Travelife Magazine's Special MOROCCO Feature

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VOL. 8 ISS. 2

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TRAVELIFE MAGAZINE weaves a mesmerizing tale of contrasts

Morocco is a country of dramatic distinctions, with elegant mosques co-existing with lively souks in ancient but bustling cities. In between the vast and shifting sands of the Sahara Desert and the majestic peaks of the Rif Mountains, travelers can experience the best of Morocco’s imperial cities. Get lost in the maze of Fez, stroll the coastlines just outside Rabat or simply enjoy the peaceful beauty of the famed Majorelle gardens in Marrakech, with its exquisite flowers and plants in a setting of terracotta and cobalt blue.

MODEL Nikki Tang Photography Christine Cunanan and Stella Chia-Tan Special thanks to Rinby Lao

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AT THE PEAK OF BEAUTY Stretching over a thousand miles, Morocco’s famed Atlas Mountains are divided into three parallel ranges dotted with Berber villages and kasbahs that offer travelers glimpses of the original nomadic life.

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ODE TO KINGS AND PRINCES The Mausoleum of King Mohammad V opposite the historic Hassan Tower in the capital of Rabat also contains the tombs of King Hassan II and his brother, making it one of Morocco’s most significant shrines. Royal guards watch over the tombs adorned with zellij mosaics, gold ceilings, and hand-carved cedar wood panels.

UNIQUE ARTISTRY Moroccan design is based on symmetry and patterns.

Artisans create these terracotta tiles, called zellij, by hand, using intricate stencil designs based on Islamic art.

These are found everywhere in Morocco including in the kitchens of private homes, on public fountains, on the walls of mosques, and even on furniture.

THE BLUE NATURE’S NEST The Majorelle Gardens at the heart of one of Morocco’s most fashionable residential neighborhoods is also one of the loveliest spots in this famed city.

French artist Jacques Majorelle, partner of designer Yves Saint Laurent, painted the garden in cobalt blue, inspired by the beauty and color of the Atlas Mountains.

Its calming bamboo groves, lily-covered pools, and exotic plants have made it Marrakech’s most popular tourist attraction.

EXPLORE MOROCCO

ONCE UPON

a Riad

PHOTOS BY XXXXXXX.

CHRISTINE CUNANAN uncovers the beauty of Marrakech, one trip at a time

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Moroccans are not flashy people by nature, even if many of the old homes and palaces glitter inside with ornate décor and colorful designs.

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od, my American guide, was late for our 1 PM appointment last May, to see the colorful and interesting side of Marrakech that few tourists have trodden through. “I’ve been to Marrakech four times,” I’d told him, in our emails back and forth between Morocco and Asia prior to my arrival, “and my last visit was just five months ago. I want to see something really interesting that I’ve not yet seen.”

I knew this was an almost impossible mandate, as the medina of Marrakech is not large and it’s remained largely unchanged for centuries.

No matter how you look at it, there is very little to reinvent or to resurrect after you’ve seen Koutoubia Mosque, the souk and the massive Jmaa el Fnaa square four times.

So for a brief moment, it crossed my mind that he wasn’t coming after all because he actually had nothing left to show me. But a phone call came through to my hotel room, just as I was about to ring for a driver to turn an afternoon of sightseeing into one of shopping.

A MINOR DETOUR “I’m really sorry,” he said, “but the walls of my house caved in last night with the rains, and I’ve just had to trudge through kilometers of muddy road. But I’m on my way, and I’ll be at your hotel in 15 minutes.”

That was a very good excuse for tardiness, if I ever heard one. However, in this case, it was true. It had rained heavily the previous night, and Tod lived in a largely self-built mud house in the Atlas Mountains, the lone foreigner in an isolated village of Berbers which still doesn’t have a proper road. So you have to take a 4WD up to a certain point in the mountains and then hike up from there.

After the rains had stopped, he’d patched up his wall as best as he could, and then walked down the slippery slopes to the nearest main road.

Braving possible additional landslides and chilly weather, he was finally on his way to see me.

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THE ROAD LED TO MOROCCO This unusual background was partly why I’d chosen him as well, out of dozens of private guides offering their services to tourists in Marrakech. I was intrigued by his story of having flown over to Morocco with a friend on a whim, and then of how he’d ended up staying for over 10 years, learning Arabic and converting to Islam in the process.

Now Morocco was home, and he was an outsider on the inside in a remote village, with plans of documenting his experiences and dreams of turning his home into a comfortable kasbah for adventurous foreigners to stay in.

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That afternoon, he took me to see a different kind of Marrakech from the usual luxurious aspect of it that had already captured my heart. From my hotel, we walked through the maze of streets that make up the souk, artfully dodging motoryclists with a deathwish and equally aggressive souvenir vendors as we made our way.

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS Finally, we stopped in front of an unassuming door amidst a row of equally unassuming doors, on a most unassuming alley with the slight stench of donkey waste.

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This was Morocco, after all, where most things of breathless beauty can only be unearthed if you know where to go and what to look for.

“This is the oldest house in Marrakech,” Tod told me. “It’s also a nice café that serves as a venue for performances and discussions on art and culture.”

We passed through the dimly-lit entrance of the Dar Cherifa and entered a typical Moroccan courtyard, open at the top and surrounded on all sides by rooms and corridors. It was simple but stylishly done, with modern art on the walls and a rooftop terrace teeming with people enjoying Moroccan mint tea and a superb view of the Koutubia Mosque.

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We entered a small riad for the heck of it, just because I was convinced that loveliness is present in Morocco, even in the most obscure of places.

The piece de resistance was its original wooden interior and the intricate designs on its upper walls, reminiscent of the Medersa Ben Youssef, one of the city’s most beautiful ancient buildings.

WAITING TO BE DISCOVERED Surprising as this was, this is the story of Marrakech and also of other ancient cities in the kingdom like Fez and Essaouria, where almost everything worth seeing is behind a closed door.

Moroccans are not flashy people by nature, even if many of the old homes and palaces glitter inside with ornate décor, gold embellishments and colorful designs. However, these visions of beauty are only visible to those who know their way around and are able to step inside.

A WONDERFUL SURPRISE A few steps away from this café, for instance, is a small riad that is probably just one of the hundreds that never make it to the pages of the international travel magazines, offering clean rooms and basic services to budget travelers.

We entered for the heck of it, just because I was convinced that loveliness is present in Morocco, even in the most obscure of places.

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It took awhile for someone to come to the door even after our persistent knocking. Finally, a lady in an apron appeared, apologizing in French that she’d just been cleaning the kitchen.

