Morocco Travel Guide
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At Marrakech's Dar Ayniwen, Snag a Suite With a Private Terrace If You Can
Our series on Marrakech concludes with the grandest suite we saw during our four day jaunt to the Moroccan city.
Dar Ayniwen, like Jnane Tamsna, is located in La Palmeraie, providing a sea change in terms of environment when compared to the Medina. The estate-turned-hotel that doesn't shy away from pomp and circumstance: stately excess best describes its decor, from the textured Berber rugs layered and peppered throughout its interior, to walls plastered with vintage travel posters, to the plush gardens surrounding it, with a variety of bird species chirping a natural soundtrack for the villa.
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Organic Eating and Sunlit Garden Strolls at Marrakech's Jnane Tamsna
Removed from the frantic climes of Marrakech's Medina, Jnane Tamsna is located in the city's Palmeraie district, tucked away from other sizeable resorts in the area. We planned an afternoon sojourn to the grounds after learning about on-site cookery classes featuring staples of Moroccan cuisine. Fans of former Gourmet Editor-in-Chief Ruth Reichl may remember Jnane Tamsna's house chef, Bahija, featured on an episode of Adventures With Ruth.
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Pancakes, a Fez and Babouche Slippers Took the (Birthday) Cake at Riad Joya
Yesterday we teased today's full review of Riad Joya, a boutique hotel planted squarely in the middle of Marrakech's Medina, the most ancient part of the city. Having made the claim that Joya provided us with the best service ever experienced, it's only fitting that we elaborate on such a bold statement.
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Why Hotels Should Take a Cue From Marrakech's Riad Joya
Mint tea and fresh Moroccan pastries: now that's a check-in greeting
Though London's winter has been comparatively mild to previous chillblain-inducing, blustering holiday seasons of years prior, us local Hotel Chatter-ers found ourselves craving a mid-season warm weather getaway nonetheless. Marrakech, Morocco won out over other similarly balmy cities for its proximity to the U.K. capital (it's just a three hour flight away) and the promise of tangines peppered with Ras el Hanout and preserved lemons.
Hotel Spas / Moroccan Hotels / Spa Treatments / → All Tags
For A Japanese Spa Treatment, Head To Morocco
There are many different types of hammams to be found in Morocco, but for reliably clean facilities, and unique wellness treatments, a safe bet would be the spa at La Mamounia, Marrakech's fairytale hotel and 20-acre gardens. Still coasting on the success of a well-documented renovation in 2009, here is yet another reason to visit the sprawling Eden: the Japanese-inspired Hammam Shiseido Ritual.
Though our travel-weary bodies are constantly in need of a good scrubbing, and we love the thought of a long Japanese hot tub soak, our wallets aren't up for the cost of a trip to Tokyo. So instead, we say, head to Morocco! We heard that's what Sarah Jessica Parker did, and that has to count for something...
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Vintage Magazine Has A Love Affair With La Mamounia
Vintage magazine recently spent six whole pages doting on Marrakech's $500-per-night legendary celebrity haunt, La Mamounia (if you remember, La Mamounia celebrated an extensive €180 million—that's almost $300 million USD—renovation exactly two years ago).
Full of wide-eyed praise for the hotel, the article uses its trademark scrapbook-y design and huge, glossy photos to bring you right inside the ninety-year-old Morroccan architectural masterpiece. Here is a little of what the writer, Kate Winick, had to say:
"The attention to detail borders on comical: the nail-heads studding the side of each upholstered chair don't simply terminate, they blossom into a flower; the art isn't just beautiful, it was commissioned from a series of North African artists capturing the hotel and the city in totally new ways; the bread isn't just baked fresh, your waiter will pause, note out loud that one piece is shaped like a heart, and present it to the lady at the head of your table with a flourish."
Hotel Openings / Hotel Opening Rates / Four Seasons Hotels / Teen Lounges / Hotels for Teens / Marrakech Hotels / → All Tags
Even The New Four Seasons in Marrakech is Catering to Teens
Good news for jetsetters who were crushed to hear that the Mandarin Oriental Marrakech was not to be this summer--The Four Seasons Marrakech is available instead!
True to their word back in March, The Four Seasons has opened their 140-room resort along with its five restaurants, two pools (one for families and one for adults) and expansive spa.
