Marrakesh

We went in late January which seemed like a nice time to visit. The weather was cool and there weren't any crowds. In between holidays and high season was chill.

Main themes: Fires with olive, lemon and argon wood, tons of roses especially red, four room buildings centered around a fountain, harissa, cumin, salads of roasted vegetables, mint green tea poured from high, sea green and salmon colors, very nice people who greet you with their right hand over their heart speaking mostly Arabic, some French. Flag has only star, no crescent moon like the other Ottomon Empire countries.

Mandarin Oriental

This hotel was a last minute add-on as left a couple days early last minute to avoid an ice storm. We really loved it. It's a few minutes outside of Marrakesh near the Aman. Grounds are incredible - huge olive trees and lots of water. The hotel feels private as most of the rooms are situated in their own buildings with a private pool, hot tub and outdoor living area/grill. The rooms have a large living room, a gorgeous bedroom and an enormous bathroom arranged in a U shape around the pool. The bathtub is massive, round and could fit 5 people in it, and the shower has steam. The hotel is new and the staff members were all incredible. They made a special raspberry cake for our anniversary among all kinds of other snacks, Moroccan tea and champagne upon arrival. The room was also decorated with hundreds of red rose petals arranged carefully around the villa. The spa has an indoor pool and a great yoga studio and fitness center. We attended a sound meditation class and worked out daily. They offered a complimentary foot massage treatment which was an amazing touch.

The restaurants were great - they have a lively Chinese restaurant and a classic Moroccan restaurant. We loved the vibrant dumplings. The included breakfast was incredible - lots of Moroccan specialties like crushed almonds with argon oil and honey for breads and harissa for the eggs.

Amanjena

The Aman was by comparison very tranquil but also older. It seemed like we had rented out the whole hotel, because there was a buyout coming over the weekend. They greeted us with a beautiful Morrocan tea ceremony by their fireplace and spice display. The buildings are all made of traditional pink mud and arranged around a massive koi pond. The room was circular with a wood burning fireplace and a very well-designed bathroom that had two dressing areas/closets separated by the tub and showers. They give you traditional Moroccan gifts of pointed leather slippers, a big straw tote bag with leather handles and a small colorfully painted ceramic dish. We also had a private walled in pool and cabana. Their resort pool is bigger and more beautiful than the Mandarin but their spa and gym weren't nearly as big or nicely done. Their hammam experience is held in a private steam room. They also have two restaurants, a fancy Moroccan restaurant and a more causal Italian one with live music. We liked both a lot. The staff was very friendly, but I think the management seemed better at the Mandarin. They offer a complimentary high tea every afternoon that I highly recommend. All the servers were exceptional.

There is an experience the Aman can arrange at their private area of the Afagay Desert that we loved. A driver takes you about 30-45 minutes outside the city - not gonna lie, we felt a little nervous riding out there. The experience starts with a camel ride where a guide walks you around on camels and takes photos. It was fun but seemed a little touristy and awkward. I didn't see anyone else riding camels but there were four wheelers driving past us part of the time. We asked to shorten the ride :)

Then we drive a few more minutes to the Aman tent where they had hundreds of candles lit all around and a big fire pit area. Inside the tent, they had more candles and a musician to serenade us. A whole team of chefs and servers created the most romantic beautiful dinner experience ever. They made all the food there in traditional tagines and fresh bread in a fire oven. They showed us how they were preparing all of the courses. It was way too much food, but the Moroccan salads and the tagine lamb were the best we had ever had. They had cashmere hooded traditional caftans and blankets for us to use as needed. Hundreds of stars in the sky and hundreds of candles on the ground - it was incredible and such a special memory.

Royal Mansour

By far the most special hotel - the Royal Mansour is owned by the King. He commissioned artisans to build the hotel around the clock for 5 straight years. The interiors are breathtaking - all the tiles and details are spectacular. Our riad was three stories. The bottom floor opened to an open air foyer with a fountain to a living room with a fireplace, desk, bathroom and coffee bar. The middle floor had two closet areas, the bedroom and bathroom. The upper floor has another bathroom, a rooftop hot tub, sunning area and fireplace. There are doors on every floor that lead to the underground network of service tunnels. You never see housekeeping or food service between riads. Everything comes through the tunnel system into each riad separately. You can communicate needs and set lighting via an ipad. The grounds are spectacular with tons or tangerine trees, olive trees, a massive pool and gardens. The outdoor sushi bistro is lively and delicious. They have a gorgeous Morrocan restaurant and a beautiful Italian restaurant as well. The spa is incredible - all white and ulta luxurious. The treatment rooms open to a private garden so you can have fresh air and gear birds sing during your service. Their hammam uses the traditional black soap with horse-hair loofah mit and body wrap. You lay on the heated marble floor in a big marble room next to other women, all naked. The large indoor pool is incredible, all enclosed in glass so you can enjoy sitting by the pool bright and sunny even on cold days.

The hotel arranged a private tour (with a fast pass) of the YSL gardens and museum followed by a shopping tour of the old medina. Apparently when the French came to Morocco they couldn't utilize the narrow maze of the old medina for commerce, so they developed larger streets. This area is called the new medina. There were cacti brought in from all over the world and YSL and his neighbor, French artist, , collaborated on the bright blue, turquoise, bright yellow and orange colors.

Our first stop in the Old Medina was Dar El Bacha which houses a famous coffee shop and incredible tilework. Morrocan riads are situated with 4 rooms and an open air fountain in the middle. They show artist works as exhibitions there as well. Mohamed Azouzi was the featured artist from Casablanca when we were there.

There are tons of vendors selling similar products throughout the maze of narrow paths that only fit donkey carts and people by foot. Lots of tagines, rugs, pointy leather shoes, lanterns, spices, baskets, caftans, tourist trinkets - lots of beautiful things but I didn't want to bring a lot home. We bought a small bathroom rug and wellness/beauty oils from an apothecary. Many of the entrances to the riads/homes we saw along the paths had door knockers and two doors to signify if there was a single girl in the home where a suitor could come knocking. We didn't bring cash for the snake charmers and monkey men in the main square but I saw a handful. The square is where they used to hold public executions. Now it has lots of food carts and street performers. The big mosque isn't far from here. The tower for prayer calls was gorgeous.

We didn't venture outside of the hotels other than going next door one evening for dinner to the Hotel La Mamounia. Even though it has been counted as one of the best hotels in the world, I knew I wouldn't particularly like it since it has a casino. I was right - not a fan and glad we didn't choose to stay there. There is a Dior store inside the hotel, among other designer stores - it felt like a Vegas hotel - not my vibe.

Overall we loved Marrakesh. The people were fantastic, the interiors were exquisite with artistry and history, the cuisine was spicy and unique and the music and culture were inviting and rich.