My life is generally full of amazing and wonderful things every single day, and this recent Travelife to Morocco with 35 wonderful people was no exception.
Our trip was defined by time constraints and a general desire among most to see as many things as reasonably possible within the time allowed, the Travelife way.
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| A breakfast with a private horse show at the Selman for my birthday, living a #Travelife… |
I’d handpicked all the places to stay and the restaurants to eat in for a reason.
We often tried to stay in the very best, or to eat in them, and when we chose otherwise, there were always for very good reasons. I was also always conscious of the fact that my friends were likely to get tagine-ed out way quicker than I am, so I tried to vary the meals between French, Moroccan and Western.
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| The best tagine of the trip was at a charming riad just outside the Ait Ben Haddou in the desert |
No Asian tour package meals for this trip, though, as I seriously believe in eating local, or at most regional, when traveling. In fact, I was probably the only one in the group who had a Moroccan breakfast every single day, and I certainly had the most tagine and couscous.
But I think that in a fairly enclosed culture and on a trip going to pretty exotic destinations, local food is the best option. And I avoid tourist restaurants when possible, too, although I often like to try the best restaurant of the best hotel in town.
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| Strolling through the five-star stables of the Selman Marrakech, living a #Travelife… |
I booked my friends and I at the Selman Marrakech for the last stay, as I figured everyone would want a relaxing R&R before heading out of Morocco.
By then, I imagined everyone — or at least almost everyone — would be souk-ed out, tagine-ed out and just zoned out after 1600 kilometers of a Travelife.
And as I had extended my stay, I actually had a couple of days in Marrakech at the beautiful Hotel Selman, and I deliberately made no plans except to chill out before the long trip back home.
The Selman by the way is one of Marrakech’s newest luxury hotels. It’s beautiful in a way that is just right without that oppressive feeling of having too much color and design, or that blank feeling of having too little.
The private riads at the Selman Marrakech are simply perfect.
There are only five of them, each one walled in and stuck in one corner of a pretty vast estate for their own sense of privacy. I’ve stayed in some of the most beautiful hotels and riads in Marrakech, and the riad I stayed in at Selman Marrakech is currently #1 in my books.
Here, we stayed in the same private riad that Tom Cruise had used for his 18 days or so of filming Mission Impossible 5 in Morocco.
It’s a lovely riad with a bedroom swathed in heavy silks to copy a Berbere tent, resulting in utmost peace and quite.
It also had a beautiful, simple courtyard which our butler filled with candles every evening. I loved to walk around here before going to bed.
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| With 35 friends in Morocco until last week, living a #Travelife… |
It had its own generously-sized pool and gardens that gave you a wonderful feeling of relaxation.
And the designs of the rooms are done so cleverly that you get a semblance of Moroccan culture and yet in a very pretty and luxurious way so that you, your companion and your private butler need never set eyes on each other unless you wish to.
There are enough passageways and doors throughout the property.
Of course, we never left the Selman after checking in.
In fact, I tried not to even leave my private riad as it was just so relaxing, although I did take the golf cart to spend an afternoon in the Selman’s spa where I had a hammam and the most amazing massage ever.
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If you ever book yourself a stay at the Selman Marrakech, which I highly recommend, make time for the spa and look for Karim, as his detox massage is just amazing.
Wow. Talk about bliss and the perfect ending to a wonderful trip to Morocco with 35 friends, living a never-ending, and never-endingly eventful #Travelife.
