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Marrakesh melodies
GETAWAYS • Morocco
In Marrakesh, Morocco, luxury hotels offer two extremes: the super luxe Royal Mansour, or an Americanized 4.5-star hotel that’s trying too hard. The better alternative is the Dar Rhizlane, where cats roam freely and rose petals drift into the pool from the cascading flowering trees.
With only 50 suites, each designed by Ahmed Sadki and his wife Catherine, the converted bourgeois villa reflects the style of a humbler palace. Instead of room numbers, the villas bear the names of the perfumes of the Orient — Musk, Sandalwood, and Jasmine.
The lush outdoor restaurant serves a classic version of the 13-salad appetizer and goat tagine. The wines and beers — even the bottled waters — are all Moroccan. The room rates, food, and beverage prices are all reasonable.
The music at night isn’t a contrived Marrakesh show, but performers from the Berber region, who sing the classic Moroccan heartbreak melodies about lost loves, the woes of Moroccan immigrants, and grief.
I was so chill during my week at Dar Rhizlane, I read two novels and wrote a handful of posts in different cozy spots around the grounds or while sitting at the edge of the mysterious pool. –Brad Inman
→ Dar Rhizlane (Marrakesh, Morocco) • Av du Président Kennedy • king room rates from $244.