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travel@pangolin.liOur accommodation in Morocco
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contact last updated: 28-Apr-2006 Text/pictures are subject to copyright by pangolin.li Text/Bilder unter Copyright von pangolin.li |
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Some notes on the hotels, riads and kasbahs we stayed in on our trip to Morocco in April 2006, as well as some restaurants (go to the main page here).The Riads
The Kasbahs
The western-style hotelsHotel Farah, RabatA 5* business hotel in a good location in Rabat: The Golden Tulip Farah Hotel is just adjacent to the Place Tour Hassan and the medina, with views over the medina to the Kasbah Oudaias, and over the Bou Regreg river to Salé, from the rooftop terrace and poolside. There are several restaurants, several bars (one with famous Sylvia, a picture of whom hangs in the elevator - she really looks better in reality!), a gym and indoor pool - whatever you expect from a 5* hotel. You can walk to most sights (though I, personally, prefer taxies, but I was in the minority in our family). The 193 rooms look like business hotel rooms elsewhere. Service is okay, and the breakfast was truly the most remarkable we had on our trip, with fruit and chees and freshly-made eggs and yoghurt and ... Only coffee was as bad as elsewhere. Stay with mint tea. Surely an excellent option in Rabat, though not very Moroccan in style.Hotel Zaki, MeknèsThe one thing I liked about the Zaki Hotel was its garden. Zaki was the most decent-looking Meknès hotel our travel agent had in his portfolio. But next time I will book something else over the internet.First of all it was hard to find, since it was too far from the city center to be on any of our maps (should you really wish to go there, follow the Avenue Bir Anzarane following the valley between old and new town, past the hospital, until you eventually reach the red hotel) - this means you have to take the car when you want to see anything of the city. Then: The only two friendly and courteous persons were the parking attendant and the afternoon barman; everyone else was snappy and made you feel an unwanted intruder. The rooms are boring, with old beds, and last-century plumbing - my mother's shower just fell off, flooding the bathroom. And the breakfast... well, we dediced to fetch fruit from our car instead... But the garden was nice, with the orange trees in bloom. back to top RestaurantsAnd a few notes on the restaurants we've been to (except hotel restaurants and foodstalls)Restaurant el Bahia, Rabat, Bd Hassan II (near Av. Mohamed V)A courtyard and mezzanine set IN the old Andalucian wall, at the entry to the market. Very touristy, but the food was good - our first brochettes and tajine in Morocco. We went for a late lunch - first is was full to the last seat, but got more relaxed later. Most guests were tourists or students. Service was quick and friendly. Would go again.Restaurant de la Plage, Rabat, Plage OudaïasWe had dinner at the Restaurant de la Plage, praised in my Rough Guide - to me it was average cuisine with a strong focus on fresh fish, but no real alternatives for the vegetarians in our family. My dorade was fine, but not overwhelming, whereas the veggie soup was an unsalted overpeppered veggie mash. First there were only tourists, but later a few locals appeared. The setting just above the beach would be nice in summer or for lunch, but it was a cold and windy night... We paid 800 DH for 5, with local wine.Restaurant Tajines wa Tanjia, 9 Rue Baghdad, RabatA small and cosy restaurant just near the main station. Decorated with rural Moroccan motives. The specialities are tajines and tanjias, i.e. stews cooked in earthen pots (tanjia is simmered in the embers of a hamam fire for 5 hours...), but they had other moroccan dishes too, including vegetarian. All our courses were tasty. The restaurant was dimly lit, almost romantic, and there was a lute player serenading, with just the right volume. Seemed to be visited by locals for romantic dates. Would for sure go again.Restaurant Le Collier de la Colombe, 67 Rue Driba, MeknèsA panoramic restaurant in the upper floor of an old, but restored mansion overlooking the Ville Nouvelle - full of ornaments and zellige patterns. The food was good: My tasty harira soup came in a big old-fashioned soup bowl and would have served 5. Then they served a huge portion of couscous, even though it was not Friday. There were also alternatives for the vegetarians. Staff was attentive. First there was only a family as other guests, but it was more than half full later. We paid 950 dirham for 5 including local wine. Would come again.Palais de Fès Dar TaziOn our first night in Fes, we wanted to eat out. The owner of our Ryad Mabrouka arranged a visit to Palais de Fès, and a car came to fetch us (dinner only by appointment). The restaurant is high up, built on a carpet shop roof near Place er R'cif. It was cold and windy, so we had dinner inside, despite the fabulous view over the medina outside. First the restaurant looked very touristy - apart from chain-smoking Dutch, there were only Swiss guests! But the food made up for that. There are only a few set menues which you can combine, and the smaller menues are surely enough. The first course is Moroccan salads: an array of ca. 12 kinds of marinated vegetables, beans and other nice stuff for the five of us - mouthwatering! My brother and stepfather had ordered a veggie couscous as main course - it was good, and would have fed all of us... I had an excellent beef quince tajine - quinces simmered in a spiced broth, and then the beef simmered in the quince broth. We couldn't find space for a desert... Price was quite high (950 dirham for 5, including wine), but it was worth it. Would come again.back to top Go to:
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