“May we see your rooms?” I asked her. She wiped the sweat off her brow and opened the initial crack in the door just wide enough for us to enter, one at a time.

The riad had good bones; but it also contained a jumble of interesting artifacts that looked like the collection of someone with an artistic bent who simply bought everything he liked and then displayed these without much thought around his home. It initially seemed like a yard sale; but because this was Morocco, everything actually fell into place very prettily in a pleasant explosion of color, with nothing jarring the senses.

EXPLORING A RIAD There were no guests at the riad that day, so the courtyard where breakfast or coffee might ordinarily be served was a topsy-turvy mess of Christmas red tables and chairs, and terracotta pots overgrown with flowering plants. But I could imagine how nice Sunday brunch here might be, on a fine day in Marrakech, living a Travelife. www.travelife.biz

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The rooms, too, were immaculate, with that same quirky use of color and design that had enchanted me at first sight.

One room, for instance, only had simple twin beds and basic cotton linen; but there was a gorgeous brass chandelier on the ceiling, intricate patterns of flowers around the windows, and a bathroom with a sunken tub all covered in blue and white tiles.

This room cost 80 euros a night, which seemed to me like a steal, considering this approximates the price of dinner at a smart restaurant in the city.

UP FOR SALE But the biggest surprise came last, after we’d visited about half a dozen artisan workshops and even the boutique of a designer who created one-of-a-kind caftans and dresses out of vintage fabrics.

This intrigued me enough to trek for an hour across town from where we were, through more of the same maze of streets, to the Mellah, which is the circa 16th century Jewish quarter of Marrakech.

With a flick of the light switch came the eureka moment.

The interiors, three stories tall and covered in intricate wooden carvings, made me sit down breathless.

I’d even bought a large antique brass tray at a price I’d bargained down in my shopping French, that another vendor a few streets away had tried to buy off me for double what I had paid. Apparently, these hand-hammered trays are growing rarer, thus fueling demand. I’d found mine buried under a mountain of fabric in the corner of a store that we’d stopped at because Tod knew the shopkeeper.

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“A friend of mine owns a riad and he’s looking to sell it,” Tod said, after we’d left his friend’s store with my new treasure. “He’s tired of the business. But it’s small and beautiful; and if I managed it, I would fix it up and turn it into a really wonderful boutique hotel.”

MYSTERIES OF THE MELLAH There are only several hundred Jews remaining in this district, but vestiges of their once vibrant community still are evident in the architecture of the neighborhood. You know you’re in a Jewish quarter in a medina in Morocco, for one thing, when you see the balconies built into the upper floors of the buildings.

If the souk is an amazing cacophony of colors and smells, then the inner districts of the Mellah are all about narrow and dark alleys and quietly forbidding structures. After escaping one of the main roads into the Mellah, we soon turned into one such alley, made even darker by the fact that it was dead-end.

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EXPLORE MOROCCO At the end of the road was a home bereft of lights – and of life, for that matter.

“This is it?” I asked Tod incredulously.

He nodded and confidently rapped on the door, like someone who had been there many times before.

After a quick exchange, she let us into the riad with a curious smile, and I walked into a building that was completely and rather shockingly in the dark. Unlike with the previous places we’d visited, there was no love at first sight here for me.

GATEWAY TO BEAUTY

I turned to Tod and said, “She’ll have to turn on the lights if I’m going to take a proper look at this.”

Eventually, a lady appeared, surprised at having guests at such a late hour, as nightfall had come as we were walking across the city.

On the long walk over that afternoon, you see, I’d entertained the fanciful and rather romantic notion of owning my own

MAGIC IN A MOMENT With a flick of the light switch came the eureka moment. The courtyard with a pool was just like most others, but the interior of the main building, three stories tall and completely covered in intricate wooden carvings, with the most exquisite antique chandelier hanging from the ceiling, made me sit down breathless.

I had been everywhere in Morocco, including to some of the most beautiful hotels and palaces in this kingdom, but I

I had been everywhere in Morocco, but I had yet to see an un-retouched jewel of a building like this “It’s me, Mohammed,” Tod said to her, giving the Islamic name he had taken upon converting religions. This was also the name most people knew him by in Marrakech. Everywhere we went, a hotel porter or a shopkeeper would greet him, calling him by this name.

The lady uttered a series of exclamations in Arabic, which I inferred to mean that she was ecstatic to see him after so long.

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riad in Marrakech, especially if it was going for a song. I’d long had this idea at the back of my mind, ever since my first visit here, when the colors, sounds and sights of Morocco had blown my mind away.

And now, like Tod, I could imagine turning a disheveled riad into a jewel of a hotel that well-heeled travelers might fly halfway around the world to stay in.

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had yet to see an un-retouched jewel of a building like this.

This was not a museum, a palace or a wellfunded hotel, after all, but the residence of a Jewish family from long ago that had almost never seen the light of day – or perhaps experienced the hands of a capable restorer.

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THE NEED FOR ROSE-COLORED GLASSES Of course, to appreciate this riad fully, I had to look beyond the garish lighting, the department store throw pillows, and the cheap counter that passed for a bar in one corner. There was also an assortment of objects strewn about that was someone’s idea of interior design.

None of these mattered to me because I was only looking at the riad’s structure and original interiors, which I knew were impossible to replicate today. The man who built this as a family home obviously had impeccable taste, or an excellent craftsman.

“Oh my goodness,” was all I could manage, after minutes of staring at the ceiling. What does one really say, when such beauty is so unexpectedly above you?

Then we climbed to the rooftop, which was small but so perfectly proportioned that it reminded me instantly of the rooftop of the villa I’d stayed in at the Royal Mansour, also in Marrakech, and acclaimed as one of the loveliest hotels in the world.

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From here, the city was spread out before us, with the lights of the Jemaa el-Fnaa shining even brighter than usual in the distance because we were enveloped in darkness. It wasn’t part of the tour, but it was perfect timing on our part, to walk through Marrakech the entire afternoon and then to end up in pitch darkness on the rooftop of a rundown riad with great potential, just as the city was coming alive and the muezzin were beginning their evening prayers.

This was Morocco as I always wanted to remember it, on my fifth visit, and happily, with still a long way to go to discovering more of its heart and soul. n

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Enchanting

Trip

Back in Time CHRISTINE CUNANAN recalls an all too short stay in the private villa of the Villa Des Orangers

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You must stay here if, like me, you find the mix of comfortable luxury, colonial history and Afro-Islamic culture irresistible.

