From start to finish your company’s service was outstanding . . . response time to questions was unreal . . . your travel tips and material you supplied was outstanding . . . there is no way to improve any of this.
There was no place to exchange money in New York or the Casablanca airport when we arrived at 6:40 a.m. . . . our driver took us into town, and at our request we stopped for a light breakfast . . . It worked out wonderfully that we saw the Casablanca sites and drove to Rabat . . . it would have been a waste of time to stay in Casablanca . . . we got to Rabat early enough, that some of the adults walked 5 blocks to the market and made some initial purchases. This put us in the buying spirit. The restaurant dinner and Hotel Softiel Diwan was a great start . . . the restaurant gave us a big private room for 11 of us . . . got our first chance to sample Moroccan food.
The Rabat tour and guide excellent. Since we were in Rabat, we started our day at 9:00 a.m. and had a wonderful morning of sightseeing . . . all of the sights were worthwhile . . . guide was terrific and everyone enjoyed the Royal Palace and the Chellah . . . also saw the synagogue in the ancient Medina. We pushed on to Fes and were overwhelmed with Riad Jaouhara. I was glad the old folks were on the second floor rather than the third because of all of the steps.
We had a monstrous full day in Fes with sightseeing and buying combined all day . . . by noon we owned our first rug and a tagine for home cooking. We saw everything on your list of suggested sights. Could not have been any better. The second night dinner at the Riad was marvelous.
Before we went back to our hotel, our driver, Hadji Ben Aissa, invited all 11 of us to his home for a snack . . . a highlight of the trip.
The day drive to Erfoud was fine . . . we could not find the Barbary Apes but it was okay . . . we never really stopped at a Berber village but it was okay . . . the scenery was gorgeous and the children amused themselves on the bus. Kasbah Xaluca was wonderful; the buffet dinner and breakfast was the best; and everyone enjoyed a dip in the hot tub and pool.
The next day in Erfoud was good and I could write hours about the trip into the desert, camel rides, etc. The deluxe tent was just that. Loved it!! It was cold and the facilities in the tent were a blessing. I would encourage Americans to do the upgrade.
The next day ride that ended at Xaluca Dades was again good with enough stops for our people to buy a few things, take pictures, and stretch their legs. Again, the accommodations and meals were excellent.
On the way to Marrakech, I thought we wasted an hour when we stopped at the Kasbah in Ouarzazate . . . we had seen enough Kasbahs in our day near Erfoud. We were looking forward to getting to Marrakech prior to night fall in order to enjoy Djemaa el-Fna . . . it was late but we insisted that the driver drop us off for an hour. He did and he took the bags to Riad Moucharabieh. As it was we went to the center square the next day and did the pictures with the children and snake charmers, etc. Riad Moucharabieh was excellent . . . we loved the fire in the fireplaces at night. You need to be sure that your people don’t stay in the modern part.
The next day we saw all the suggested sights that were on the agenda . . . could have skipped Menara Gardens (half the group did) but it was okay. The guide was good and it seemed like we walked for miles which was okay. Since the guides in each city wanted to take us to the good stores, we had one rug display too many. We were polite but anxious to get out of the store. The guide in the last city visited should ask the folks whether they have any interest in buying anymore rugs and/or what are they interested in buying. The girls loved the natural medicine pharmacy and general shopping for plates, shoes, blouses, etc., etc.
The next day we remained in Marrakech which was far better than rushing back to Casablanca . . . our driver took us to the square and we agreed to meet him at 2:00 p.m. (after having lunch) so that we could drive to Casablanca. It gave all of the families more than enough time to shop and buy whatever they needed for themselves and their friends.
We would recommend your organization . . .
Howard.
(December of 2012)