Marrakech City Trip

Morocco's bright lights: Romance, riads and arresting exoticism in the Red City

<b><a href="http://marrakech-travels.blogspot.com/">The Red City</a></b> yanks you from the 21st century immediately. So much so, it seems impossible that my day began in gloomy London. I stand paralysed, ink from the map clutched in my hand imprinted on my fingers and the bedlam of <b><a href="http://marrakech-travels.blogspot.com/">Marrakech</a></b> ringing in my ears.<br />
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Burning bright: Marrakech has inspired visitors from Winston Churchill to the Rolling Stones </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 1.2em;">I am not the first to discover the delight of swapping a grey city for the bewitching sounds, smells and colours of Marrakech, which is only a four-hour flight from the UK. Its arresting exoticism has captured many in the past - the Rolling Stones in the 1960s were among its most notorious visitors (tales of their infamous stays at La Mamounia make up a large part of the hotel's guided tours). </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiai2WgtBqDjqdVGvRvd2wODj3Hw0D9oZXlhxuFJPHmNq-QFpOt_ABbhcavXtMZBaXGQkgKI2099O4LmrJ9EPIpD1vvTBu8HQ8_T5VQg7Rai28mq3aEh8NcIoI9uCfsMWbopk2ZzQnpqdE/s1600/dubai-souk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiai2WgtBqDjqdVGvRvd2wODj3Hw0D9oZXlhxuFJPHmNq-QFpOt_ABbhcavXtMZBaXGQkgKI2099O4LmrJ9EPIpD1vvTBu8HQ8_T5VQg7Rai28mq3aEh8NcIoI9uCfsMWbopk2ZzQnpqdE/s1600/dubai-souk.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Sir Winston Churchill was another regular - he came to regard the imperial city as his winter home. Churchill is in my mind on the first evening when I see the expansive Jemaa el Fna square. Arabic music, bartering and snake charmers' flutes drum up an orchestra that reverberates around one of the world's biggest open-air restaurants. What would the great statesman have made of this urban clearing?  </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 1.2em;">I feel part of a Mexican wave. Waiters from the 50-odd food stalls run rings serving hundreds of customers a steaming selection of meat, fish and vegetables from their roaring barbecues. </span></div>
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Spiritual centre: The beautiful Koutoubia Mosque calls locals to prayer<br />
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">In the background, herbalists, storytelling halakis and belly-dancers do their best to compete with the deafening sound of excited children and motor engines, while plying their trade nearby. In a city that seems effervescent at all hours, visitors can at least be thankful for the tranquillity of its Riad guesthouses.  </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">There are now said to be more than 1,000 of these serene city sanctuaries built into the cool walls of the Old City, each with courtyards, exotic greenery and heart-shaped fountains. I seek refuge at the superb Dar Les Cigognes, which sits quietly behind a gold-studded door along an otherwise anonymous street. </span><br />
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<a href="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/02/22/article-0-11D49E11000005DC-26_634x377.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Djeema el Fna Square" border="0" class="blkBorder" height="190" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/02/22/article-0-11D49E11000005DC-26_634x377.jpg" style="border-left-color: black; border-right-color: black; border-top-color: black; border-top-style: solid; border-width: 1px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Breakfast on the roof in view of les cigognes - the storks that live in gargantuan nests atop the 16th century former Sultan's residence, Palais el-Badi - is a daily treat. El Fna, by day, is quiet. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">To the north of this now empty space are the labyrinthine alleys that make up Morocco's most celebrated experience - the souks. 'Souk Safari' is now on offer at all of the district's entry points. I turn down a guide's help, deciding instead to wander solo down the maze of shops and stalls. </span><br />
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Chaotic crush: Djeema el Fna Square comes alive in the evening with entertainment and market and music</div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">It's hard not to be taken in by the hand-welded musical instruments, fabrics and spices I am sure to have no use for back home. But the sellers never fail to entice with their smiles and mocking repartee. 'Come and have a butcher's,' one hollers in perfect Cockney. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEhL31E39FZ3b0QPc-VZ9r2CxnyBTAMzOLBsIAUq9Ph1CHy8g74s7qF_Rs7xshUqBd671P7QYq1Bb-ez5sZ1KoFMhBfOjwEoKrp4sfIru_sVRVdueV7ARoZN4mvx_YuSAj-ZcbH4fmtKgEAUqVyHxxkzlMKn48RvkmOexJNP0JuDnMpNv_Bk-hNtfQizU1l9A_VO9bqo=" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Minaret and Koutoubia Mosque" border="0" class="blkBorder" height="358" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/02/22/article-0-11D49C97000005DC-119_634x358.jpg" style="border-left-color: black; border-right-color: black; border-top-color: black; border-top-style: solid; border-width: 1px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="634" /></a><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Shopping, though, is not restricted to the souks. On another ramble through the Medina, I spot a man ushering people down an almost obscured corridor. Inside is a vast seven-room, two-storey emporium of handmade lanterns, pots, belts, candles, leather-bound mirrors and hulky armchairs. I don't escape empty handed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">The French colonial new town Le Gueliz is a sparkling contrast. It is full of high-rise malls, cafe culture and coach tours. This Westernised area - overrun with international brands and modern apartment complexes - lacks the thrill of the Medina. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">It might be awash with luxury hotels and golf resorts, but the result is sterile. For me the scruffy, ancient streets of Marrakech hold greater appeal. And there can be no better tonic in the chill of winter than this feverish Moroccan jasmine-scented city - even with its hullabaloo. </span></div>
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          <span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Travel Facts</span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Dar les Cigognes has rooms from £153 (00 212 524 38 27 40, </span><a href="http://www.sanssoucicollection.com/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #003580; cursor: pointer; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">www.sanssoucicollection.com</a><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">) BA flies from London Gatwick to Marrakech from £139 return (0844 493 0787, </span><a href="http://www.ba.com/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #003580; cursor: pointer; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">www.ba.com</a><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">)</span></div>
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Morocco's bright lights: Romance, riads and arresting exoticism in the Red City

