I am writing to confirm that our trip in Morocco was great. Your pre-trip service was first rate, my wife always felt her questions were answered and you gave us a great sense of confidence in our pending trip. We would particularly like to draw your attention to the person which made our trip a first rate experience, our driver Hamid Zerheri.
Hamid had many excellent qualities to him and I would like to outline these. His manner and demeanour gave a sense of confidence in him at all times, but allowed us to relax around him. He was extremely attentive and would anticipate what we needed at a moment that our desires will still pre-conscious, this gave the wonderful experience of him always being able to solve a problem just before we realized it existed. This trick was applied to keeping us comfortable in his van, anticipating our desired air-conditioner setting, photo and rest stops etc. As we got to know him we learned he was obviously an intelligent man who had an excellent grasp of many of the fascinating facets of Morocco from the geopolitical to the natural wonders around him. Hamid’s English was excellent and he communicated fluently with us. He acted as our translator when needed, as our French is woeful and our Arabic still developing (slowly). His manner throughout the trip remained calm and sophisticated. He was pleasant and kind to those he interacted with on our behalf.
His driving was impeccable, he was always scanning the road ahead and anticipating hazards. He drove confidently, but safely and forgave the ludicrous manoeuvres of his fellow road users with good grace and a subtle gesture of displeasure. His van was cleaned daily and the windows were spotless giving great on the move photo results. His van gave us the three of us a lot of space to stretch out, much more room than many travelers in their cramped Land Cruisers. His suggestions of local restaurants and bars for evening enjoyment were excellent and correlated well with concierge and expert website opinions.
We made a habit of visiting many of the top hotel bars to explore the grounds and have a drink of two during our trip, and during this time we met a lot of local Moroccan service staff in the hospitality and tourism industry. Compared to Hamid their manner and skills were decidedly average. I could see Hamid at the Casablanca Four Seasons one day if he wished to go that way, he really embodies the best of many qualities in the hospitality and service industry. I hope you can retain his services. Our Moroccan trip was greatly enjoyable, spectacular, but challenging. It was a great pleasure to be able to return to Hamid and our van to relax, be looked after and head for the next great experience.
We enjoyed our Riad accommodation and although we found the rooms at times quirky and challenging we thought the authentic experience was worth it. If you are interested in my opinions on the Riads and Hotels we stayed in please consult trip adviser where I blog about accommodation under the name DiboTraveller.
We were wondering if your great pre-trip service and communication would translate to a great on the ground experience, and thanks to Hamid it did.
Regards,
Randall (Australia), April 2014