The colourful Moroccan city sets the scene for unforgettable events, says Liat Clark.
The Red City has long been considered a desirable place to see and be seen. Winston Churchill and Charles de Gaulle may have sparked the trend in the forties, with their decadent breaks at the elegant La Mamounia hotel, but in the sixties, when Yves Saint-Laurent bought a villa in the medina, the Gettys posed for Patrick Lichfield and Cecil Beaton bumped into the Rolling Stones, the trend was set in stone.
At just over three hours’ flying time from London, the landscape could not be more different as you break cloud over Marrakech-Menara International airport, located 3km from the city. The stark red desert seems inhospitable, but gardens bloom across the city and inside every ochre edifice is an assault of colour and decoration, with mosaics and intricately carved arches.
It used to be that direct services from Europe to Morocco’s second city were scarce, with only the country’s national airline, Royal Maroc, serving the route. However, since the EU’s 2006 open skies agreement with the North African country, things have changed.
Easyjet was the first to announce a route that year, with the launch of its London Gatwick-Marrakech service (now daily). Earlier this year British Airways followed suit with a three-times weekly operation, as did Bmi, which has five weekly flights from Heathrow and connecting services from Aberdeen, Belfast, Edinburgh and Manchester.
The Moroccan government had hoped the agreement would encourage tourism and business travel alike, and it appears to have worked. In 2010 there were 1,800,000 visitors to Marrakech, up 12 per cent from the previous year. The EU is Morocco’s first trading partner, so the move was a vital one.
“For the UK market, Marrakech is an excellent option,” says Mounir El Balghiti, sales and marketing manager of Morocco-based destination management company Travel Link. “With the conference facilities and hotels we have now, there is a large choice, so people can find what they want. I remember when I was working here in 1974, there were only two working restaurants and one hotel. Now you can customise everything.”
As Marrakech began to enjoy a rebirth, so the big hotel brands followed. The Four Seasons was unveiled in the summer (see overleaf), W and Taj are to open imminently, and Rocco Forte and Hyatt are to follow in the next few years. The Palmeraie district, a 20-minute drive from the city centre, provides ample space for chains to exercise their creative energies – the Taj Palace being a great example. This 161-room hotel is staggering in its grandiosity, with a cinematic driveway, locally made traditional craftworks, and a 1,600 sqm pool.
“There is so much space out here, we have endless possibilities,” says a Taj spokesman, sweeping his arms across the property’s 21 hectares of palm groves and the Atlas mountains beyond. The Taj plans to build private residences on site, but will also use the space for teambuilding.
Driving around the Palmeraie, groups are visible everywhere – atop camels, trekking into the greenery, or in lines of quad bikes heading into the desert. Nearby Palmeraie Hotels and Resorts (palmeraiemarrakech.com) is a 220-hectare self-contained village that comprises the 325-room Palmeraie Golf Palace (a member of Preferred Hotels and Resorts), a 27-hole Robert Trent Jones Senior-designed golf course (there are six golf courses in Marrakech), and the 315-room Hotel du Golf (a Holiday Inn property as of October 2011), which links to the 1,500-person capacity Centre International de Conférence de la Palmeraie.
At the time of my visit, the congress centre was heavily guarded and airport-style security checks were in place, as the fourth session of the United Nations Convention against Corruption was taking place. There is also a 44-suite boutique property on-site, a collection of exotic villas and a 5,200 sqm spa. It’s an ideal out-of-town location for incentive trips, with easy access to the Atlas mountains and the medina – although in this small city, it’s easy to tailor-make a trip from any location.
International tour operator Splash has its own central riads (traditional Moroccan houses with rooms built around an atrium), ideal for groups of under 30 people. “Obviously, corporate groups can have a conference in any city they want, but Marrakech adds a sense of the exotic that most other locations lack,” says Splash owner Peter Syme. The company offers a host of incentive activities, including white-water rafting on the Ourika river south of Marrakech, canyoning in the mountains and hot air ballooning.
According to Mountassir Boullal, marketing and promotion manager of the city’s regional council of tourism, MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) groups now make up more than 15 per cent of all visitors to Marrakech. “Every time we make a new flight connection, we immediately have more clients,” he says. “When BA and Bmi launched direct flights from London, visitors from the UK market increased by 46 per cent.”
The city’s reputation may appear to be rocketing, but it has not been without its problems. In late February 2011, 40,000 pro-democracy protestors took to the streets in cities across Morocco – including Marrakech – as the Arab Spring gathered speed. The movement seemed to lose pace over the summer after Moroccan King Mohammed VI amended the constitution, strengthening the role of the parliament, though there have been sporadic marches in the capital of Rabat and the country’s largest city, Casablanca, since then.
Travel Links’ El Balghiti says: “We have suffered the whole summer. We had a few cancellations in the beginning, then no more bookings. We noticed when the season started in September we had very late bookings. People were waiting.”
In spite of this, Boullal says 2011 saw 18 congresses held in the city in ten months, and further improvements to the country’s infrastructure will surely aid growth. On September 29, French president Nicolas Sarkozy visited Morocco for the launch of TGV’s first rail network in Africa, a £2.5 billion project creating faster connections from Casablanca to Rabat and Tangiers, scheduled to begin operations in 2015. New highways between Marrakech and Casablanca, Agadir and Essaouira – a popular coastal location for day-trippers – will reduce transit time to two hours to each of the cities, making it easier for event planners to build in a second destination to itineraries.