The Red City yanks you from the 21st century immediately. So much so, it seems impossible that my day began in gloomy London. I stand paral...

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The Chic Of Marrakech

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<span style="font-family: baskerville, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 22px;">Its voluptuous <b>exoticism</b> and easy accessibility have always drawn a certain traveler to this Arab oasis. Now, thanks to an influx of new money and smart new places to stay, the rest of the world is checking in as well.</span></div>
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<span class="dropcap">Frederick Vreeland, the former U.S. ambassador to Morocco and son of Diana, the legendary<em>Vogue</em> editor, has just flown in from Rome to host a lunch party at his <b><a href="http://marrakech-ravels.blogspot.com/">Marrakech</a></b> home, Orchard of the Shooting Star.</span></div>
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Like Vreeland himself, who is tall, slim, and devastatingly good-looking, with intense dark eyes and his mother's high cheekbones, the house oozes Bohemian chic. The villa is located in the Palmeraie, the smart enclave of Marrakech, home to the crème of the city's society, including the transient population renting private houses (the insider alternative to Marrakech's five-star hotels). Vreeland's is the best of them, hidden behind sunburnt walls and a heavy, studded wooden door. There is no traffic, only the sound of a Berber shepherd exhorting his ragtag flock, and birds—thousands of birds. Their song comes from within the orchard of apricot, lemon, and olive trees surrounding the pretty eight-bedroom house, built around a shady courtyard and cluttered with 18th-century European antiques, Moroccan textiles, worn sofas, and Venetian oils. The centerpiece is an arch-shaped pool on a raised terrace overlooking the garden. Swallows dart at the water; bees hover in the flowers; the scent of orange blossoms fills the air.</div>
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We eat in the shade—the group includes a fashion photographer, New York banker, and Moroccan palm tree specialist. The talk is of Marrakech's current popularity; the city was empty of even the Gettys (among the early high-style immigrants to Marrakech in the late 1960s) when Vreeland first arrived on an official tour with Jackie Kennedy in '63. At that time the Palmeraie was uninhabited. Now his neighbors include various scions of the Moroccan royal family, Xavier Hermès, and Farid Belkahia (North Africa's most well known contemporary artist) as well as seasonal guests like Linda Evangelista, Nicole Kidman, and Giorgio Armani. "Marrakech has become <em>the</em> destination," says Vreeland. "Everyone is talking about it. It has heritage and exoticism, but it's also a place where as an American you feel most at home in both the Arab and African worlds."</div>
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The signs are everywhere. In the Palmeraie, four-wheel-drives cruise past with darkened windows, disappearing behind bolted doors into secret gardens. I stay at Dar Tamsna, a favorite of the visiting fashion pack, where I'm waited on by a staff of nine and have a pool to myself; there are antique-filled salons and a garden that flickers with candles when night falls. I hear about other villas, about land prices going from $75,000 for 2.5 acres in 1995 to double that now, about the people defecting from London, Paris, and Rome. "I used to flatter myself that I knew every foreigner in this town," says Memphis-born Bill Willis, an interiors architect who came here in '66 to work on the homes of Yves Saint Laurent and French philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy. "Now," says Willis, who is Marrakech's most famous socialite, "I feel I don't know anybody anymore."</div>
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Marrakech's old town, or walled medina, has witnessed the greatest influx. The attraction is the riads, traditional houses built around internal courtyards hidden behind the featureless walls that make up the alleys. Many are being converted into <em>maisons d'hôte,</em> or upmarket B&Bs. There is Riad Enija, with its glorious courtyard (colorful mosaic tiling, a fountain at its center) and Riyad El Cadi, nestled at the end of three narrow lanes. Occupying five interconnected courtyards, El Cadi dates back to the 13th century. Its walls are hung with the owner's exquisite collection of early Islamic and Byzantine art and 19th-century Berber textiles, and some of what is displayed has traveled on loan to major exhibitions.</div>