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he beautiful Villa des Orangers, full of quirks and character, is an institution in Marrakech and also a luxury hotel I’d long been wanting to stay in, ever since I first visited Morocco 15 years ago. Opened in 2000, it’s neither ancient nor overly glamorous, but it admirably stands out in a city full of unique hotels carved out of old homes and buildings, because of its overall experience.

However, like almost everywhere in Morocco, the initial images are distinctly underwhelming, so you should not let your first impressions count.

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ALL ROADS LEAD TO THE SQUARE For one thing, the far from picturesque street the hotel calls home does it no justice, for it speaks not only of ordinariness, but actually of ugliness. This is not the story of a hotel in a quiet and unassuming neighborhood with grandeur behind its walls, but of one squarely located in a busy commercial district with a gasoline stand, a hardware store, and a car repair shop on the same road that leads to the Jmaa el-Fnaa square.

In fact, with some artful dodging of speeding vehicles of all kinds, it’s a five-minute walk to the square and to the noisy streets of the souks radiating from it – a factor that’s convenient for sightseeing but hardly conducive for a holiday for the sophisticated traveler. www.travelife.biz

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EXPLORE MOROCCO However, inside the Villa des Orangers itself, past the heavy wooden doors that keep out the rest of the world, you will find a paradise for lovers of vintage. It’s an oasis of calm from decades past, where time is unimportant and the dramatic past of Marrakech suddenly becomes your present.

This is precisely why you must stay here if, like me, you find the mix of comfortable luxury, colonial history, and Afro-Islamic culture irresistible. Many riads will offer you a stereotypical Morocco experience, but few will serve up a couple of decades so stylishly and seamlessly, that you are instantly transported to the early 20th century, when Morocco was a French protectorate and the city was a heady mix of Africa meets West amidst the turmoil of two world wars, a global recession, and a period of reckless expansion.

with a fireplace, and a terrace on the second floor that offers no mindblowing views but makes you feel you actually own a piece of Marrakech.

And that’s even better. I’ve seen the Koutoubia Mosque countless times from hotel rooms; but it was while I was sitting on this terrace, with my laptop and a glass of wine at sunset, that I espied a musician on a nearby roof, going through his paces and in the process creating a memorable silhouette more dramatic than any skyline Marrakech can offer.

Completely set apart from the rest of the hotel and decorated in somber colors with tasteful antique pieces, this private villa could pass for a real home you’d want to have.

So if you’ve ever dreamt of living in a riad in Marrakech, look no further than this for your trial experience.

HOME AWAY FROM HOME

In a way, the Villa des Orangers really is a home, as owners Veronique and Pascal Beherec bought this riad practically on a whim on one holiday weekend in Marrakech in 1998. They then uprooted themselves from France and proceeded to furnish this riad as they would a home.

For too short a stay, we booked the private villa of the Villa des Orangers, which is their version of a presidential suite. It’s really a small riad within an extended riad built around four courtyards, with its own entrance and plunge pool, a living room

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Many riads will offer you a stereotypical Morocco experience, but few will serve up a couple of decades so stylishly and seamlessly.

A DESIGNER’S DELIGHT Apart from the private villa, my favorite areas here are the salons on the ground floor, each with its own charm. One room, for example, is all aged leather chairs and African skins, while another showcases fine Moroccan marquetry and elegant antiques. There are game sets, plates of fruit and art books everywhere, and a staff member is always discretely around, ready to pour you mint tea in a filigreed cup.

One evening after dinner, though, I lingered around by the swimming pool, where we had just enjoyed an al fresco dinner. At the very end of the pool is a banquette built into the wall, and it beckoned invitingly with cushions and a little table for my laptop. I immediately sat down, and someone came over with a silver tray bearing a cup and a pot of tea.

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It was a summer evening in Marrakech, but I could detect a faint breeze and what I imagined was the scent of white jasmine; and, in the distance, I heard the last call to prayers for the faithful, of the imams all over the city. I instinctively reached for my camera, with the idea to preserve an idyllic moment unlike any other; and then I realized that neither images nor videos – or words, for that matter – would adequately capture the sights and sounds of that evening, and of the enchanting Villa des Orangers, for that matter. n

VILLA DES ORANGERS www.villadesorangers.com

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FIT FOR A

KING CHRISTINE CUNANAN recalls a stay at the Royal Mansour, the world’s most gorgeous hotel

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he beautiful Royal Mansour took my breath away from the first instant. We drove through its forbiddingly heavy gates, carved out of several tons of wood and bronze and positioned just at the edge of this 13th century city, and stopped before a low-rise building with guards in traditional Moroccan dress standing formally in front.

Alighting, we entered an area of bright lights, ornate interiors and exceedingly good taste, with a shallow pool in the middle surrounded overhead by gracefully understated chandeliers.

This was the lobby of our hotel.

At first glance, everything about the Royal Mansour is opulent and grand, but in a most unassuming way. Just like everywhere else in this city of palaces and riads, the interiors are a blaze of colors and patterns echoing the designs of Morocco’s glorious past. However, in this case, they whisper rather than shout grandeur and elegance, so obviously created with the same care applied by a craftsman to a precious jewelry box.

The only difference here is scale, for this is not a small box but a massive estate commissioned by King Mohammed VI to proudly showcase the arts of Morocco, with 53 newlyconstructed villas fashioned to look like traditional riads that have been there for centuries.

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You may have been there and done that everywhere in the world, but I’m almost sure you have never seen anything like this hotel before.

FROM ANOTHER SPACE AND TIME In other words, the Royal Mansour offers the best of both worlds, as well as, literally, the best of Moroccan design and architecture.

A designer’s dream creation and the opus of a thousand handpicked artisans, no expense was spared and nothing as crude as a budget was reportedly discussed at any time. In fact, no one we spoke to in Marrakech knew exactly how much the construction actually cost because this minor detail never really mattered.

The Royal Mansour is undeniably Morocco’s best new hotel and also one of the world’s loveliest. Over 1200 of the finest craftsmen in the kingdom were brought over to work their magic literally on every corner of this property so that it is truly unlike any other. In place of a budget was simply the mandate to use the best materials possible to create a fairy-tale of a palace.

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You may have been there and done that everywhere in the world, but I’m almost sure you will never have seen anything like this hotel before.

Moreover, there we were in the center of Marrakech, a short walk from the Koutoubia Mosque, which is the heart of the old city. There are no new buildings within this area because there is no land left to develop, save for this sprawling property on which a palace fit for a king has risen.

