooters and motorcycles.

Our tour brought us into the main tourist Souk with its magical colours and fragrant spices stalls to finish in the famous Jemaa el Fna square and the tower of the Kutubiyya mosque. After watching the magical sunset over the square from the rooftop of a local tea house we enjoyed a traditional meze-like dinner followed by slow roasted chicken and lamb in Salama restaurant just off the main square complete with belly dancing show!

The following day we began our hotel visits, firstly heading 15 minutes out of Marrakesh to the Royal Palm Hotel & Golf Resort. This lovely hotel is an ideal for the whole family out of the hubbub of the city. It boasts its own 18 hole golf course, stunning spa and an amazing kids club with its own pool and tennis court just for the little ones. There is of course tennis for the grown-ups too! There are variety of deluxe rooms and suites all with views over the pool area or golf course and beyond to the Atlas mountains.

Heading back into Marrakesh our next visit was to the luxurious Royal Mansour where all accommodation is in individual Riads (typical Morrocan 3 or 4 storey houses) which are opulently decorated in a very traditional style with the added luxury of your own rooftop terrace and plunge pool. The spa and restaurants are world renowned and we were lucky enough to enjoy a lovely lunch here.

During the afternoon there was a choice of go-karting or Moroccan cookery school activities. I opted to learn the traditional way of cooking with a tagine. Firstly, before entering the kitchen we learnt the traditional mint tea ceremony which is not as simple as just putting a teabag into a cup! The modern kitchen was set out for groups with high tech screens allowing you to watch the chef and then repeat her process on your own hob. We then enjoyed eating our dishes in a Bedouin themed dining area. This was my favourite afternoon and is a great experience to introduce you to local recipes, cooking methods and spices. The tagine pot was one of the most popular souvenirs we all brought home!

International cuisine was served for dinner that evening at the lively Palace Restaurant with western music and guests encouraged to dance during dinner. A very popular choice with our group of Travel Counsellors!

On our third day we headed to the foothills of the Atlas mountains. The snow-capped mountains are visible from Marrakesh itself but our journey of 2 hours took us through the olive groves, blossom trees, green hillsides and villages. Hidden in a scenic valley we found the newly built retreat of L’Armandier. A small boutique hotel and a collection of luxury villas that all enjoy breathtaking views to the snow-covered mountains. Guests can enjoy the tranquillity of the gorgeous pool, have a game of tennis or head out walking. L’Armandier’s restaurant also offers gourmet cuisine made using fresh local ingredients. Dinner that evening was enjoyed in the Jad Mahal nightclub which offered entertainment from belly dancers, gauchos and a live band.

On day four we bade farewell to Marrakesh to head 3 hour's drive to Essaouira on the Atlantic coast. En-route we visited a women’s Argan Oil co-operative where they demonstrated the manual processes for extracting the argan nut and then the oil which is manufactured into a variety of health and beauty products. We also witnessed the ‘tree-climbing’ goats at the side of the highway. The goats love the argan tree fruit so have learnt to climb the trees in order to feast away!

On arrival at Essaouira we visited the Sofitel Mogador. Situated on the coast slightly out of town, this hotel boasts two 18 hole golf courses, 3 pools and a fabulous spa. It has quirky art and design features throughout the hotel and offers both hotel rooms and villas with private pools. There are regular courtesy buses to take you into town but at this hotel relaxation enjoying fabulous sea views across the golf courses is the main activity. We enjoyed a lovely Mediterranean style lunch with excellent service.

We then had free time to explore the old medina and souk of Essaouira. This medina has a fabulous location on the coast though due to ongoing renovation works we were unable to enjoy walking the walls with their spectacular views. The souk here is a lot more laid back than Marrakesh with less bartering required as many goods have fixed prices, but it is still worth a try!

We then headed back to our hotel for the evening, the Atlas Hotel & Spa. This large hotel is situated overlooking the wide expanse of beach where you can enjoy kite surfing, wind surfing or horse riding. This hotel has its own beach bar where we enjoyed drinks watching the beautiful sunset and recounted our favourite parts of the trip. Our final delicious dinner took place in a Relais & Chateaux approved Riad within the medina, L’Heure Bleue which is both a hotel with its own rooftop pool and offers private dining.

An early departure the following morning took us back to Marrakesh for our flight home. This trip was a great surprise to me. I was amazed at the mix of modernity and history, the welcome we received was fabulous and the standard and variety of accommodation available. Morocco offers something for everyone and I look forward to returning.