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Aside from the B&Bs, there are more obvious signs of a destination much changed. In the medina, women in Prada wander the souk for handwoven silks (I even see a pair of Manolos negotiate their way through the dust), meeting for a light lunch at Ryad Tamsna, a stylish restaurant-boutique converted by Parisian-Senegalese ex-pat Meryanne Loum-Martin. Late in the afternoon the well-heeled retreat to the cream linen banquettes and sip mint tea. My address book bulges with recommendations: Beldi, where Paloma Picasso comes for her handstitched caftans; Valérie Barkowski, a designer of colorful knitwear and hand-finished bed linens; Place Vendôme, where a friend wants her Fendi baguette copied in pale-cream kid.</div>
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There are also galleries. I visit Ministero del Gusto, an appointment-only house exhibiting contemporary, African-inspired furniture (more Soho than Maghreb), owned by Alessandra Lippini, a former fashion editor from Italy. It's surprising that a shop this sophisticated (a Moroccan combination of Gaudì and Warhol's Factory) can pull it off in a North African oasis. But the clients come, including David Bowie. We talk—Lippini, her partner Fabrizio Bizzarri, and Frans Ankone, Marrakech habitué and art director of Romeo Gigli—concurring that the appeal of Marrakech is that it is the safest far-off city you can find. You don't even get hustled. Quite the opposite is true: A Moroccan friend helping me find a shop in the souk is the one who gets stopped—by the Tourist Brigade, introduced a few years ago to stamp out the pseudo guides who used to give Marrakech its insalubrious reputation.</div>
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Moroccan food is heavy (rich tagines, <em>pastillas</em> dunked in oil) which is surprising, considering most of the country was a French protectorate for so long: The kitchen is usually the first thing to be colonized by the Gallic motherland. But a more delicate cuisine is developing, driven by the demand of discerning visitors, with up-and-coming chefs like Swiss-trained Moha Fedal giving French twists to Dar Moha Almadina's Moroccan staples. At Le Comptoir Darna, young, rich Marrakechis sip Champagne over Oualidia oysters.</div>
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These portents of sophistication are not confined to the city proper. In the High Atlas Mountains, an hour's drive from Marrakech, Kasbahs, or old fortified castles, are being turned into luxury hotels. British entrepreneur Richard Branson is renovating Kasbah Tamadot, the former home of California-based antiques dealer Luciano Tempo. It's a breathtaking place, overlooking the Asni Valley, thick with wildflowers, orchards, and swimming pools in hidden courtyards. Farther into the hinterland, Bill Willis is converting Kasbah Agadir N'Gouf. And there's Kasbah Agafay, a new all-suite hotel converted from a 150-year-old hilltop fort 20 minutes outside the city. It is a trend inspired by Amanresorts' Amanjena (opened last February), where the suites are like fiefdoms, the pools like lakes, the hotel the ultimate $800-a-night symbol of the new chic of Marrakech. "Marrakech gives quality of life," says Farid Belkahia. We are sitting in the artist's villa, stuffed with books, paintings, and antiques. "But it's also a place people visit for a reason—spiritual, intellectual, cultural. It makes writers and artists inquisitive. The trouble is that the Occident doesn't necessarily understand it. They don't have this kind of spirituality in their own countries. They come here to try to listen, but this indicates to me that there are some problems in the Occident, that there is something missing." His wife, author Rajae Benchemsi, cuts in: "They just want a hit of Orientalism."</div>
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When Western travelers of the 19th century spoke of the Orient, they largely meant the hot, desert Islamic countries of North Africa and the Middle East. Their champion was painter Eugène Delacroix, whose overland journey through Morocco in 1832 became the archetype of the Orientalist experience. It was exotic, with men in djellabahs smoking hookahs, and erotic, with kohl-eyed women hidden behind veils. This cliché is what visitors still expect of Marrakech.</div>
