Marrakesh Morocco

[imbues]

This article has inspired me to add Marrakesh to my long list of places I must go. It nice to know that Luxury Link has four properties available. I'd feel more secure staying at an LL property in a place like Marrakesh. Has anyone been there and stayed at any LL properties?



36 Hours in Marrakesh, Morocco



Mobile restaurants in the central square, Djemma el Fna.


By SETH SHERWOOD




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November 11, 2007
36 Hours in Marrakesh, MoroccoBy SETH SHERWOOD


EVERY generation, Westerners find new reasons to go gaga for Marrakesh. For Edith Wharton and Winston Churchill, the draw was medieval Islamic architecture and rugged mountainous landscapes. For the globetrotting hippies of the woozy Marrakesh Express days, the appeal lay in charming cobras and blowing smoke rings, to quote Crosby, Stills and Nash. These days, with Marrakesh emerging as the center of North Africas style and night life, everyone from Julia Roberts to Naomi Campbell has threaded through its labyrinthine old lanes in search of celebrity chefs, opulent spas and designer boutiques. Indeed, for many of Europes jet set playgrounds Ibiza discos, Riviera beach clubs, Paris hotels a Marrakesh outpost is now de rigueur.

FRIDAY

4 p.m.
1) OLD MEDINA

For full immersion into Marrakeshs sights, sounds and smells, dive into the twisted passages of the Medina, the citys old quarter. Head up Rue Souk Semarine, and youll pass veiled women, clambering mule carts, and narrow passages with stalls selling all manner of hand-spun textiles, inlaid mirrors, brass lanterns, wooden chests, fragrant leather goods, ceramic vases and enough carpets to pad the Alaskan wilderness. Haggling is essential. So is your poker face: feign indifference, affect a cool exterior and occasionally exaggerate outrage at counteroffers. Finish at the Ben Youssef Medersa, a 16th-century Koran school adorned with dazzling mosaics, intricate cedar panels and religious verses carved in white plaster. (No phone or Web site, and the location can be tricky to find, but it is right next to the Muse de Marrakech on Place Ben Youssef. Admission is 40 dirhams, or about $5 at 7.95 dirhams to the dollar.)

8 p.m.
2) PALACE FOR YOUR PALATE

Whether youre proposing to your partner, celebrating an anniversary or pleading forgiveness for an affair or if youre just plain starved everything is romantically presented and expertly cooked in the sumptuously Moorish interiors of Le Tobsil (22 Derb Moulay Abdallah Ben Hezzian; 212-24-44-40-52). The menu, which changes daily, typically includes cold Moroccan tapaslike salads, savory-sweet tagines and couscous with stewed meats and vegetables. A fruit-heavy dessert and glass of sweet mint tea provide the coda. Dinner for two is fixed at 1,200 dirhams, and includes wine. Reservations essential.

10 p.m.
3) MARKET LEADER

North Africas most famous market, Djemaa el Fna square, explodes to life after dark. Lorded over by the illuminated minaret of the Koutoubia Mosque, oceans of revelers come out to dine at sizzling food stalls and soak up the carnivalesque atmosphere conjured by monkey handlers, cobra charmers, drummers, acrobats, musicians, soapbox preachers and folk-medicine hawkers. If you can handle more dessert, visit the spice-cake dealers (40 dirhams a slice) and wash it down with a glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice (a mere 3 dirhams) from one of the myriad fruit carts.

SATURDAY

10:30 a.m.
4) PUBLIC HAREM

The sprawling 19th-century Bahia Palace (Rue Riad Zitoun el Jedid, Medina; 212-44-389-564) solves a design quandary that few architects today confront: How to build a house for a grand viziers 4 wives and 24 jealous concubines? The answer seems to be very stylishly and carefully, judging from the masterfully tiled, chiseled and carved details of the opulent palace. Admission is 10 dirhams to tour its intricate layout of rooms, gardens, courtyards and pavilions. Now a museum, the palace still periodically receives V.I.P.s, including the hip-hop sultan Sean Combs, who flew in his entourage for a 2002 birthday bash.

Noon
5) LUNCH AMONG THE RUINS

Next to the former Jewish quarter and overlooking the time-worn walls of 16th-century El Badi Palace, the terrace of KosyBar (47 Place des Ferblantiers, Medina; 212-24-38-03-24) is a chic perch for a noontime bite. Settle into the deep couches, absorb the jazz-soul soundtrack and contemplate the menu of sushi, sashimi and various Euro-Oriental fusion dishes. Chilled carrot soup with ginger and cumin (50 dirhams) cuts the heat like a North African answer to gazpacho, while goat cheese ravioli (80 dirhams) adds Continental flair.

1:30 p.m.
6) MERCHANDISE MAZE

Riding a Moorish-Moroccan wave, young designers are modernizing Old World styles with contemporary Western touches. Youll find many of their boutiques hidden in the Medina. Start at Original Design (231 Rue Riad Zitoun, Jedid; 212-24-38-22-76), where Ibtissam Ait Daoud sells her sleek ceramics flying saucer ashtrays (120 dirhams), cylindrical vases (150) and volcano-shaped pitchers (120) in tangerine, aubergine and silver hues. Owned by a French-Moroccan couple, Warda la Mouche (127 Rue Kennaria; 212-67-34-73-74) deals in prt--porter, like psychedelic caftans (780), silver babouche slippers (40) and sailors blouses with Arabesque embroidery (320). Finally, for funky interpretations of North African housewares and fashion accessories, hit KifKif (8 Rue el Ksour, Bab-Laksour; 212-61-08-20-41; www.kifkifbystef.com).

