This is a directory of the places of where I stayed in Morocco with links to the hotels website if you are interested in taking a look. The hotels that don’t have a website can be found through the usual travel booking websites such as Expedia etc. There is a map showing where I travelled to in Morocco below the list of hotels and riads.
In general, all of the hotels were in a decent central location near to the major sites, were clean, quiet, comfortable, had free decent WiFi (mostly) and worth the money paid. In my opinion, the riads though were more ‘authentic’ and actually felt more Moroccan than most of the hotels and if you come to Morocco, I would encourage you to stay in a Riad not only because they are beautiful, the hospitality and welcome is genuine and not experienced in any hotel.
Breakfasts served in all of them were a good continental style with fresh fruits, juice, breads, pastries and eggs, but sometimes the coffee was questionable. Some evening meals, although good, became a little repetitive with meat or vegetable tajines and cous cous on offer so it made a nice alternative to eat out or visit a local shop to buy some snacks (bread, cheese, tomatoes etc.) and eat in the hotel’s lobby.
Morocco being a Muslim country, alcohol is not freely available in every restaurant or hotel, but is available to buy in ‘secret’ bottle shops or in a separate section of a Carrefour supermarket. Just be sure to check with the hotel if they allow you to drink it on their premises first.
It seems ages since we left Marrakech but it was only a couple of weeks ago. Perhaps instead of the excitement and anticipation of looking forward to the upcoming adventure, it was a little more sad because everyone, now good friends, would be leaving soon, breaking up the group heading home back to their familiar lives and work. Fortunately we had a day lounging by the pool, soaking up the unbearably hot Moroccan sun with a few cold beers, followed by a night out for one last meal together. Good news is there was not a tajine in sight which we were all thankful for, plus it was at a particularly swanky hotel and we all felt a little underdressed. No doubt about it, the food was magnificent. I had a penne pasta with tomatoe and mozzarella and it was really, really delicious. Eating that, I could have been anywhere in the world but it was so good, I really didn’t care about my location.
The next day, after a few good byes, headed into town and the main square (Jemaa el Fnaa) in Marrakech and found a bar with a high vantage point to people watch, drink non alcoholic, ice cold fruit cocktails and sat there waiting for the sun to set and for all the vendors to start trading in earnest. It’s just too hot during the day. The square comes alive just before sunset with people selling juice, fruit, smokey BBQ’s and grills selling all sorts of meat including sheeps head, there are women offering henna tattoos, snake charmers, monkey wranglers etc. It’s an assault on the senses becoming overwhelming in the heat. I do feel quite sorry for the animals made to perform for tourists, wings clipped or kept on a short leash in pretty horrid conditions, but I guess the animals probably don’t know any other ‘life’. Amongst all the hustle and bustle, I found it quite claustrophobic and an invasion of personal space. Every vendor is shouting at you, running to meet you carrying a menu trying to invite you over but as adventurous as I am, I just didn’t fancy paying to play with a cobra or eat a sheeps head. Call me old fashioned…
Having changed from the hotel to a riad (Riad Le Jardin D’Abdou), I was so grateful to get back to the peace and tranquility. As before, the riad was in the medina in an old part of the town, about 15mins walk away from the tourist hot spots. I felt quite isolated in the area, maybe it was paranoia more than anything but I did feel vulnerable. I tried not to let it show by walking and looking confident which helped my frame of mind a lot. This is true in any city even back home. The thing is, everyone I have met here has been very helpful, friendly and welcoming, Moroccan people are so hospitable. Having said that, if you wander the souks and medinas with a guide, the storeholders tend to leave you alone. But venture in by yourself later on, then you become their ’prey’ – and they will pester you to visit their shop, but perhaps not as aggressive as those in Egypt though. I made it successfully back to the Riad which was an absolute joy to find. Staying there, I felt like royalty or if I had won the lottery. I could not have asked for a nicer place to stay (except for the location). It really makes you wonder what is behind all the other scuzzy looking doors you walk past…
Next day, I visited a place I have wanted for visit for some time now and as I had a day to kill before I caught my train to Casablanca, I visited Le Jardin Majorelle. I have seen it a few times on gardening shows and magazines etc., and it always looked good. You know sometimes when you see something on TV and you visit it and it doesn’t live up to expectations? Well, this was the complete opposite. It exceeded all my expectations. Even with some of it closed off for further development, it was amazing. I had a couple of hours to explore and it was so much more than just an ornamental garden. I was extremely grateful for the shade offered by the plants too, I could have easily spent longer. If ever you visit Marrakech, please visit Le Jardin Majorelle. You will not regret it.
Today, I checked out of the riad and caught the train from Marrakech to Casablanca. I got a first class ticket for 148 dirhams (about £12) and shared the cabin with 6 other people from Morocco, France and Algeria and we chatted for the whole journey of about 250km / 3-4 hours. I cannot get a return from Wokingham to London for less than £25 and in a carriage where nobody talks to anyone. We’ve got it so wrong in England.
So, departure day finally came round after months of waiting and anticipation.
I stayed at a hotel near Gatwick the night before departure which was fortunate as there were issues affecting all the trains. Anyway all checked in with British Airways and I survived the ‘chemical assault’ that is the duty free perfume department.
A very pleasant flight lasting just over 3 hours and I landed in Marrakech. What I didn’t anticipate was the 1-2 hour queue through immigration but as I had no immediate agenda or time limit, it really didn’t bother me. There was a driver waiting for me and accommodation was booked so all was good. The drive from the airport was an eye opener but the manic driving chaos seems to work as they all do it. However seeing the district and streets where my riad was, my heart sank a little and I thought to myself what have I done. I wouldn’t walk down this street in day time, let alone after dark. It was scruffy to say the least, piles of building material left over, graffiti, rubbish here there and everywhere, people hanging around and certainly not a touristy area at all. Actually, this is great. This is a locals area living their lives how they do. Who am I to judge?
Once inside the riad though. Oh my god. What a difference, a real tranquil oasis away from the all noise, madness and heat.
This was a different world and the staff were so nice it felt more like I was staying at a friends house rather than a paying guest. They even arranged for a local guide to show me around Marrakech and showed my some of the palaces, took me through the souks and avoided a lot of the tourist tat traps. I was a really nice way to spend a late morning and early afternoon.
The pastillas were really tasty lunch treat (filo pastry with shredded chicken, herbs, spices, cinnamon and icing sugar).
It was a shame to check out a couple of days later, but being woken at 04.45 each day for a call to prayer from the loudspeaker outside the riad took me my surprise as I do like my full 8 hours…
Got a transfer to a ‘western’ hotel in the new town and despite its stupidity oversized swimming pool, which was lovely to cool off in, really it was not a patch on the riad. I had to switch hotel because I was meeting a new tour guide / group and this was the joining hotel. They all seem a very decent crowd and sure we’ll all get on well. The food has been ok so far but already a few days in and if I see another tajine…
So today we left the hotel in an air conditioned (thankfully!) minibus and drove about 3 hours to Casablanca. Have only scratched the surface here so far, but had a tour of Hassan 2 mosque which can accommodate 25,000 worshipers.
We also called at Rick’s Bar. If Casablanca were filmed here (which none of it was), Bogart would have been a sweaty mess wearing a dinner suit as it’s touching 40 degrees Celsius.