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From the air, the medina must look just like an earthworm's nest—a knot of narrow pink lanes circumscribed by eight kilometers of 12th-century ramparts. On the ground, it is no less dense. The epicenter is the Jemaa el Fnaa—the Times Square of Marrakech. Except the people seem more peculiar. A man with a face like a dried date circles an egg around a girl's head. Behind him sits another fortune teller melting lead. Children try to catch soda bottles with a hook and bamboo rod. A family sits with a scribe. There are snake charmers and monkeys on chains. Smoke rises from steaming escargots; lambs' brains are laid out in neat little rows. There are castanets, tambourines, mobile phones; and there is shrieking laughter. There are storytellers, acrobats, and male belly dancers in drag performing wherever a pool of space forms in the evening crowd.</div>
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Flanking the Jemaa el Fnaa are the most heavily trafficked souks. There are no cars (it's too tight), only mules and carts. Sun slices through the oleander awnings, through skeins of fuchsia, saffron, and indigo cottons hung out by dyers in the early morning. Artisans work in hovels, chipping at tiles. Each trade—tanners, leatherworkers, metalworkers, slipper-makers—keeps to its own quarter, infused with a defining scent: rotting carcasses, burning metal. Except for the absent veils (this is a progressive Islamic state), it is still a Delacroix canvas. There is nothing familiar—I saw only a single pair of<em>babouches</em> (Moroccan slippers) with the fake Vuitton monogram—and there are no advertising billboards.</div>
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Globalization runs out of momentum in Marrakech. "Moroccans are proud and have a very ancient culture. They're open-minded to what comes in from outside, as long as it fits in with the local philosophy," says Mohamed Bouskri, a VIP guide for the last 32 years. "There is neither systematic rejection nor acceptance of new ideas. This is because we're African-Mediterranean and Muslim by religion. We are a mosaic of different cultures with a history of filtering influences. The Jewish Mellah and Royal Palace are back to back, despite our king being the highest representative of the Islamic faith. And Club Med is next to the Koutoubia Mosque."</div>
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"There seems to be some real cultural elasticity here," says Gary Martin, an American ethnobotanist living in the city. "There's an ability to deal with the introduction of new cultural pressures. They're able to absorb it. This is why Marrakech retains its own identity."</div>
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Visitors seeking their hit of Orientalism will be satiated; it is the familiar that eludes you, not the mystique. Yet most of the tourists coming through Marrakech touch only the surface—certain sights, certain places: the ruins of the 16th-century royal palace, Yves Saint Laurent's spectacularly renovated Majorelle Gardens, the metalworkers' souk. This, however, is no longer enough for the increasing number of more discerning visitors who want to go beyond the picturesque. And beyond the obvious, from Berber Picassos (the carpet weavers) to that inevitable story about a grand vizier and his 25 concubines that trips off the tongue of every guide at the Bahia Palace. This triviality has become Martin's bugbear. Identifying the demand for a more sophisticated cultural experience, he recently launched Diversity Excursions, an organization specializing in custom tours accompanied by Moroccan academics, from garden historians to archaeologists. Says Martin, "Its purpose is to plunge deeper into the things that everyone else sees, and things that they don't even get near."</div>
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I'm floating above Marrakech in a hot-air balloon. I can see the Atlas Mountains rising dramatically out of the plain, and the Palmeraie, with its patches of green, stretching out from the pink warren of the bustling city. Camels are strung out along the northern walls; the gates into the medina are jammed. I try to peer into the gardens of the private villas. They're too far below, a flock of goats becoming a string of ants on a sere hill. I am reminded of Willis: "To be in the world's largest oasis with those mountains in the distance, it's so theatrical. Throw in the silhouette of the palm trees and it looks like a corny stage set." Better. Better by far. Because Marrakech is a city that understands the value of privacy, epitomized in the medina's architecture with its courtyard gardens and high, windowless walls. I wonder then if it's this subtlety, the sense of understatement, that makes Marrakech the sophisticate of Africa.</div>
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The Chic Of Marrakech