4 p.m.
7) WANT SUN? JOIN A CLUB

No ocean in Marrakesh? No matter. You can bronze up and cool off at the local branch of Nikki Beach (Circuit de la Palmeraie, Palmeraie; 212-24-36-87-27; www.nikkibeach.com), the decadent chain of swimming-pool clubs. Like its counterparts in Miami and St.-Tropez, the Marrakesh outpost serves up throbbing house music, white canopy beds and pricey bottles of bubbly to the gaggle of self-styled jet-setters, party people, moguls and wannabes. Don your D & G shades, have a glass of Champagne (180 dirhams) and prepare for an Arabian night. Admission 150 dirhams.

8 p.m.
8) MOROCCO, ALWAYS

You might not glimpse a white-jacketed Humphrey Bogart at the Grand Caf de la Poste (Boulevard El Mansour Eddahbi and Rue Imam Malik, Gueliz; 212-24-43-30-38; www.grandcafedelaposte.com), but the brass rails, brown leather banquettes, potted palms and other French colonial details are pure Casablanca. Built in 1925 and renovated two years ago, the restaurant serves French fare with Moroccan touches, including foie gras with fig jam (190 dirhams) and calamari grilled in local argane oil (95 dirhams). For dessert, the banana milkshake with pistachio ice cream is ambrosia in a glass (70 dirhams). Cocktails in the sultry Moorish Art Deco upstairs lounge are the perfect digestif.

11 p.m.
9) 1,001 NIGHTCLUBS

Marrakeshs abundant night life is eye-opening. At the chic restaurant-lounge-nightclub Jad Mahal (Fontaine de la Mamounia, Hivernage; 212-24-43-69-84), well-heeled Moroccans and Europeans clink cocktail glasses in an elegant setting that blends styles from India, Asia and the Middle East. Admission 100 to 200 dirhams for the nightclub area. End the night at Pacha (LAguedal Hotel Zone, Boulevard Mohammed VI; 212-24-38-84-00; www.pachamarrakech.com), a branch of the storied Ibiza club. Claiming to be Africas largest night spot, the space houses two restaurants, a swimming pool, a plush chillout room and an expansive dance club that has been graced by Paul Oakenfold, David Guetta and other hall-of-fame D.J.s. Admission 150 to 450 dirhams.

SUNDAY

10 a.m.
10) DARE TO STEAM

Two days of spirited bargaining, culinary bloating and late-night carousing takes a toll. At Les Bains de Marrakech (2 Derb Sedra, Medina; 212-24-38-14-28; www.lesbainsdemarrakech.com), the venerable Islamic hammam has been injected with casbah-cool 21st-century design touches. For 450 dirhams, youll be steamed to melting, lathered in black Moroccan beldi soap, exfoliated with a rough kissa glove, massaged with oil by four hands, coated in local ghassoul clay, rinsed in hot water, stuffed into a fluffy robe and served a mint tea.

Noon
11) DESIGNER FLORA

Even if you dont know a malvaceae from a punicaceae plant, the Majorelle Gardens (212-24-30-18-52; www.jardinmajorelle.com) are the citys loveliest strolling grounds. The cafe serves a Moroccan breakfast (orange juice, yogurt, sweet crepes, honey and jam; 100 dirhams), and the Museum of Islamic Art offers wrought Persian astrolabes, Syrian copperwork and shimmering Moroccan textiles. All were collected by the gardens financial patrons, the fashion legends Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Berg. They first fell in love with Marrakesh in the 1960s and are in many ways the forefathers of the current Marrakesh-mania.

VISITOR INFORMATION

Royal Air Maroc (www.royalairmaroc.com) offers flights from Kennedy Airport to Marrakesh with a change in Casablanca. Based on a recent online search, rates in late November started at around $950. (Research your flight carefully. Layovers in Casablanca can range from around one hour to more than 15 hours depending on the specific flight you book.) Moroccan taxis rarely use their meters. For a trip from Marrakesh Menara airport to the Medina, try to bargain down to 80 dirhams, $10 at $7.95 dirhams to the dollar. Between the Medina and the new district of Gueliz, around 15 to 20 dirhams is reasonable.












Message Edited by imbues on 11-11-2007 05:16 PM

[travel2fun]

imbues, there is an existing VIP Blog on Marrakech or Marrakesh, depending on the preferred spelling, and one of the luxury link featured destinations

http://community.luxurylink.com/luxurylink/blog/article?blog.id=blog-vip&message.id=66

[omegaet]

imbues...there is an existingthread on Marrakech with postingfrom several of us here in the community who have traveled there using LL auction packageshttp://community.luxurylink.com/luxurylink/board/message?board.id=board-general&message.id=2806&query.id=18395#M2806 You might find the information helpful and/or you might have further questions.

[jsattapr2]

imbues, I love Morocco in the Fall and Spring. Much too hot in the Summer. When you go, maybe you can use Air France andconnect through Paris rather than flying direct on Royal Air Maroc (it is really a second class air line). Marrakech and Fez or my two favorite cities, lots to see and lots to do. Hire a private car and driver and get out and about rather than limiting your time only to the cities. The rural villages are delightful and the people so friendly. Why not stop dreaming and start traveling.

[imbues]

Thank you all for your replies, I haven't had time to read your links yet, but I will. (My life has been hectic this week) I appreciate everyone posting their experiences and reviews, it's very helpful.

JS said, "why not stop dreaming and start traveling" I'm trying to, I really am, I have one definite trip ( 5 days) planned and two more I'm still planning from this coming year ( 4-5 day and one at least 2 weeks). That's how I found this place looking for info on Italy. I just never thought of Morocco as a destination for me, but after reading about the architecture and history then I added it to my list.

Thanks,
imbue