But perhaps most interesting (to us anyways) is that the Four Seasons Marrakech is totally down with the burgeoning teen lounges trend! Except they are calling their lounge The Young Adult Centre.
Teenagers will enjoy our Young Adult Centre, located on the lower level of the Hotel, where they will find movies and video games such as Wii and PlayStation. The experience begins at check-in, when guests from 13 to 17 years of age receive a welcome kit, including a weekly activity schedule.
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The MO Morocco is No Mo'
Ladies, if you had your gilded hearts set on doing a Sex and the City/Real Housewives of New York trip to Morocco and staying at the new Mandarin Oriental in Marrakech we have some crushing news-The MO is no mo'.
A tipster tells us that the Mandarin Oriental, which was delayed last October for an early 2011 opening date then again until Summer 2011, has now been completely shelved and instead the property will be a Taj Hotel.
It will open this fall as the Taj Palace Marrakech. According to the Taj Hotels press release dated May 26th, the property will have 161 guestrooms, including 25 grand suites and one royal suite which is pretty much the same configuration the Mandarin Oriental was talking about.
Here's what else Taj has in store for the hotel:
VIP Hotel Reviews / VIP Hotel Reviewer Series / Josh Flagg / Morocco Hotels / → All Tags
Million Dollar Lister Wins Email War With Marrakech Concierge Over Broken Boxes
Our VIP Hotel Reviews Series is back. For those of you with goldfish memories, this is the series in which we hand-pick experts in the travel and media worlds and beyond to tell us what are their favorite hotels and why. From time to time, we'll feature a hotel review from said VIPs about their favorite leisure or business hotels.
Our next VIP reviewer is Beverly Hills manse lister Josh Flagg. Josh is a Los Angeles real estate agent, star of Bravo!'s Million Dollar Listing, and an avid traveler. He has vacationed with his family in all the top resorts and hotels of Europe America and the Middle East. In 2011 Josh released his first book, a biography of his grandmother Edith Flagg, known also as the queen of polyester. The book is entitled "A Simple Girl; Stories My Grandmother Told Me". He is now releasing his second book, an autobiography on himself: Million Dollar Agent, Brokering the Dream
Hotel Openings / Four Seasons Hotels / Marrakech Hotels / Luxury Hotels / → All Tags
Four Seasons Marrakech to Open This Summer
Last week, we checked in on hotels that have been naughty and nice...er, we mean, new hotels that have opened and those that have been delayed. But there's actually a lot of hotels that we haven't documented yet like the Four Seasons Marrakech which is now opening this summer, beating out the W Marrakech and possibly the Mandarin Oriental which has pushed back its date twice now to summer.
The Four Seasons Marrakech is touting its central location just a short walk away from the city's ancient Medina, a 40-acre walled oasis, and the Menara Gardens. But this being a Four Seasons, the hotel has pulled out all the stops even going so far as to accommodate your kids.
New Year's Eve Hotels / Marrakech Hotels / Hotel Parties / Morocco Hotels / → All Tags
Feel Like Spending New Year's With Broadway? Then Head to Morocco!
All week long, we'll be fantasizing about some of the Over The Top New Year's Eve events and packages that ritzy hotels are putting together. Who knows? Maybe one of you moneybags out there will invite us to party with you! Know of an OTT hotel package for NYE? Send it to us!
After its big re-opening bash last November, we already know that La Mamounia in Marrakech knows how to party. So it seems like a logical--and completely OTT--place to spend New Year's Eve.
Now, we're guessing SJP won't be there, but there will be stars of a kind--the hotel is flying in the cast of the musical The Best of Broadway (from New York, London and Oslo) to perform a single show on December 31.
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Living Out SATC Dreams at The Mandarin Oriental Marrakech Will Have to Wait
After scoping out what was happening with the Mandarin Oriental Paris (it's opening in 2011), we got thinking about another MO property we're dying to see: Mandarin Oriental Jnan Rahma, Marrakech. It was on our Master List of Worldwide Hotel Openings in 2010 as opening this year, but the conspicuous quiet on the MO Morocco front led us to believe it might be delayed. Yep, we now see that it's scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2011.
There isn't a lot of intel available beyond that--although keen Sex and the City fans may know that the hotel-room scenes of Sex and the City 2 were shot at the hotel. So, if you've seen the flick, you've had a sneak peek at the new MO without even realizing it.
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