Yes, we are both home, carrying great memories — and 3 carpets! And a few fossils and scarves!
First and foremost, we absolutely loved our driver Driss. He was a perfect gentleman, knowledgeable, a great driver, and all around savvy person. We trusted him and felt very safe with him. Kudos to Driss!
We also loved the choices for our overnight stays. The Lina Ryad in Chefchaouen and the Ryad Salama in Fes were standouts, both for beauty and for service… and for great food. They were stylish, colorful, quiet, with perfect and kind service at all times. The Le Doge in Casablanca blew us away with its artful art deco details – very chic! We wished we had more time in each of the places. In Kasbah Xaluca and Hotel Le Berbere Palace, we found friendly cats to keep us company. We were enchanted by the furnishings at Kasbah Xaluca (the fossil sinks!) and the overall setting. We cannot recommend their dinner buffet however: there was nothing Moroccan about it from our perspective, just bland buffet food for the lowest common denominator tourist in a big bright noisy dining room. That said, the place had a charming cozy tea room/bar area with a fireplace that we very much enjoyed. Le Berber Palace gave us a suite with two bedrooms and two complete baths — very relaxing. Their dinner buffet was tons better than the Kasbah; we were there on Christmas eve and they had a string quartet playing (struggling with western classics but very sweet). The Sofitel in Marrakech was elegant, in a great location, food was terrific — oddly, they keep a strong scent of jasmine all over the hotel — it is a bit overwhelming.
We had a great time – truly memorable – on our Sahara desert outing. Our tent and the service, dinner, surprise entertainment were all wonderful and felt like an adventure. We enjoyed the sunset camel ride, though it was very short.
After we left the Todra Gorge, Driss ( who understood our tastes by then!) took us to an adorable local place called Auberge Restaurant La Petite Gorge, where we had a home cooked meal and friendly chats with the owner who showed us around his newly renovated rooms. Highly recommend that little place! We also followed your recommendation and went to Cafe Clock in Fes for entertainment and dinner — it was lively and friendly and lots of fun. My only regret is that the dinner in the Ryad had been so great the night before, I was sorry to miss another one!
It’s hard to pick out highlights since we had a great time everywhere — but Chefchaouen (the blue city) as a whole was a sublime experience. Gorgeous, taking you back centuries into a peaceful blue world. A photographer’s paradise.
We could have stayed there for days and days. We also loved Fes and soaked up the medina with great enjoyment. Having guides with us for the medinas was helpful and enabled us to look around without too much hustling interference. In the Marrakech souks I was told by a dealer that “you bargain like a Berber!” I’ve decided that could be a useful skill and it is going on my resume. Not sure if these two pictures are coming through well. I may be able to send others using a different method.
We certainly are happy to recommend Morocco Tours/ExperienceIt! We had an all around great experience and felt confident at all times that we were being taken care of and treated with courtesy. Indeed we are now a two-woman crew of promoting tourism to Morocco — what a stellar place for a true vacation in a different culture with surprises around every corner. Thank you for setting up such a wonderful itinerary and making it so easy for us to have this adventure.
Kim & Lauren (USA), December 2014