ELEGANCE UNFOLDING The Royal Mansour is an all-villa property, so it’s not a hotel for everyone, although it’s certainly the kind travelers with a taste for luxury should stay in at least once in their life.

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EXPLORE MOROCCO The terracotta-colored villas are spread out across the estate, accessible via narrow walkways lined with palm trees and flowering shrubs. Each one is stoically plain on the outside, just like so many other buildings in Morocco that fail to inspire at first glance.

However, each interior is unique in design, and all are breathtakingly rich in details, undertaken in specific color schemes that are straight out of Morocco’s gilded

NOTHING LIKE IT The two-bedroom villa we stayed in was like a royal guesthouse, designed in the traditional style, with a courtyard at the center and everything else spread out over two floors. We had two living rooms and a lovely dining room, and the master bedroom had an enclosed wooden balcony that overlooked the inner courtyard. Everywhere my eye rested spoke quietly of beauty.

We knew he was around but we never saw him save for when we needed something, such as to open a bottle of champagne or to get another bar of soap. However, his crowning feat was making sense out of my two weeks of clothes and shopping for the long trip back to Asia while we enjoyed a leisurely lunch in our private dining room.

With great care, he packed every single breakable item I had bought into two compact bags for check-in, with nothing broken or scarred upon returning home.

Over 1200 of the finest craftsmen in the kingdom worked their magic on every corner of this property so that it is truly unlike any other.

past. One villa’s theme is played out in a particular shade of green, for instance; chosen because it’s reportedly the favorite color of the King. And just in case you’re wondering about the technology aspect of these riads from another world, I’m happy to report that they are all equipped with the state-of-the-art conveniences of the 21st century so that you are wanting for nothing.

Absolutely nothing, at all.

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Our villa also came with the full-time services of Mohammed, a quiet and extremely efficient butler with the enviable reputation of being the best butler in Marrakech.

Mohammed made everything in life easy for us, so that I felt that we were truly on holiday. He undertook every task flawlessly and professionally, and each time he disappeared almost as silently as he appeared.

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SECRET TO SUCCESS The Royal Mansour was also the quietest hotel I have ever stayed in, even if it is right in the middle of the hustle and bustle of Marrakech. In fact, for most of our stay, we thought we were the only guests around, as we never bumped into anyone else while strolling along the estate’s flower-scented walkways. It was only later that we learned that the hotel was actually operating near capacity.

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Underneath the Royal Mansour is a maze of corridors for staff to unobtrusively navigate the property with golf carts, ensuring that logistics never interferes with any guest’s holiday.

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“We found ourselves in the middle of a

world so amazing and unreal.”

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The Royal Mansour was theatrics at its best, for we were right in the middle of a world so amazing and unreal.

We never saw any of the staff members either, save for those at their stations in the public areas, and our butler Mohammed, who miraculously appeared and disappeared like a genie in a tale of Arabian nights. Not a single housekeeping cart or room service tray made its presence felt anywhere, even if our beds were turned down like clockwork and the meals we’d ordered for delivery to our villa were set on the table and perfectly warm when it was time to eat.

Later, we discovered the secret to this Houdini act. Underneath the estate is a maze of corridors that allow staff to unobtrusively navigate the property with golf carts and elevators, and to enter each riad via the butler’s pantry. This ingenuous detail ensures that logistics never interfere with any guest’s holiday.

THE PIECE DE RESISTANCE Nevertheless, beautiful as this hotel was, my favorite place at the Royal Mansour lay at the top of our very own riad. One night, after a six-course dinner at the hotel’s Moroccan restaurant, which is, incidentally, overseen by Yannick Alleno, a Michelin-starred luminary in the world of gastronomy, we climbed three flights of stairs to the rooftop.

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Here, a swimming pool and a lounging area awaited us. As if he could read our minds, Mohammed had even thoughtfully taken the lanterns out and lit the fireplace. The result was a most dramatic setting that gave us a very nice surprise. Breathless for the nth time during our stay at the gorgeousness of everything about this hotel, we walked around carefully, like stage hands on the elaborate set of a theatrical play.

Yes, this was theatrics at its best, for we were right in the middle of a world so amazing and unreal. And yet, ironically, there was even more drama all around, for we saw the Koutubia Mosque in the distance, standing tall and proud amidst a jumble of ancient rooftops, and heard the sounds of life going on in the city.

This view jolted us back to reality, reminding us that the beautiful city of Marrakech lay just outside our doorstep, still needing to be discovered. That is, if we could bear to tear ourselves away from the even more beautiful, one and only Royal Mansour. n

www.royalmansour.com

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NAVIGATE YOURSELF:

M ar ra k e ch , M or oc co

Need to Know Marrakech, which means “Land of God,” is one of Morocco’s top tourist destinations. The medina is the most traditional area, while adjacent Gueliz offers a more modern European style with high end shops, spacious boulevards, and beautiful parks.

Crystal

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Traveler’s Checklist VISA REQUIREMENTS Philippine passport holders do not need a visa to enter Morocco.

For more information, visit the Consulate of Morocco in the Philippines at The Enterprise Center, 6766 Ayala Avenue, Makati City Tel. (63)(2) 819-1684 EXCHANGE RATE 1 US Dollar = 8.15 Moroccan Dirham TIME DIFFERENCE Manila is seven hours ahead of Marrakech.

Philippine Consulate in Morocco: 3 ET IMM2 Bloc A, Onzac Ain Diab, Sindibad, Casablanca, Morocco Tel. (212)(522) 798544

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How to Get There

Turkish Airlines and Qatar Airways are among the major airlines that have connecting flights to Casablanca.

When to Go

The best time to visit Marrakech is from April to October when most annual festivals like the Marrakech Popular Arts Festival and Fantasia take place.

November also offers cooler weather.

What to See THE SOUKS OF MARRAKECH Souks are alleyways within the old city lined with row of stalls selling everything from basic necessities to jewelry.

Each souk features specific goods.

For instance, textiles, kaftans, and bejeweled footwear can be found at Souk Semmarine, while ingredients for Moroccan cuisine are sold at Souk Ableauh. For colorful lanterns and ironware, head for Souk Haddadine. Those looking for jewelry should visit Souk Siyyaghin. www.travelife.biz

JEMAA EL-FNAA SQUARE Marrakech’s main square and cultural space features slices of traditional Moroccan life. Here you’ll find healers, dancers, and musical performers, as well as snake charmers and water carriers in colorful local costumes.

