Simone Reddington

Last week, I was fortunate enough to go on holiday to Marrakesh, one of the largest cities and the most popular tourist resort in Morocco, with my mother and aunt.  We flew from Newcastle airport, which has only just started flights to the north-African country this month, and stayed at the Iberostar Waves Club Palmeraie Marrakesh hotel for three nights.  We struck gold with our flight times, with an early morning arrival and a late-night return, so that we could maximise our stay.   

When we stepped off the plane, we were greeted by the heat of the Moroccan sun. Temperatures still hit mid 30 degrees Celsius in October, so it’s a perfect destination if you’re looking for post-summer sunshine.  We changed our English money to Moroccan Dirham at the airport, as you can’t change it outside of the country, before boarding our Jet2 transfer bus to our hotel. Our hotel stay was all-inclusive, which I would highly recommend, especially if you want to drink alcohol during your trip.  Not only is it excellent value for money to have all your food and refreshments on-tap, but Morocco is a Muslim country so there are very few pubs or bars outside of the hotel. 

As soon as we checked in, we headed straight to the pool.  It was seven years since I last went on a hot foreign holiday and I had certainly missed the feeling of complete relaxation as I lounged in the sun with my book, sipping a mojito. The pool had a range of leisure facilities that catered for everyone, regardless of hobbies or interests.  The main pool was lovely, and the staff were extremely friendly and accommodating.  We then headed back to our room when the sun started to go down at about 6pm, to shower and make ourselves look glamorous for our dinner reservation at the hotel’s speciality Moroccan restaurant.  The food there was amazing, I considered it to be my favourite meal of the holiday.  The best part was the pastilla starter, a local delicacy which consists of chicken cooked in a flaky pastry with almonds and icing sugar.  It was a perfect example of an occasion where sweet and savoury tastes complement each other perfectly.  The meatball shakshuka dish, cooked on a sizzling, that I chose for my main course was also delicious. 

After a good night’s sleep to refresh us from the travelling, we headed down to breakast in the morning before embarking on a bus to Marrakesh city centre.  The hotel arranges a free shuttle-bus service, but I would highly recommend paying a guided trip instead.  The main cultural hub of the city is in Jemaa el-Fna, a large square, and the bus dropped us off at a spot that was 15-minute walk away.  We naively trusted a local taxi driver who offered to take us on a guided tour for a cheap price, but his tour consisted of taking us to the souks and market shops, rather than the historical and cultural landmarks that we would have preferred to see.  The highlight of our morning in Marrakesh was a gorgeous spice shop where the owner showed us a wide range of products containing argan oil, which is Morocco’s biggest export products.  He explained how the oil, which is produced from the nuts from argan trees, can be used to treat various skin conditions, such as psorias and acne, as well as arthritis.  It is also used in anti-aging products, shampoos and in cooking.  I bought my gran a lovely gift containing an argan oil soap, body spray and lip balm. I found Marrakesh to be very chaotic; there are a lot of motorbikes speeding around the city so crossing the roads can be extremely difficult.  The spot where the taxi-driver took us didn’t have many clear signposts, so we struggled to navigate our way to the parts of the city that we wanted to see, or even where the shuttle bus dropped us off.  Eventually we hailed a public taxi back to our hotel.   

We then quickly got changed before leaving again to embark on our pre-booked trip to the desert.  When we booked our holiday earlier this year, exploring the desert was the main activity that I wanted to do as I had seen photos on social media of the infinite golden sands that looked magical, like the portrayal of the three wise men in traditional nativity scenes.  However, I was very underwhelmed by the actual experience, which bore a closer resemblance to shrubland.  In fairness, we could have added a quad-biking or camel-riding experience activity to the trip, which I think would have offered more scenic views, but my mother didn’t feel comfortable riding a quadbike and I wasn’t sure that the camels would be treated ethically.  We instead chose the option to enjoy a Moroccan feast in the desert, complete with entertainment.  The food was nice, but not as good as the meal that we ate the previous night at the hotel, and the entertainment, which consisted of traditional Moroccan dancers and fire-eaters, was disappointing.  If I had the opportunity to re-visit Morocco or another country with a desert, I definitely would go quad biking to enjoy the full experience.    

On our final full day in Morocco, we booked a trip to the coastal city of Essaouira.  It took three hours to get there from Marrakesh by bus, but our driver broke up the journey by stopping at various points along the way, including an argan oil factory.  We explored the city’s beautiful old town, which is built around the Medina of Essaouira, an 18^th century fortress.  There were loads of little shops selling gorgeous clothes and homeware; perfect if you love shopping when you’re abroad.  I was charmed by the abundance of cats that made themselves at home in and outside of the shops.  The town was small enough to fully explore in a couple of hours; we wandered along the side streets that eventually led to the old fortress. From there you can see an impressive view of the Atlantic Ocean.  We didn’t eat lunch in Essaouira, as we made full use of the buffet breakfast and dinner facilities at the hotel, but we stopped for a bottle of wine in a stunning roof-top bar that gave out olives and salted nuts.  The town seemed a lot more westernised than Marrakesh and there was a lot more places that sold alcohol.  

We couldn’t do a trip on our final day in Marrakesh, as we had a set time our transfer bus to take us to the airport, so we had a lazy day by the pool.  We made full us of the breakfast and lunch buffet, so we didn’t need to eat at the airport, as well as milking the all-inclusive drinks.  I also took part in aqua-fitness class to burn off all the mojitos and ice-cream.   

I would highly recommend going to Morocco, and I would certainly like to revisit Marrakesh.  We definitely made the right decision to go in October, as the weather is still sunny but cool enough to explore.  It’s the perfect destination if you want a break in the sunshine but still want to explore somewhere a bit different to typical European beach resorts.