anonplz

I can't resist tall, dark and handsome - get weak in the knees...

Jimmy67

Dubai??? Too many tourists! Too much competition.

Better go to the Land of Adonis!


www.lebtour.com

catwood

I'm heading to Marrakech in January with a cheap fare for my birthday. Can anyone recommend a good Riad to stay in or post any up to date advice?

Thanks,

Chris

thepointsguy

Ill also be in RAK Jan 22-24 with one of my homo-honies (I hate the term hag- she's too pretty!)...not looking for gay stuff but any fun places/restaurants to go on a thurs or friday night.
Also- will it be warm enough to lay out during the day?

Platinum A332

I always thought that there was nothing that stipulated homosexuality being illegal in Jordan, and that Lebanon (Beirut anyways) had a decent gay scene?

dodgeflyer

www.riadslotus.com is very good - stayed there for a few days whilst in Marrakech. As the old city is dirty the Riad's within the wall are bliss; clean, good staff and good rooms. They also come highly recommended by Wallpaper* We stayed in the Ambre Riad.

dodgeflyer

We ate at Le Foundouk which is modern Moroccan. Not bad but a bit touristy I found. Ask to be seated upstairs.

We also ate at www.bo-zin.com, modern lounge type restaurants. The last place we ate, which we did not know, was at another hotel belonging to the hotel we stayed at called Riad Lotus Privilege which had a very good restaurant. Bo-zin is the most "party-like"

catwood

Thanks. When you went did you arrange an airport pick up with your hotel?

dodgeflyer

I believe it differs from hotel to hotel but they will gladly come pick you up (recommended) either for free or for a charge. I believe the hotel charged it but waived it later due to some errors on their behalf and the rather large room service bill we racked up.

ironmanjt

That's the take I had as well.

I checked in in Amman a few days ago with the partner, and got "I would upgrade you to a suite, but unfortunately I only have one with a king bed."

I asked if it "had a large couch, or maybe a cot" and got a wink and "I'll send up a cot."

It never arrived....sometimes, all you need to do is allow face-saving....

izzik

are you a light sleeper? If you end up in the old city, I would juxtapose your riad location with a map of mosques. Hearing the call to prayer at 2am is *not* fun... or just bring ear plugs.

EWRTravelers

Has anyone visited recently?

Any opinion on the Riad One

thepointsguy

Went there in January and actually met up with catwood and a couple of his friends, which was fun. We stayed at Le Meridien N' Fis and really liked it, mainly because we were treated like gold and upgraded to a huge veranda suite with a great view of the snow-capped Atlas mountains. The Meridien was outside the city walls, but only a 15 minute walk or 5 minute cab ride (which was so cheap) to get to the old city center. Its a full service hotel with a nice Miami-esque pool and decent restaurants that serve alcohol, unlike most restaurants in Marrakesh. While many have said there are no gay bars in Marrakesh, the hotel bar played Madonnas Blonde Ambition tour video on a huge screen one evening... that was gay enough for me!

We did 2 days/nights and felt that was enough to get a good feel for the city and its people. It's definitely an experience walking around the windy, tiny streets. We ended up getting lost one day and in order to get back to the main town center we had to walk a wooden plank over a 15 foot hole in the ground where they were repairing a water main. I am definitely glad we didn't have cocktails before that experience!

It can get very chaotic on the tiny streets, with people on mopeds, bikes and horses all over the place. I seriously almost got trampled by a horse-drawn carriage that was racing down a side street. I had to jump out of the way just in time as a moped sped past me going the opposite direction. While it's funny to laugh about know, I imagine it would have been a nightmare trying to find a hospital/ doctor.

The street merchants make an art out of yelling at you in what they perceive to be your native language which is funny. The people were generally very nice- we went there right before the inauguration and many people would yell "O-BAM-A!" as we walked by. Haggling with them was hysterical- one merchant wanted the equivalent of $50 for a cheap $5 scarf. In our negotiations he actually offered to purchase my cute female friend in exchange for 5 scarves... I countered that I wanted 10, but that was too rich for his blood We got pictures with him and laugh about it to this day.

Overall, fun side trip in a really interesting city.

wijibintheair

I appreciate your words of caution but feel very sadenned by comments like the one above. IMHO that type of thinking is what has fragmented the world so much, and caused so many Americans to fear traveling and enjoying the amazing world out there. I come from South Africa - about which you hear so many scary tales as well, and yet I shudder to think of someone coming to visit South Africa and only going to a resort and not experiencing meeting South Africans - they, like any other country, are what makes the experience. If I did not want to meet them I might as well go to Disney's safari park.

Definitely be more cautious in certain countries, just as you would be more cautious in many parts of big cities here in the US. I would probably stay away from Iran, Yemen, Nigeria (parts) where there are instances at the moment of kidnapping westerners - but to make the whole Arab world and more seem like your worst nightmare come true is just ridiculous to me. Almost as ridiculous as suggesting someone should watch "midnight express" (set in Turkey) before going to Morocco - should we advise people should watch Pelham 123 before visiting the USA?

Like I say, I'm all for taking precausions but the post in question smacks of paranoia (IMHO)

anonplz

Point taken, and you are probably the correct one here. ^

I was mugged in Fez; won't get into the story, but it's a familiar one. Suffice it to say, that's what colors my travels there, as unfair as it is (I was not physically harmed).

On the other hand, Morocco (and Marrakech in particular) is just too naturally beautiful to miss. And given it's convenient location (just about an hour or two from most European capitals), you really must go at some point in your travels, even if for only a day or two. If for no other reason than where else can you step into a Jean-Leon Gerome painting in the 21st Century? Where else can you buy a cheap 36" cast iron henna-dyed camel skin lantern/lamp? ^ For God's sake, this is the land of Truman Capote/Malcolm Forbes/William Burroughs/Jimi Hendrix/Paul Bowles!

It would be irresponsible, however, not to keep in mind that this is not 1977. Those days are gone - an American tourist in Mauritania was murdered by suspected al-qaida members yesterday. Even the Moroccan authorities have recently begun 'cracking down' on homosexuality among their own population.

http://blackstarjournal.blogspot.com...n-morocco.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Morocco