My friend James is one of those people who has been everywhere. He knows the
finest beach to flop on in the Caribbean, the best Kenyan safari and
probably the best cake shop in Calcutta (or as James calls it, Kolkata).
Recently, he and his wife went to Marrakesh for a long weekend. He knew all
about the city, naturally - they had been there in the early years BC
(Before Children). But today’s Marrakesh had taken him by surprise. “It’s
not like it used to be,” he said. “It’s so much... bigger.”
What had happened? In a word, progress. King Mohammed VI has decided tourism
is the way forward for his country, and Marrakesh, the languid city that
used to welcome thousands of visitors a year, is now gearing up for
millions.
Mostly, this is a good thing: it gives us more choice of places to stay, eat,
shop and party — and, with the launch of budget flights, new ways to get
there.
When I first went, in 1990, most people stayed outside the old city, in
concrete resort hotels. The medina was almost completely the preserve of
Moroccans — foreigners who went in risked getting lost, hassled or fleeced.
It seemed part of the world conjured in Paul Bowles’s The Sheltering Sky,
where imaginative travellers felt they might end up strapped to a camel and
sold into slavery in Timbuktu.
Well, here’s the news: as James now knows, there are two very different sides
to Marrakesh. One is the traditional place of tiles, tagines and sweet mint
tea. The other is a modern place-in-the-making, a hip North African resort,
a city where the design, like the food, is a fusion of Moroccan,
Mediterranean and other exotica. So, now you know that, what’s your style?
SLEEPING
Traditional
Ever since Winston Churchill checked in with his paintbox and crates of
champagne, La Mamounia (00 212-24 38 86 00, www.mamounia.com) has been the
traditionalist’s hotel of choice. It is currently closed for renovations
(until “some time in 2007”) — but even if it were open, I think Winston
might have relocated to a discreet hideaway called the Jnane Tamsna (24 32
94 23, www.jnanetamsna.com). A series of houses in a large palmeraie garden,
it offers simple, bling-free luxury in a guesthouse environment. Doubles
start at £168, B&B.
Or check in at Riad Kniza (24 37 69 42, www.riadkniza.com), the family riad of
Mohammed Bouskri, doyen of local tour guides. He has filled it with Moroccan
treasures and created an elegant, peaceful home. Doubles start at £109, B&B.
Down the price scale a little, Riad Assouel (24 37 59 14,
www.riad-assouel.com) is one of the most recent conversions in the medina:
an Andalusian-influenced 18th-century house in sumptuous colours, with
central plunge pool, bar and in-house hammam. Doubles start at £53, B&B.
Hip
The British hotelier Jonathan Wix created Riad Farnatchi (24 38 49 10,
www.riadfarnatchi.com) as his holiday home, but has now opened it to the
public. Its five large suites shriek luxury — rain showers, flat screens,
all topped off with super-slick service. Anything the manager, Lynne Perez,
doesn’t know or can’t arrange simply doesn’t exist. Doubles start at £225, B&B.
Eclectic modernism meets oriental fantasy at the slicke Riad Lotus Ambre (24
44 14 06, www.riadslotus.com). Sound systems are Bang & Olufsen, and
there’s a spa bath; popular with party people. Doubles start at £110.
Bab Doukkala, home to some of the city’s priciest restaurants, is also where
you’ll find Riad Nejma Lounge (24 38 23 41, www.riad-nejmalounge.com), the
brightest, hippest budget option in town. Doubles start at £34.
EATING
Traditional
An alfresco feed at the stalls on Place Djemaa el Fna is brilliant fun.
Freshly grilled kofta and spicy sausages are recommended; brain or
goat’s-head soup is only for the brave. Expect to pay about £5 for dinner.
The city’s fixed-menu palaces offer a very different experience, serving an
array of tagines, couscous and desserts against the lazy beat of gnawa
musicians for about £30pp. The newly revamped Le Tobsil (24 44 40 52) is a
long-standing favourite.
If you’re less than famished, or don’t fancy the supper-as-performance vibe,
try Al Fassia (24 43 40 60), in Guéliz, one of the few Moroccan restaurants
where you’ll see locals tucking in. Its all-female staff serve some of the
country’s best traditional food, including bstella (sweet pigeon pie).
Hip
If you want a postprandial party, head out of the city centre to Crystal at
Pacha (24 38 84 00, www.pachamarrakech.com) or Bô Zin (24 38 80 12,
www.bo-zin.com). Both are hip, happening and (if you go late) full of
beautiful people.