When you’re done looking around, get a glass of freshly-squeezed orange juice from one of the vendors pushing around wooden carts full of oranges, or sample a local delicacy.

KOUTOUBIA MOSQUE This monumental landmark is the biggest mosque in the city, standing at 253 feet tall. It can be seen from practically every place in central Marrakech. With construction beginning in 1150, it is one of the oldest Almohad minarets in the world, and was completed somewhere between 1184 to 1199, during the reign of Sultan Yacoub el Mansour.

Famed for its intricate details, this structure is reportedly the most beautiful mosque in the world.

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Palais Namaskar

MAJORELLE GARDENS This 12-acre botanical garden, named after French painter Jacques Majorelle, took 40 years to complete. Bright hues of blue and yellow complement the carpet of water lilies, lotus flowers, orange nasturtiums, and pink geraniums, alongside several bird species that inhabit the garden. The Islamic Art Museum of Marrakech, which exhibits textiles and traditional killims (carpets), is also located within the gardens’ grounds. www.jardinmajorelle.com

Where to Stay LUXURY Marrakesh Express Greatest Hits Crosby Stills Nash Marrakech No Time Like the Future Incognito A Night in Marrakech Various artists

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THE ROYAL MANSOUR Undoubtedly one of the most beautiful hotels in the world, this all-villa property is an option for travelers seeking unabashed luxury – or a once-in-a-lifetime experience of the best of Morocco. Commissioned

by King Mohammed VI of Morocco, it’s built as a “medina within a medina,” with private riads and excellent Michelin-level restaurants. www.royalmansour.com See our story on The Royal Mansour on page 64.

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FOUR SEASONS MARRAKECH Marrakech’s newest luxury hotel is also among its most comfortable. This massive property offers the best of Moroccan contemporary design as well as lovely Moorish gardens and state-of-the-art technology, so that you are wanting for nothing, whether you are in Marrakech for business or on holiday. www.fourseasons/Marrakech VILLA DES ORANGERS Don’t be deceived by this hotel’s unassuming facade. This jewel of a riad in the outskirts of the medina is an interior designer’s dream and a photographer’s delight inside. It’s walking distance to all the major sights and the souks, and yet incredibly quiet inside. Look no further than this Relais & Chateaux property if you’re seeking culture and comfort in Marrakech. www.villadesorangers.com.

See our story on the Villa des Orangers on page 58.

SELMAN MARRAKECH This five-star luxury hotel is known for unique offerings such as private tours of its stables of Arabian thoroughbreds, set amidst ornate buildings, grand gardens, and paddocks

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that are usually only accessible to serious horse collectors. www.selman-marrakech.com

Where to Eat DAR YACOUT Considered by many to be the best restaurant in Marrakech for a local gastronomic experience, dinner here – straight out of “One Thousand and One Arabian Nights” – is truly an assault on the senses and an evening you will remember for a very long time.

Whatever you choose to eat, make sure you save space for the incredible roast lamb. www.daryacout.com

VALUE LES JARDIN DE LA KOUTUBIA This 18th century structure fuses the traditional and the modern with Moorish archways and antique brass ornaments alongside contemporary art and trendy decor. www.lesjardinsdelakoutoubia.com RIAD AL BADIA Conveniently located in the Berrima district, this cozy hotel embodies Moroccan culture and tradition while offering great warmth and hospitality.

The decor is streamlined but everything is made from local materials. Another big draw is the original cuisine at La Table Al Badia, an intimate restaurant serving deliciously innovative dishes. www.riadalbadia.com

LE GRANDE CAFÉ DE LA POSTE This is the quintessential colonial 1920s experience in Marrakech, with its smokey and dark rooms and low tables. A great favorite of the expatriate crowd, everyone comes here to chill out, and you should, too, preferably wearing your best casual chic. The food is not bad either. Go for classic favorites like the salade nicoise,

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roast beef and chocolate fondant – or indulge in a plate of succulent Oualidia oysters, while surveying Morocco’s hip crowd. www.grandcafedelaposte-marrakech.com

LA TABLE D’ANTOINE It’s inevitable sometime during your stay that you will finally feel tagined out. There’s just so much chicken stew with lemons that you can take on one trip. When this happens, head out of the city for the Palais Namaskar for brunch at Marrakech’s most stylish and exclusive venues. On a Sunday, it’s full of casually dressed beautiful people feasting on a buffet of salads and grilled meats. Save space for dessert as the French pastries are worth the calories. www.palaisnamaskar.com

La Table D’ Antoine

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Four Seasons Marrakech

RIAD KNIZA This restaurant is popular with tourists and understandably so. It offers a typical grand and colorful Moroccan gastronomic experience with some delicious surprises. The tagine here is outstanding and the pastila in pigeon or chicken, which is a local favorite, was among the best we’ve ever had. www.riadkniza.com

L’ORIENTALISTE This charming shop in the center of the Gueliz district is known for its 16 kinds of homemade perfume, including gardenia, vanilla, and rose from the Atlas Mountains. Antiques, Fez pottery, 20th century engravings, locally crafted furniture, Syrian paintings, jewelry and trinkets are also found here. www.lorientaliste.co.uk

CRYSTAL Stylish art deco interiors dominate this Ibiza-inspired nightclub that’s owned by the Michelin-starred Pourcel twins of France. This hot spot offers innovative Mediterranean cuisine and good music, although dinner here doesn’t usually start until 10 PM. www.pachamarrakech.com

FOUR SEASONS MARRAKECH BOUTIQUE The Maarifa Cultural Centre of the Four Seasons Marrakech is more than just a shop selling perfume and Argan oil, Arabic calligraphy, and tea rituals.

It also offers fashionable wear from local designers, a good range of books on Moroccan arts and culture, 19th century photographs, vintage leather pouches, and silver and metallic works. www.fourseasons.com/marrakech

Where to Shop 33 RUE MAJORELLE Contemporary and traditional Moroccan items are sold at this store just in front of the beautiful Majorelle Gardens. It also has an adjacent coffee shop and bar selling Moroccan spices and food items, as well as teas and light snacks. www.33ruemajorelle.com

ENSEMBLE ARTISANAL Situated at the Boulevard Mohamed V near Koutoubia Mosque, this store is more popularly known as the center for Moroccan handicrafts and arts in leather, pottery, wood, textile, and

jewelry. Rug weaving, basketry, and the making of musical instruments can be viewed here, too. Word to the wise: some items are pricier here than in the souks, although the quality is generally better.