Its voluptuous exoticism and easy accessibility have always drawn a certain traveler to this Arab oasis. Now, thanks to an influx of new...

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Marrakech Best Spa´s

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdTRSAqM22jF17OuhaR4dxzuvDiLxedW5gK2Z-2O8JQ74QRpCCTylD4ryEXwQtwfaDY-yUls3TlC-bCBkEIZA51z3h7SWsFchkx0gAX_gPoExDg2ytpcTeaz0C18rQHtLzXosMSUtd6UCm/s1600/marrakech-spa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdTRSAqM22jF17OuhaR4dxzuvDiLxedW5gK2Z-2O8JQ74QRpCCTylD4ryEXwQtwfaDY-yUls3TlC-bCBkEIZA51z3h7SWsFchkx0gAX_gPoExDg2ytpcTeaz0C18rQHtLzXosMSUtd6UCm/s320/marrakech-spa.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">When its time to put your feet up and relax after long days out-and-about and late night partying, head straight to one of <b><a href="http://marrakech-travels.blogspot.com/">Marrakech’s</a></b> relaxing hammams and day spas for an indulgent spa treatment. <br /><a name='more'></a>Here is a list of our favourite spas in Marrakech - click on the links below to find out further information and to make a booking: </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> 1. La Mamounia - More Information </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> 2. Amanjena Spa - More Information </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> 3. Ksar Char-Bagh - More Information </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> 4. Hotel La Sultana - More Information </div><div style="text-align: justify;">5. Hammam Ziani - A local hammam with basic facilities: rue Riad Zitoun El Jedid, Medina; 8am - 10.30pm daily.</div>

Marrakech Best Spa´s

When its time to put your feet up and relax after long days out-and-about and late night partying, head straight to one of Marrakech’s rela...

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Oukameden Ski Resort

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXM_4jG2Xcl97otmXLn3qMhpMYFQvrP9bDDQ013et9-7VL_mWrl3NsQHfDVHBF5UhicGD_eeiEZqz_JLR49So-fCWsXIUa4PY5DcpTkkeGTRO-a_VuGx9_9IOnNua8tN5vsqOzZb7jVTlp/s1600/oukameden-ski-resort.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXM_4jG2Xcl97otmXLn3qMhpMYFQvrP9bDDQ013et9-7VL_mWrl3NsQHfDVHBF5UhicGD_eeiEZqz_JLR49So-fCWsXIUa4PY5DcpTkkeGTRO-a_VuGx9_9IOnNua8tN5vsqOzZb7jVTlp/s320/oukameden-ski-resort.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">Given the soaring heat of <a href="http://marrakech-travels.blogspot.com/">Marrakech</a>, its incredible that within only one hour’s drive you can be in the dramatic snow capped peaks of the Atlas Mountains. </span></div><a name='more'></a>Snow generally falls between February and April each year, which is the peak period for the Oukaïmeden Ski Resort which is located high above the Ourika Valley. In a novel twist, skiers ride by donkey from the bottom of the mountain to the top with their ski and snowboarding equipment, making for a completely unique experience. You can hire whatever equipment you need at the resort.

Oukameden Ski Resort

Given the soaring heat of Marrakech , its incredible that within only one hour’s drive you can be in the dramatic snow capped peaks of the A...