In terms of facilities, the city is well equipped for groups. Boutique properties such as La Sultana (lasultanamarrakech.com) offer traditional luxury riads in the medina, where groups can join cookery classes and reproduce the fantastic Moroccan/French cuisine on offer. Each of its 28 rooms and suites are individually styled with antique furnishings, marble and sculpted arches. By contrast, the Sofitel (sofitel.com) has a contemporary feel with sleek lines.
In the Hivernage district on the edge of town stands the 5,000-capacity Palais des Congrès. Marrakech has ambitions to host larger numbers, however. “We should build exhibition centres and a congress palace with a capacity of more than 5,000 to be more competitive,” Boullal says.
Hotels
Le Meridien N’Fis
Located in Hivernage, a five-minute drive from the medina, the hotel’s three buildings house 277 rooms, including 12 suites, and a spa. A 650 sqm pool is set among five hectares of Andalusian gardens, along with a 400 sqm tent that can be used for meetings. “Le Potage de Chef” is a new concept that allows groups of 15 to book a traditional outdoor cooking lesson with the chef in the vegetable garden. Inside, the conference area has four rooms – the largest of which is 170 sqm and can accommodate up to 150 delegates – and three breakout zones.
? Avenue Mohammed VI; tel +212 524 339 400; starwoodhotels.com
Sofitel
Split between two connecting buildings in Hivernage, the Sofitel Palais Imperial and Sofitel Lounge and Spa offer 286 rooms. The former is decorated more traditionally, with Moroccan art and vivid colours, while the latter is more modern and houses ten meeting rooms located in a towering white lobby. They have a flexible set-up, accommodating up to 200 delegates, and have been used by the likes of Shell, Motorola and Maroc Telecom. The 400 sqm So lounge hosts live bands and has a VIP section ideal for meetings. There is a spa and three restaurants, including the gourmet Moroccan and French L’Orangerie.
? Rue Harroun Errachid; tel +212 524 425 600; sofitel.com
Kasbah Agafay
At 30 minutes out of town and 15km from the airport, this boutique property – a Small Luxury Hotels of the World member – is suited to groups seeking a more traditional stay. Entering through the heavy wooden studded gate, a beautiful atrium dotted with water features, wooden antique furniture and colourful blossoms greets you. There are nine Kasbah guestrooms, eight suites and four luxurious tent suites (two are being used for treatments while the spa is renovated) in this 150-year-old property.
A tented area is used for outdoor yoga sessions and meetings of up to 150 people, while the private roof terraces of the top-floor suites can be used for small gatherings. The three riads are interconnected and can be closed off if a group wants to occupy one or two of them, using the entry lounges for small meetings. There is a herb garden used by the cookery school that is ideal for brainstorming sessions.
? Route de Guemassa; tel +212 524 368 600; slh.com
Four Seasons
This 141-room property, including 27 suites, opened in June and is situated across from the Menara Gardens, a ten-minute drive from the medina. The hotel features contemporary design with light Moroccan touches, including traditional lamps and white plaster arches. The conference centre has its own entrance and is comprised of five rooms totalling 2,115 sqm, including a foyer used as a breakout space. The two largest venues can both host 700 guests for a reception. Other facilities include two outdoor pools, a spa, two tennis courts and three lounges. A cultural centre is due to open in 2012, where groups can learn traditional handicrafts.
? 1 Boulevard de la Menara; tel +212 524 359 200; fourseasons.com
La Mamounia
Moments from the Koutoubia mosque, La Mamounia hotel is the city’s gem. In 2009 it reopened after a three-year refurbishment by Jacques Garcia, restoring traditional touches in place of the original art deco design. There are 136 rooms, 71 suites, and three riads with three bedrooms each and a private pool. There are four restaurants, and the 2,500 sqm spa has an indoor pool and offers traditional treatments. Left of reception, through a stunning Andalusian atrium that can be used for drinks, is Le Grand Salon, which hosts up to 300 delegates and can be divided into three.
? Avenue Bab Jdid; tel +212 524 388 600; mamounia.com
Taj Palace
This opulent 161-room hotel was set to open in December and is made up of a main building, off which the conference facilities are housed, and four riads (two of these will open in spring 2012) set in gardens by a 1,600 sqm pool. To give an idea of the proportions of this grand hotel, the entry-level guestrooms are 90 sqm each, with spacious bathrooms and traditional yet uncluttered décor. Colourful Moroccan carpets cover the floors, and if you walk left out of the lobby, past the boutiques, you arrive at the conference centre – this comprises two spaces that hold 350 and 250 people for a reception, respectively. There is also a 3,800 sqm spa, two bars and three restaurants serving Moroccan, Mediterranean and Asian cuisine.
? Bab Atlas; tel +800 4588 1825; tajhotels.com
Visit businesstraveller.com/tried-and-tested for reviews of the Four Seasons, La Mamounia and Easyjet’s London-Marrakech flight.