In summer, Mediterranean food is served at the gorgeous, tented L’Abyssin, in
the gardens of the decadent Palais Rhoul (24 32 94 94, www.palaisrhoul.com).
Several brasserie-style places now serve Mediterranean food to the city’s
well-heeled crowd. Try Kechmara (24 42 25 32, www.kechmara.com) — slick
decor, beautiful staff and Moroccan-Mediterranean dishes at fair prices.
SIGHTSEEING
Traditional
The showstopping monuments are all found in the medina, including the Ben
Youssef Medersa (£2.50), an Andalusian Koranic school; the Badii Palace
(60p), all that remains of a 16th-century sultan’s dream; and the Saadian
Tombs (60p), where the dreaming sultan’s remains were laid to rest.
Hip
Many hipsters think Marrakesh is a place to be seen, not to see, but everyone
should visit the souks, Djemaa el Fna and the gardens laid out by the artist
Jacques Majorelle in the 1920s — they have since been restored by Yves Saint
Laurent (www.jardinmajorelle.com; £1.85). The combination of luscious
plants, blue powder paint, light and shade, cool and quiet makes the gardens
a deserved crowd-puller. Go at 8am to have them to yourself.
PAMPERING
Traditional
The authentic choice is a hammam, a hot room offering vigorous “gommage”
rubdowns and cracking of joints. The master is Abdelkadir, at the Palais
Rhoul : a session costs £40.
At the down-to-earth Hammam el Basha (20 Rue Fatima Zohra), 50p buys you space
beneath the soaring domes of the historic public baths.
Hip
The smart set wouldn’t touch an old-time bathhouse. New day spas offer gommage
with essential-oil massage and other primpings. Les Bains de Marrakech (24
38 14 28, www.lesbainsdemarrakech.com) has a wide range of treatments and
space to stretch out. Les Secrets de Marrakech (24 43 48 48) is smaller and
a little more expensive, but well placed in the new town.
SHOPPING
Traditional
Souk Semmarine is the central drag running off Djemaa el Fna, offering
everything from handmade shirts and jackets at Au Fil d’Or (10 Souk
Semmarine; 24 44 59 19) to babouches (leather slippers) at Chez Brahim (82
Souk Semmarine; 61 55 19 68). Just off it, Place Rahba Qedima is the old
spice market, also good for cosmetics.
Around Rue Dar el Basha and Rue Mouassine, look for old artefacts and
jewellery, silk clothes at Beldi (9 Rue Mouassine), and maybe the furniture
and fittings for your newly acquired riad. If you don’t want to find your
own way around, your hotel or the tourist office on Place Abdel Moumen ben
Ali, in Gueliz (24 43 61 31), can arrange an official guide. Avoid Fridays,
when most souks are closed.
Hip
The most interesting shopping is increasingly found in Sidi Ghanem. There’s a
range of home stores, including the wonderful Amira candle store
(www.amirabougies.com), Akkal, for ceramics, furniture and tableware (24 33
59 38) and Papaya, for linen (www.papayacreation.com).
Visit www.madein-marrakech.com for all your shopping research — but the best
help of all is Laetitia Trouillet, a young French designer who has set up as
a personal shopper (74 21 72 28, www.lalla.fr; from £134 per day).
NIGHTLIFE
Traditional
In Marrakesh, this revolves around Djemaa el Fna, where jugglers, storytellers
and healers vie for the crowd’s attention (and coins).
Hip
Nothing displays Marrakesh’s arrival as a party town so much as the range of
dance places, from the multi-space Montecristo (24 43 90 31) to Teatro, at
the Hotel Saadi (24 44 88 11), and the Ibiza party-crasher Pacha, in the new
development area, 15 minutes from the centre.
Anthony Sattin travelled as a guest of Abercrombie & Kent and British
Airways
Travel brief
Getting there: British Airways (0870 850 9850, www.ba.com)
has flights to Marrakesh from Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester; from £129.
EasyJet (www.easyjet.com) flies daily from Gatwick; from £51.
Packages: Abercrombie & Kent (0845 070 0612,
www.abercrombiekent.co.uk) offers four nights at Riad Farnatchi from £769pp
or four nights at Riad Kniza from £649pp, B&B. Both prices include
flights and transfers. Other tour operators include Best of Morocco (01380
828533, www.morocco-travel.com), Kuoni (01306 743000, www.kuoni.co.uk) and
Kirker Holidays (0870 112 3333, www.kirkerholidays.com). Boutique Souk (00
212 61 32 44 75, www.boutiquesouk.com) offers a personalised travel service,
including tea in the Sahara or VIP entry to Pacha, and a complimentary
concierge service.
