Blog ≫ 2024 ≫ Winter holiday to Marrakech part 2 - arrival at the hotel
Safe landing and quickly through the fairly small airport. Now, has the message got through about our airport transfer time change, and is someone waiting for us with a name board? They are not. It took us a while to connect to the airport wifi, and there was no update on Clare's WhatsApp so I used valuable credit phoning the transfer company. Don't worry, the driver is right outside. And he was!
Must be some arrangement were some are allowed inside the terminal and some are not. Ours was not. This guy with my name handed us over to our driver. Of course I'm suspicious of everything, maybe he got the name from somewhere? The driver knew the name of the hotel without me telling him, so it probably wasn't a scam. Was a nice Mercedes mini-van which was good as it was quite a distance from Marrakesh Menara Airport to Sol Oasis. About 20km and forty minutes looking it up now. Sounds about right.
Our driver was friendly and enthusiastic and answered all my questions. My impression of the driving there is mopeds everywere, not many wearing crash helmets, often two, three, or even four on one 50cc moped, and the roads are not quite big enough for the cars. Here's a pic of one of the motorbike based transporter type things and an unsafe multiperson moped we overtoook on the way to the hotel.
Clare says she saw a four person moped, the most I saw was three I think. When something bigger came towards off we had to pull lightly off the road into the ditch. Not slowing down at any point though.
Our hotel was some distance from Marrakech itself, we were in a resort, not one of your central riads. It was a fabulous resort though. First impressions are it is very swish, and very quiet. Weren't that many guests there on boxing day, but plenty due to arrive for new years eve so plenty of staff on the go. Here's a picture of the lobby bar seating area, looks quite glam.
We checked into our room, a nice room, a suite really. L-shaped with a lounge at the entrance with a big sofabed, then round the corner to our sleeping area, and the bathroom off that. I didn't do one of my usual tour of the room things, but here's a lovely picture of my feet from later in the holiday, from the sofa where the boys slept looking towards the corner of the L-shape:
And then here is our sleeping area. I like the decor and I might possibly use some of the ideas.
Then to the pool. There are actual pool tables! But actually to the swimming pool. No-one in the pool, it's not warm by Morrocan standards, but sunbathers around. We brought our stuff down and went in though. Sure I went in on the first day, though there seems to be no evidence of this. We hit the all inclusive bar right away, I had a mojito and a gin fizz, the first of many. We probably ate from the snack bar, maybe we had a proper dinner, but I have no pictures of this. Everyone was tired and so to bed fairly early, but me les early than everyone else. I stayed for the entertainment, the live music, and for a sit by the fire pits. It was very nice.
On the way back to the room I think I must have lost one of my christmas presents, some new earplugs that Clare bought me. It did not not turn up again, it is lost for sure now. It was not a music playing earbud but was still surprisingly expensive, meant to block out the misophonic rage I get from the sound of other people eating. Oops.
I will be back with more from our first full day.
20k: Twenty kilometres, just over twelve miles.