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Riad El Fenn, Marrakesh: hotel review

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<br /><strong>Style/character 7/10</strong><br />
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<br />Part luxury bolthole; part art gallery. Decoratively, the courtyards and <br />  colonnades are kept simple – the focus is the riad’s collection of modern <br />  art. Works include photographs of Morocco by Terence Donovan, a study by <br />  Antony Gormley and a head-turning image from Pieter Hugo’s series The Hyena <br />  and Other Men. There’s a modest hamman, and the best of the two pools is <br />  heated and surrounded by a tangle of vines. The riad also offers painting <br />  and photography courses. <br />
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<br /><strong>Rooms 8/10</strong><br />
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<br />Each has its own work of art and is individually styled. Rooms have a seating <br />  area, but those in the courtyard are smaller. If possible book one of the <br />  enormous suites, with features ranging from a hot pink regency-style lounge, <br />  to a gold-leaf fireplace or a private terrace with a glass-bottomed plunge <br />  pool and a porthole to your room below. <br />
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<br /><strong>Service 6/10</strong><br />
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<br />Did not quite meet the standards expected. Waiting staff, especially at <br />  breakfast, seemed to have their minds elsewhere. A more pro-active approach <br />  to maintenance would also be welcome: staff were aware that a couple of <br />  minor fittings needed fixing (a change of light bulb, a bathroom hook) but <br />  these were not seen to during our stay. <br />
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<br /><strong>Food and drink 7/10</strong><br />
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<br />Breakfast, which can be taken in areas throughout the hotel, was wonderful, <br />  consisting of fresh baguette, fruit salad with pomegranate, local honey, <br />  pancakes and light, home made yoghurt. The modern restaurant and cocktail <br />  bar offered respectable European fare and a set, three-course menu that <br />  included salmon with fennel mouse and duck with orange and lavender sauce <br />  for £34. <br />
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<br /><strong>Value for money 7/10</strong><br />
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<br />Art-lovers should splash out, as should those wanting a memorable suite for a <br />  special occasion. Courtyard rooms start at £150 a night; suites at £290 in <br />  low season. Breakfast and afternoon tea is included. <br />
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<br /><strong>Access for guests with disabilities</strong><br />
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<br />The restaurant, and five bedrooms, are on the ground floor allowing for <br />  wheelchair access. <br />
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<br /><strong>Details</strong><br />
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<br />Bab El Ksour, Medina, Marrakesh, Morocco (00 212 524 44 1210; <a href="http://www.riadelfenn.com/">www.riadelfenn.com</a>). <br />
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<br /><strong>Overall rating </strong><br />
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<br /><strong>7/10 </strong><br />
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Riad El Fenn, Marrakesh: hotel review

Style/character 7/10 Part luxury bolthole; part art gallery. Decoratively, the courtyards and colonnades are kept simple – the focu...

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Casino de Marrakech

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjvWB5vXt9BL8UAAkqksWd4Nyiz2mWfaxdbmN5ZPyLdCOZZ5OZA7VgqLPVhisC11PKh9cs5fV9YHWq9Hy6C0hzS-VYS_CndLSUMA2eDXJQSbp0oRl5Kco0iBss97A4ORMJyoT3OKHE3LE/s1600/casino_marrakech.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjvWB5vXt9BL8UAAkqksWd4Nyiz2mWfaxdbmN5ZPyLdCOZZ5OZA7VgqLPVhisC11PKh9cs5fV9YHWq9Hy6C0hzS-VYS_CndLSUMA2eDXJQSbp0oRl5Kco0iBss97A4ORMJyoT3OKHE3LE/s1600/casino_marrakech.png" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Opened in 1952 with a full revue show imported from Paris, the Casino has seen the likes of Josephine Baker grace its stage. It now features 14 gaming tables and a cabaret show.<b> Casino <a href="http://marrakech-travels.blogspot.com/">de Marrakech</a></b> has become a legendary stop for international travellers and local players.<br /><a name='more'></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is well known for high stakes poker tournaments and hosts a step of the world poker tour.Open every night. Slot machines from 2 p.m. till 4 a.m. Gaming tables from 8 p.m. till 4 a.m. Till 5 a.m. on weekends.<b>The Casino de Marrakech</b> is part of Es Saadi Gardens & Resort.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Casino de Marrakech</b><br />rue Ibrahim El Mazini, Marrakech 40000, Morocco </div><img alt="" height="0" src="F:%5CMY%20PORTABLE%20PROGAMS%5CAuto%20Blog%20Samurai%20Portable%5Cdata%5Cmarrakech-trips%5Ctravelmarrakech%20co%20uk%5C" width="0" /> <b></b>

Casino de Marrakech

Opened in 1952 with a full revue show imported from Paris, the Casino has seen the likes of Josephine Baker grace its stage. It now features...

