Since we are talking about the Morocco hotel scene today, we figured we would throw you a bone.
The 14 room Dar Ahlam castle hotel (part of the Relais & Châteaux group) in Ouarzazate Morocco impresses even the most skeptical UK guests:
A Londoner raves:
Gardens, villas with pools, rooftop terraces, caidal tents. A different place to eat every meal, whenever you feel like eating. Breakfast brought to you in bed, then another a couple of hours later by the pool. Nothing is too much trouble - all those bits that niggle you in other hotels - like paying for water / minibar drinks/laundry/babysitting/taxis - they are all included.
Dar Ahlam translates into "House of Dreams" and this place reeks of romance--lantern-lit grounds, silk drapes, rooftop terraces, and villas with pools set the mood. Looks like design hotels are alive and well in Northern Africa.
Moroccan tourism officials have found a neat name for the small but growing offerings of boutique hotels: "Hotels du Charme". One such hotel of charm recommended by Britain's Guardian newspaper this week is Les Borjs de la Kasbah: "the defensive towers" of the kasbah. Small but sweet (and totally bookable) is the order of the day here:
Eighteen rooms are arranged around four patios and a spa and pool are due to open later this year. Most of the time it will operate as a normal hotel but you can also hire the whole place for a party or family reunion - it's not too early to start planning for New Year's Eve 2007.
The spa and pool will be in a nearby garden, plus another local garden is supported by the hotel--part of Le Borjs's impressive envionmental policy. The strong Moroccan sun helps solar power provide a portion of the electricity used and special attention is paid to waste management. All this makes a hotel of charm, apparently.
So our beloved Amazing Racers left the prostitutes in Kiev, Ukraine for the movie sets of Ouarzazate, Morocco. As always, Jaunted has the episode recap while we search out a place for our weary Racers to lay their heads.
We probably would have picked this hotel based on its name, Kasbah Ait Ben Moro, but its also #1 on TripAdvisor and was written up by Travel + Leisure. Granted, there's only two reviews listed but that's probably good for this part of Morocco.
The room was basic, but spotless, with an extremely comfortable bed and spacious shower/toilet room. Also, contrary to expectation, the electricity was available for 24hrs....The owner and his wife were a lovely couple, pretty sophisticated but extremely welcoming and friendly.
Wow, electricity all day long. How we take that for granted. However, the other review warns you to have an open-mind when visiting this place as its an ancient kasbah with only 16 rooms, basic amenities and no added luxuries. (About $100 gets you both rooms and breakfast and dinner.) And unless you're doing reality show challenges on the Atlas Studios lot, there's not a whole lot to do nearby.
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by markj