GALERIE ALMAS Housed in a stand-alone building in the outskirts of the old city, this store is a veritable warehouse of beautiful Moroccan crafts, including intricate lamps and tea servers. You will find some truly beautiful pieces here and the quality here is higher than what you will find in the souks. However, be prepared to pay up for collectors’ items. www.galeriealmas.com SOUK CHERIFIA Beautiful gold jewelry, handmade Kaftans, leather goods, cosmetics, dresses, linen, and organic products are the highlight of this souk featuring an array of boutiques owned by women.

Post shopping, savor a meal of tea and delicious pastries at Café des Epices. www.souk-cherifia.com

Turkish Airlines operates regular flights between Southeast Asia and Casablanca, Morocco via Istanbul.

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OASIS

IN THE DESERT

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CHRISTINE CUNANAN explores the old caravan route to the Sahara desert before checking into the ultra-luxurious Dar Ahlam

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MOROCCO

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y the time we finally reached Ouarzazate, Morocco’s last frontier of civilization before the great Sahara desert and its vast plains of nothingness, I’d become positively car sick, mainly because of the countless hairpin turns we’d had to endure to cross the High Atlas Mountains from Marrakech.

THE ULTIMATE DESTINATION For the discerning traveler, there is also the added carrot stick of staying at Dar Ahlam, a true destination hotel for those who think they’ve already been there and done that.

Approximately 40 kilometers from Ouarzazate, it’s a modern and luxurious version of a kasbah, rising surrealistically out of

We sat down to enjoy champagne and sweets from Pierre Herme, marveling at the easy elegance of everything.

Where were we? The 16th arrondissement of Paris?

This desolate area of Morocco is not for the fainthearted, but if you are willing to attempt the journey, you will be rewarded at the end by the spectacular vision of Ait Ben Haddou, Morocco’s most beautiful kasbah and the backdrop for many iconic period films on the deserts of Arabia. There is no other fortress as dramatic as this in the world, so this alone is worth the long drive.

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the middle of a windswept land of sand with a hundred – if not a thousand and one – crumbling kasbahs. However, this is where the similarities end, as Dar Ahlam may be a 19th century mud brick kasbah in the middle of absolutely nowhere, but it’s been renovated by local craftsmen in the most authentic way to offer guests a traditional experience coupled with unimaginable five-star comfort.

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CHECK-IN MOROCCO GLIMPSES OF PARIS At least this was how I felt as, dusty from the drive, I walked through its stark entrance and navigated the initially dark entrance corridors to eventually emerge into a light-filled living room straight out of a Parisian interior design magazine.

Here, we sat down to enjoy champagne and sweets from Pierre Herme, listening to lounge music and marveling at the sudden easy elegance of everything. Where were we? The 16th arrondissement of Paris? We could have been well forgiven for thinking so.

Meanwhile, our suites in Dar Ahlam’s gardens, right next to the organic vegetable plot, were lovely combinations of Western aesthetics and Islamic décor and details.

In a stylish recreation of what seemed to me the embodiment of a contemporary Arabian fantasy, we had swaths of gauzy fabric adorning the walls or hanging from the ceilings, intricate inlaid furniture in the lounge area, and a beautiful hand-

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hammered giant brass tray perched on a stand, laden with sweets, bottles of liqueur and anything else we might have wanted for a comfortable stay.

East and West. We drove past one kasbah after another, some obviously abandoned for years, several reinvented as coffee shops and simple restaurants, and others rebuilt as lodgings for adventure tourism.

EXPERIENCING 1001 ARABIAN NIGHTS

“We can stop wherever you wish,” our guide said, “or I can bring you to some of my favorites.”

Unfortunately, we had little time to enjoy these delights, as we had to leave again as quickly as we had arrived and walked through the property. Having flown to North Africa and from Marrakech come this very long way, we wanted to explore the countryside of sand dunes and 1000 kasbahs along a road that begins in the north of Morocco and that eventually – we were told – finds its way to the Silk Route in Asia. Late afternoon was the perfect time to do it.

What an unforgettable experience this was. We got into a 4WD that bobbed up and down with fervor through a large oasis until we reached the remains of a road that once saw the passing of hundreds of caravans involved in trade between the

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One kasbah we visited offered a glimpse of life a century ago via well-preserved receiving rooms lined wall-to-wall with fraying Berber carpets and an ancient kitchen that looked like it was still in use.

Another advertised clean beds and decent meals for hardy travelers, while still another stood in a grove of palm trees, looking like it was about to crumble and disappear.

COCKTAILS IN THE DESERT After an afternoon of explorations, we drove out to a hill in the dessert that afforded a panoramic 360-degree view of the environs of Skoura. This was as close to the Sahara desert as we were getting

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on this trip, but it was good enough. What I had seen so far in the equivalent of a Moroccan outback was even better than what I had imagined, standing on top of that world with the sun closing in, living a Travelife.

A lovely surprise awaited us as well. The staff of Dar Ahlam had gone ahead and prepared cocktails and afternoon tea for us, so that when we reached this point, there were two waiters all smiles and yet standing ever so formally at the end of a path lined with brass lanterns; and champagne flutes, tea cups and a vintage pot spread out on a Berber carpet, with tea leaves and fresh sprigs of mint on a tray nearby.

I could have sat there for hours, drinking cup after cup of tea, soaking in the most unreal atmosphere of Morocco at its beautiful wildest. This was, after all, what I had traveled to the ends of the earth for – and now, I knew that the efforts had been worth it.

This is not the end of the story, however. For when we returned to Dar Ahlam, the staff had arranged a lovely al fresco dinner on the rooftop, where we dined seated on Berber carpets amidst the glow of dozens of lanterns. The ubiquitious Moroccan lamb tagine made its appearance on the low wooden table, of course, and it was delicious. But at that point, the food was almost immaterial because we were under the stars on a beautiful evening, in a place that was simply out of this world. n

DAR AHLAM www.maisondesreves.com

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arden for

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CHRISTINE CUNANAN enjoys the resort atmosphere of the FOUR SEASONS MARRAKECH

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MOROCCO

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he drive from Fes to Marrakech via Casablanca on a relatively smooth highway – the last leg of a two-week holiday in Morocco – took over seven hours. However, I hadn’t felt the effects of the long trip until I finally espied the outline of Marrakech, and the unmistakable silhouette of the Koutoubia, in the distance. This was when I realized that being in a car the entire day had worn me out, and what I wanted most at that point was a hot bath and a good meal.