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Marrakech or Marrakesh? Riad, Ryad, Riyad or Riyadh?

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgPlyJv_XWi4wur7BalENpa7vZCGNxJX4DRnrEcODS_gtMuq3a6humI2pa8RhGYy9zaF59orL95X6m6O0UNIALqgB6QFOf-ayz3_63_bikDznlnEoNcHkPxDn-BIjJPKQge_q6s1AuXaQ/s1600/marrakech.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgPlyJv_XWi4wur7BalENpa7vZCGNxJX4DRnrEcODS_gtMuq3a6humI2pa8RhGYy9zaF59orL95X6m6O0UNIALqgB6QFOf-ayz3_63_bikDznlnEoNcHkPxDn-BIjJPKQge_q6s1AuXaQ/s1600/marrakech.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://marrakech-travels.blogspot.com/">Marrakech</a> or Marrakesh? Riad, Ryad, Riyad or Riyadh?The city is spelled “Marrakech” in French and commonly use by foreigners except English thats will say ‘Marrakesh’ and Germans say “Marrakesch”. </b><br /><a name='more'></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Riad sometimes written Ryad Riyad or Riyadh literally means garden, and describes traditional and wonderfully atmospheric Medina houses that open inward to a garden courtyard lending themselves to sensitive conversion to intimate and individual guest house or hotel accommodation.</b></div><b><img alt="" height="0" src="F:%5CMY%20PORTABLE%20PROGAMS%5CAuto%20Blog%20Samurai%20Portable%5Cdata%5Cmarrakech-trips%5Ctravelmarrakech%20co%20uk%5C" width="0" /> <b></b></b>

Marrakech or Marrakesh? Riad, Ryad, Riyad or Riyadh?

Marrakech or Marrakesh? Riad, Ryad, Riyad or Riyadh?The city is spelled “Marrakech” in French and commonly use by foreigners except English...

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Marrakech Quad Tours

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhECyZJc8t8YLAJdt9gP48rhL2s9bjdTd8r8PxuHK2s6NVQhnxd9IhnDRnTQeB_bHtig2rNWyxd8jeBMONkOqpVqKJY0OMX08_o7rToz0A8PBNLiUT7MkwxfsHUziUuzY0_5Se1PEl4w3s/s1600/quad-bike-in-the-desert.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhECyZJc8t8YLAJdt9gP48rhL2s9bjdTd8r8PxuHK2s6NVQhnxd9IhnDRnTQeB_bHtig2rNWyxd8jeBMONkOqpVqKJY0OMX08_o7rToz0A8PBNLiUT7MkwxfsHUziUuzY0_5Se1PEl4w3s/s320/quad-bike-in-the-desert.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">There are many places where you can go quad biking starting from 1 hour to a full day however don’t expect the desert in Marrakech. The best you can hope for is rough terrain, river and scenic berber villages however if you willing to travel 600 Km in the direction to Merzouga South of <a href="http://marrakech-travels.blogspot.com/"><b>Marrakech</b></a> you will find a true desert.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Let’s stay in Marrakech!!! – Even not the same there’s a fantastic quad bike track in the Palmeraie, 15 mins by taxi from the medina. It’s run by Nomade Quad. They organizes hiking tours, camel raids and Quad biking.<br /><a name='more'></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Quad Nomad is managed by professionals and they have extensive experience organizing tours for visitors. You may need to book in advanced, and they’ll come and pick you up from your accommodation for no additional charge.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">You can also ride quad bikes at Lalla Takerkoust, 35km from Marrakech, where there’s a dam with a huge reservoir with other water sports available in an area that have perfect trails for walking, mountain/quad biking and horse riding.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">If you plan to visit Essaouira you must go to Palmaquad, here you will be well looked after safety wise and also you will be riding some massive sand dunes right next to the Atlantic Ocean, on nearly new bikes and the prices are cheaper than in Marrakech.</div>

Marrakech Quad Tours

There are many places where you can go quad biking starting from 1 hour to a full day however don’t expect the desert in Marrakech. The best...

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