Morocco
As we arrived after midnight and the airports were quiet, customs and immigration procedures were completed quickly and the transfer time was only about 15 minutes. We spent our first two nights in the centre of Marrakech at the Riad Aladdin, almost touching the city walls.
From the outside the hotel was remarkably unimpressive, but the hidden charm of these properties becomes apparent once you entered and saw the inner courtyards. There were 20 rooms based around the courtyard with stairs leading to a roof terrace and gardens. Breakfast was continental style with a fair choice of flatbreads and cakes supplemented with jam and honey.
The Aladdin was a short walk from the main sights of Marrakech and a perfect place from where to explore the city. The Bahia Palace was a 10 minute walk and, after a tour of the palace, we took a whistle stop tour of the city stopping to have a tour of Riad El Fenn (owned by Richard Branson) and the Palais Sebban. Both are superb examples of the range of Riads on offer to travellers, the Palais Sebban even had a shower sculpted to imitate a castle! The temperature was generally warm throughout our stay, but I would recommend sight-seeing in the mornings before the sun gets too hot. On the second of our two nights we had dinner on the roof terrace at the Aladdin and were able to look out over all the roof tops of the city.
The following day, we drove south to Imlil in the Atlas Mountains. On the way we visited Kasbah Tamadot, Sir Richard Branson’s Moroccan Retreat, which was breathtakingly beautiful, luxurious and exclusive. It has a large pool, and several of the Berber Tents have private plunge pools. Perfect for a luxury romantic getaway!
From there we continued up into the mountains to our accommodation for the night, the Douar Samra in Tamatert. Again on paths hewn from earth and stone we reached the door to the Riad, but once inside you are greeted by the wonderful traditions of Morocco. Our hosts welcomed us with mint tea as we lounged around on scatter cushions. We then had a 4 hour walk around the Atlas, starting off sedately, but with a last little pull up the hill to the Riad. We were served several courses for dinner including a beef and vegetable tagine and, afterwards, we all went out onto the roof terrace to sit and take in the stars.
The next stop of our trip was Essaouira, a 4 hour drive away, where we stopped for lunch at a fish restaurant to sample the excellent seafood on offer. We stayed at the Riad Al Madina, located just inside the Medina near the many shops, bars restaurants and only a short walk from the beach.
The following morning we made our way back to Marrakech for our final night and stayed at the 5* Kenzi Farah Hotel. The hotel is only a short taxi ride from the Djemma-el-Fna Square and we made the journey after dinner to experience the best of Marrakech at night. One tale of note is that the bars surrounding the square do not serve alcohol.
Having experienced a small taste of what Morocco has to offer the traveller, I came home having experience and wonderful trip. It definitely moved it up the list of places I need to visit!