NOT YOUR USUAL MOROCCO HOTEL With its dramatic paintings and its black and fuschia color scheme, this is contemporary Marrakech at its novel best. The city has seen nothing like this luxury hotel yet, and, frankly, it was a welcome change, just when we needed it, from the traditional Moroccan experience of colorful riads with endless patterns and mosaics, and yet limited space.

“This is the kind of hotel that instantly makes you forget how far you have traveled for an adventure, even a luxurious one.”

The Four Seasons Marrakech, however, is the kind of hotel that almost instantly makes you forget how far you have traveled for an adventure, even a luxurious one. Within minutes of setting foot in its bright and airy lobby, filled with masses of flowers and the scent of roses, a cup of mint tea and the soothing sounds of traditional Berber music, coupled with a vast and aesthetically pleasing horizon of seamless decor, transports you to the kind of North African paradise many upmarket vacationers dream about, especially when planning their holidays in the winter.

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Don’t get me wrong, though. This is a modern 21st century hotel that combines the best of both worlds. It has a resort atmosphere even if it’s just minutes from the circa 12th century Menara Gardens and a short ride from the old town; and here, also, you will find everything you are seeking for a quintessential and very enjoyable local experience, albeit with more decorative restraint than most places elsewhere in the kingdom.

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EXPLORE MOROCCO

A DIFFERENT KIND OF DESIGN This hotel is certainly minimal dÊcor for the Moroccan purist accustomed to the usual outbursts of exuberance – although it may be just right for most other people who live in less colorful worlds. And the visual impact is still considerable enough to prompt you to see design in a new light, so that you will inevitably consider redecorating your home with the same ubiquitous hanging filigreed lamps and silver tea pots on giant trays, filled with refreshing Moroccan mint tea.

My 70 square-meter Pavilion suite in the hotel gardens consisted of three rooms with a private plunge pool and a marble bathroom fit for a princess and wardrobe space the equivalent of a walk-in closet.

From here, it was a short stroll everywhere through manicured gardens lined with palm trees and modern art, to the swimming pools, the spa, the restaurants and the boutiques.

Far from being inconvenient, the walks across the estate proved both therapeutic and a good excuse to burn the calories accrued from enjoying way too many tagine.

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DINING IN STYLE Meanwhile, the hotel’s five restaurants are spread out across the property, and Arancino, the Italian restaurant at the hotel’s Bleu d’Orange Pavilion, with the stylish Zest bar on its rooftop, is probably its best dining venue. It’s perfect for romantic dinners a deux.

tantalizing and colorful buffet of hot and cold mezze and an array of salads, curries and stews.

And after a wonderful al fresco dinner with the fountains as entertainment, you can stroll through the gardens once more, as we did, marveling at the eternal magic of Morocco and the joys of staying at the Four Seasons Marrakech.

Nevertheless, my favorite on a breezy summer evening is Solano, the all-day restaurant next to the gardens and the hotel’s iconic fountains, where a sumptuous breakfast buffet is served daily. At night, Solano’s doors are opened and a musician stations himself on the terrace so that you can enjoy a little night music alongside a

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FOUR SEASONS RESORT MARRAKECH www.fourseasons.com

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MARRAKECH

THE ULTIMATE

Hideaway CHRISTINE CUNANAN spends a weekend in a riad in the most unique hotel in Marrakech

Full of theatrical flair, the Selman Marrakech makes you feel like you’re opening a series of beautifully wrapped gift boxes full of surprises.

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arrakech is full of luxurious hotels and resorts with intricate décor and impeccable service, and over the years I’ve stayed in most of them. However, I’d never stayed in one with Arabian horses for company until I checked into the Selman Marrakech at the foot of the Atlas Mountains last month.

I knew the Selman Marrakech was unique from the outset, as people in the know have been whispering its name as the place to stay in for the last three years like a hot tip at a cocktail party – and this too was how I had first learned of it.

Nevertheless, this hotel proved a memorable surprise in spite of the build-up.

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ONE STEP AT A TIME

OMEN OF THINGS TO COME

PASSION ON DISPLAY

Driving into the courtyard straight from days spent in the desert outside the western Moroccan outpost city of Ouarzazate, I immediately observed how it had none of the intricate patterned tiles or inlaid woodwork that abound in most other top hotels intent on giving guests a Moroccan experience. It’s a most unusual hotel of earth and neutral tones that’s at once massively grand and deliciously intimate.

For instance, the hotel’s unobtrusive courtyard entrance surrounded by terracotta walls gave us little inkling of the actual loveliness inside. Alighting from the car, we walked through a series of narrow rooms with staff smiling at attention, into the largest reception area that eventually led further out to a terrace and landscaped gardens, as well as to an 80-meter long swimming pool lined with Guatemalan marble and flanked on both sides by giant palm trees.

The recurring theme of Arabian horses, too, which is a passion of the owner and his son – the owner is a local businessman and his son is one of the top equestrians in Morocco – is visible everywhere but not in an obtrusive way.

Giant bronze horses are positioned strategically along the driveway and there are coffee table books on horses in the shelves of the riads.

The effect of the candles around the indoor courtyard was so magical that I had to walk around it several times just to record it in my memory.

Full of theatrical flair, it’s designed in such a subtle way that part of the drama – and the whole point of staying here – is making you feel like you’re opening a series of beautifully wrapped gift boxes full of surprises as you walk through the hotel and grounds for the first time.

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Instead of the usual explosion of colors, this reception area had a dark, almost somber atmosphere only jolted to life by stylish statement pieces like a Murano chandelier with purple hues and museum-quality armoires and writing tables –antiques that I later learned were family heirlooms from the owner’s private collection.

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However, the Selman Marrakech’s piece de resistance are its two palatial stables for these studs, dramatically created in a mix of Indian and Andalusian styles by famed French designer Jacques Garcia – who usually designs top luxury accommodations for people rather than animals – in a powerful Marrakech red. Housing the owner’s collection of purebred Arabian horses, these are so beautifully done and immaculately maintained that they’re often mistaken by guests for a dining venue.

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CHECK-IN MARRAKECH Right on the grounds within viewing distance of the Selman Marrakech’s Moroccan and all-day dining restaurants, the stables certainly make for a wonderful stroll before dinner, even – or perhaps especially – in fancy dress.

THE BEST RIAD IN MARRAKECH

BREAKFAST WITH HORSES

For a unique and luxuriously surreal experience, the Selman Marrakech offers a sumptuous breakfast buffet in the summer at its Pavilion restaurant with the owner’s fine Arabian horses on show as you sip tea and enjoy omelets and croissants.

