2.5 weeks in Morocco

There were many great things about Morocco, and I will try to highlight them in this journal.

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In a word? Dank.

This hotel was listed in the moderately priced section of the Morocco Rough Guide. I have to say that it should be moved to the cheap accommodations section.

The room that we rented was indeed cheap, less than $20 a night. It was also dirty and damp. We had to go down to the front desk to ask them for towels and to turn on the water. The bathroom had the distinct smell of mildew.

If you're looking for a cheap place to stay in Marrakesh's medina, the Hotel Ali is a much better deal. The general mood of despair that permeates the halls and rooms of the Arset el Bilk really puts a damper on your enjoyment of Marrakesh itself.

A great place for travelers on a budget.

The Hotel Ali teems with budget travelers from all over the world. The staff is very friendly and speak a variety of languages. They are very used to dealing with tourists and offer a range of services (money exchange, restaurant, Internet cafe, etc). If they cannot provide you with something, they can always refer you to someone who can. They gave us the name of the tour company that we used for our desert adventure.

The hotel's rooftop offers one of the best views of the Djemaa el Fnaa around. Each room comes with a basic but free breakfast. Guests can also check their email for free.

The rooms themselves vary widely. The double that my boyfriend and I stayed in was quite spacious and opened out to one of the interior courtyards. My friend's single room barely fit her bed and luggage -- the bathroom was actually bigger than the room itself.

I'm not sure if it was because we were visiting during the rainy season, but the room and bathroom definitely smelled of mildew. I also found a very large roach in the bathroom. My friend, however, said that her single room was very nice -- no smell and no bugs.

The Hotel Ali attracts a pretty young crowd, though I did see a couple of tour groups with older travelers there. The hotel can be a little noisy at night because of its location near the Djemaa and some of its livelier patrons.

The Villa Maroc is a beautiful hotel with a professional and courteous staff that makes you feel welcome from the moment you first step in the door. The management has taken care of every aspect of the hotel with a real attention paid to decor and presentation. Each room, stairwell, and niche in the hotel is beautiful.

The villa is located just within the medina wall in Essaouira. It's spacious and airy, with an interior courtyard that houses a large cypress tree and song birds. The hotel also has a hammam on the lower level that caters to men and women.

Rooms come with a large complimentary breakfast that the staff provides no matter what time you choose to awaken. The Villa Maroc charges 180DH per person for dinner, and it is well worth it. The dishes are an interesting mix of French and Moroccan cuisine and are beautifully presented.

The Villa Maroc really tries to cater to its guests' every need. By the end of your stay, you'll feel like the hotel is your home.

My group booked a 4-day, 3-night tour with Imagine le Voyage Tours, a company based out of Marrakech. They offer tours of the desert, Dades Valley, and Todra Gorge for groups and individuals. For $125 per person (for a group of five), we were able to rent a Land Rover with a guide and have him pick us up in Fez and do the tour in a reverse order, ending back in Marrakech.

Although Imagine le Voyage promised 2 nights in the desert in Berber tents, you must be aware that it's not with Berber families. The guide drops you off at the place where the camels are waiting, and a Berber guide leads you on the camels into the desert, where you share an encampment with other tour groups. The tents were set up in a square pattern.

Nights in the desert (especially in November) are very cold. You are provided with one blanket - the one that they hand you as you're getting onto the camel to ease the very bumpy ride to the campsite. The guides should have a box with extra blankets at the site but you should bring plenty of warm clothes.

The guides were very nice, though, and if anyone in the group decides that 1 night in the desert is more than enough, they will provide you with excellent lodgings at a hotel.

The desert near Merzouga is beautiful. This is the desert that you think about when you think of the Sahara, with rippling dunes and smooth sand. This is the one that you want to experience.

We were able to interact with some of the Berbers in Tenehir where we stopped on the second day. We were given another guide who showed us the Kasbah of Tenihir and introduced us to a nomadic Berber family. We were able to talk with one of the women and her brother and were given a demonstration of carpet-making over mint tea. Afterwards, they did ask us if we wanted to buy any of the beautiful carpets that the women of the family had made, but they were still quite friendly when we declined.

The souks of Marrakech were much easier to navigate than those of Fes. The Rough Guide to Morocco provided an excellent guide to accessing them, and once inside, it's quite easy to find your way. It's also a great place to get acclimated to the noise, smells, and life of the country.

The places closest to the Djemaa el Fnaa are more aimed for tourists. The quality of products was not very good, and the prices were very high. You will have to make your way into the heart of the souks to find items of good quality.

I highly recommend the cloth found in Marrakech. The weave is well done, and the colors and patterns are quite captivating. One of my group members bought a beautiful piece woven of cotton, silk, and cashmere in gorgeous sunset colors that I have not seen elsewhere.

I would not, however, recommend buying many things here if you have a chance to travel to other parts of Morocco. I was able to find things, such as wood, carpets, and pottery, that were of much better quality and price when visiting some of the other cities. The merchants are very good bargainers and start out at often outrageous prices. Even though I already had an idea of the prices being charged in other places, it was very difficult to find a good deal.

The cheapest way to get from Marrakech to Essaouira is by bus. Unfortunately, there are always "guides" who wait around the bus station to "help" you find the right bus. It was particularly bad for me because I was traveling in a group of five. We arrived at the bus station by taxi and were immediately accosted by people asking us where we were going. Naively, I responded to them.

One of the guides then took us to a gentleman who tried to charge us extra for not reserving seats beforehand - and then asked us for a baggage handling fee per person. The baggage fee was real, but the extra charge for not reserving was not.

We were firm but calm and kept stating the price we were willing to pay. In the end, we were led to the bus after paying the correct fare.

Once on the bus, you were pretty much left alone. Occasionally, young boys would come on trying to sell jewelry. They will sometimes try to drop it into your lap and get you to pay for it later. Hand the items back to them with a firm, "Non, merci," and you should not have any problems.

Essaouira is a beautiful town located on the western coast of Morocco. Even in November, the weather was beautiful - sunny and warm for the entire time that we were there. Coming from Marrakech, Essaouira provided a welcome relief from the hustle and bustle found in the more touristy areas.

The medina is small enough that you can really get a feel for its layout within a day of wandering. The people are very friendly and not as aggressive towards tourists as in other places.

Essaouira is the place to go to buy wood items. The Exposition de l'Emsemble Artisanal is a series of shops that offer handicrafts. The woodworking shop is a must-see for those looking for gifts. The quality of the items was the best that I saw in Morocco, and the prices were very reasonable.