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However, the best surprise was our riad itself, which was one among five private villas in a row at the very end of the estate, accessible via a dedicated golf cart driven by our personal butler, or via a nice walk from the main building.

From the outset, it’s a pretty nondescript brown brick structure with a green-tiled roof that some might politely describe as low-key, half-hidden by shrubs and greenery, again in keeping with this hotel’s penchant for surprises.

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However, the villa’s spacious interiors are all about quiet opulence. Our foyer in gray marble led to a Moorish-style octagonal indoor courtyard, painted in black and adorned only by filigreed brass candleholders, that was glassed-in on all sides but full of light so that the result was a bright serenity as soon as we walked in.

THE BEAUTY IS IN THE DETAILS Past the inner courtyard was our living room, still lacquered in black, with nothing so garish as a full-on view to spoil the experience of discovery. Instead, amidst the monotone we had golden yellow curtains, delicate furniture, masses of pink flowers, silver candelabras and lots of very interesting coffee table books – the kinds I’d want to spend time reading on holiday – on topics as diverse as interior decoration in Lebanon and the arts and crafts of Iran.

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MARRAKECH “How lovely,” I whispered, never imagining I would be waxing rhapsodic about a room in black. Yes, this was indeed Jacques Garcia’s magic at work.

DRAMA AT EVERY TURN The view from here of our massive private garden and swimming pool was but a sliver of the actual – again just an inkling of things to come – because, as far as visuals are concerned, nothing is simply handed to you on a silver tray at this hotel. Instead, through the windows I espied at the end of the pool a slice of a

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fancy gazebo with a cupola, with curtains swaying in the wind and a comfortable set of sofas and chairs for lounging at just about any time of the day. This would become our favorite place for breakfast and afternoon tea.

In fact, with the gazebo beckoning so irresistibly, the first request I made of our private butler was for a strong pot of Moroccan mint tea and a tray of savoury and sweet pastries to be served as soon as possible. We then spent the rest of the afternoon there reading books.

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TRAVEL IFE Recommen ds

R&R at the Selman Marrakech

The hotel’s award-winning 1200 square meter Espace Vitalite Chenot spa offers a comprehensive selection of relaxation and wellness treatments, incorporating the latest in beauty technology as well as the philosophies of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). The 55-minute signature Chenot Detox treatment uses a combination of techniques to encourage lymphatic drainage and blood circulation.

The spa also has an indoor heated pool, an outdoor pool with a jacuzzi and lounging facilities arranged in a beautiful traditional-style courtyard.

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AN ARABIAN NIGHT In this state of relaxed bliss, we were completely unaware that our butler had been keeping himself busy preparing our riad for the evening. By the time we were ready for dinner, he had lit candles around the indoor courtyard, the living room and the swimming pool so that the riad was bathed everywhere in soft light and the flames of dozens of candles danced off the black canvas of a riad it was meant to illuminate.

The effect of the candles placed around the fountain and along the rims of the indoor courtyard was so magical that I had to walk around it several times just to make sure I recorded it in my memory.

Housing the owner’s collection of purebred Arabian horses, the stables are so beautifully done that they’re often mistaken by guests for a dining venue.

TENT FOR ALL SEASONS Our butler had also turned down the sheets in the bedroom, which was draped in masses of heavy fabric to look like a contemporary version of a Berber tent from the Tales of 1001 Arabian Nights. I’d never seen a bedroom like this that cossetted its occupants so luxuriously from the outside world.

Then, with impeccable timing, our butler invited us back to the living room after our stroll around the riad. He whisked a bottle of champagne out of a silver ice bucket, popped the cork, and offered two glasses. This was the exotic scene and the perfect moment that dreamy Hollywood movies are made of – which was quite appropriate, as one of the world’s biggest movie stars had reportedly stayed in this same lovely riad at the Selman Marrakech while filming one of the top-grossing movies for 2015.

But this time, we were actually living out the scene in Marrakech, living a #Travelife. n

THE SELMAN MARRAKECH www.selman-marrakech.com

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What Lies BEYOND CHRISTINE CUNANAN returns to a riad in Marrakech that charmed her

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y the time we reached the Riad Al Badia in the less touristy side of the medina of Marrakech, we were completely exhausted, having traveled over 36 hours door-to-door from Manila via Istanbul and Casablanca, and then having to navigate across a busy city just before the dinner hour and drag our suitcases through a dark cobbled alley for the very last leg of the trip.

WALLED SECRETS A short walk through this alley, however, and then we had before us our final destination: a simple heavy wooden door, which must have surprised my companion although he said nothing of it. He only understood later, you see, how such doors – literally the gatekeepers of life in the medinas of Morocco – are typical in a country of opulence and elegance beneath a veneer of deliberate understatement.

Less typical perhaps was the effusive warm welcome of Laurent, a Frenchman who had done time in the Sahara desert before moving to Marrakech to run this tiny jewel of a riad we had traveled thousands of kilometers to stay in.

Peering at us from behind antiquated spectacles that softened his gaze, he said with genuine concern: “You must be hungry. We’ve set up a very nice table for you on the rooftop. Come up once you’ve had a chance to freshen up.”

“The riad’s tiny ground floor was just slightly larger than my living room, but within its whitewashed walls was an indoor pool with waters the color of jade green, that made me want to dip my feet in after the meal.”

FIRST IMPRESSIONS COUNT In general, I don’t book small hotels because space matters to me and my luggage. But one night last year I’d had the opportunity to dine at this riad and I was instantly enchanted by the intimacy of everything.

The riad’s tiny ground floor is just slightly larger than my living room, but within its whitewashed walls, it held a reception area, a well-respected restaurant called La Table du Al Badia and an indoor pool with waters the color of jade, that made me want to dip my feet in after the meal.

Even my suite, which was the largest of the riad’s six rooms, was simply furnished and miniscule by the standards of luxury establishments in Marrakech. It had a fourposter bed, a spacious cabinet, a sitting area with a lounging sofa, and a dressing table with a hand-hammered silver tray of amenities. I wanted for nothing.

MEMORABLE ROOFTOP I eventually found my way to the rooftop where Laurent and my companion awaited, amidst a homespun version of a fairyland under starry skies. Potted plants and intricately carved brass lamps with glass panes full of flowery scenes that Laurent and his team had painted themselves worked their magic on a table set simply for two on a terracotta-colored patio, to ensure we had a truly enjoyable dinner and that I had ever so sweet dreams of Marrakech that night. n

RIAD AL BADIA www.riadalbadia.com

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