Title of thread should read : Marvellous Hotels in Marrakech !

This may take awhile as attempting to do a TR while jet lagging . Plus first flight / trip after 2 years and 4 months !! .. also it was an unplanned but pleasant extended stay .  
Harrowing experiences getting to Morocco & leaving - we all need another holiday . One of us is actually about on her next as this is being prepared !

Numerous meals & .. to top it all , exciting event ( s ) enjoyed by all - including some staff .

Preferences were provided ahead & were duly observed - more at the end of this review .. just that the team went beyond - something one took for granted in AMANs but not at FS .

Photos will be added from time to time , just too many to sort .
FYI , photos which were selected on the first attempt did not show . The captions disappeared along with the posts .. shall do a test so all the typing & choosing of photos will not be another waste of time .

Always delighted to spot these Strelizia Nicolai whether being buggyed or  strolling the grounds 

and a welcome sight by day or night

Check In

What an arrival

We were welcomed by many , of the senior team too  ( AMAN style ! )

Was so jet lagged that I did not realise it was Pierre K , the Resort Manager , who was driving us in the buggy to our villa for check in .. 

Welcoming alright , a note & " yummies " , just a way to tickle my dessert taste buds .. there was much more in the living area !

Room

We first stayed in a 2 bedrooms villa as the Royal Villa was booked for the entire month of May . But we did get to stay eventually as we were " booted out " of our villa

Suites in 2 bedroom Villa

Should be comfortable enough for awhile 
The one on top was taken a couple of days after arriving 

& the other

Living Area

The 2 bedrooms villa living & dining area was generous as was our welcome treats !

Just past the villa foyer & guest bathroom , this passageway goes in 2 directions around a courtyard to the suites on either side & leads on towards the dining & living area you see below .

These were taken after most of the welcome spread of delectables were either consumed or moved to the pantry ..

Bathroom

Think will need to see how many photos taken , there were 3 bathrooms in the 2 bedrooms & at least 5 in the Royal Villa . Separate powder room . 

Will start with the good sized ones in the 2 bedrooms , probably one of the suites first 

Lots of everything were provided .. bath & hand soaps , shower gel , conditioner , shampoo , .. & if not , like needing more laundry / shoeshine bags , just press one of the buttons on the phone to request .

Note the chic hairdryer bag , forgot to check out the hairdryer itself , will need to ask the others  ..

Even a scale to watch our continuous daily indulgences 

Shower cubicle with normal user friendly controls 

Another spacious bathroom 

It will get tricky posting photos of the 5 bathrooms of the Royal Villa - we shall see .

At least one is still alive to post having been scalded by the shower / jets which has temperatures which kept rising to 42C consistently though one adjusted it downwards to a more acceptable degree ! 

( The Royal Villa had fancy electronics which left much to be desired if one is not so inclined with gadgets - jets / steam & whatnots withstanding .. one also has to choose one ' s language of instruction , translating in a jet lagged state is not advisable - just be fluent in English , French and German to start as no need then to figure out how to change the language )

Rather liked these , replenished generously daily & at turnd

The patio / terraces

The outdoor areas were functionally spread out . There is a fire pit , various sitting areas , a plunge pool large enough for 4 to sit around and dining table 

One of the side entrances to the patio

Loungers in the much needed shade

Leading to the patio , sort of in a meandering manner 

Fire pit lit in the evenings 

The fire pit 

The dining area &plunge pool

Special event & exclusive venue

Some of this will demonstrate the level of service delivered so that all involved had a extraordinary special time to be remembered for the rest of our lives .. one must realise some of the individuals involved were ' one of were unique detailed kind ' ;)

Building where the celebrations were held .. roof terrace originally where dinner was to be with reception and other pre dinner cocktails & activities on other levels 

View towards spa from one side of the roof terrace 

Other views , it was really unusual weather with a windstorm so no starry starry night which we gazed up nightly on all other nights !!
It was a relief that the dinner was moved to the floor below , as you will understand from the photos .

This area for henna art or .. ?

Preparations in full swing

The ornately carved elevator / lift ceiling & walls 

What a sight

Candle walls , lobby

View of a pool

The ambiance - what a gorgeous setting for the special evening ' s revelry .. shall belly dancers photos be shared ? , .. 

Here we have the 2 belly dancers :) who contributed much fun & hilarity too while attempting to show / teach us their fluid moves

Another perspective of the building on a clear night just not our night

Dining

Well , we had numerous splendid dining opportunities but it will be too many photos to sift through to post on our myriad of meals . Just put it this way , it was not only breakfast , lunch and dinner ;)

Even for a single meal we might have moved from 5 to 15 / 16 of us to different parts of a dining area for various reasons , sometimes even 3 times !! .. The dining staff at those possibly 4 / 5 venues in FS gamely took it in their stride :)

By the second day of our stay , they got the gist of what to expect from our seemingly finicky group 

Preamble

This trip was more or less off the radar until about a month before when the invitation to the birthday weekend celebrations .. & flights were actually still available at short notice including usual seat !

This is a continuation of Marvellous FS Marrakech . Tried editing and adding photos but it just did not happen . So am trying where the TR stopped , possibly with a bit of overlap .

Decided to concentrate on the 2 bedrooms Villa discussion & do the Royal Villa as Part 3 .

Dining

We had numerous meals even though there were a number of meals out too . That is because there were meals / snacks in between , really astonishing the amount one is able to consume even in such " harsh " conditions weather wise . 
 

Variations of the same drink Morrocan Summer ;)

One of the bread baskets 

Refreshing beetroot & goat cheese salad

Luscious soothing lobster roll for al fresco lunch by the adult pool , what a comforting welcome first meal during the heatwave

It was just too baking , had to retreat to especially set up " cold " suite  Had to enjoy the meal in cool comfort 

Breakfast ( s ) were had often in Quattro but also in villa 

What a variety , fresh ginger tea , honey lemon freshly squeezed orange juice ..

Very popular , waffles came with Nutella , mine with honey & lemon juice

Avocado toast - daily 

Tajine with dried lamb and well done poached eggs

Hmm .. fresh fruits along with carbs - local and French & yoghurt ;)

Service

Overall the team has been concientious & service though not flawless , has been acceptable . Wonder if it is due to language / comprehension .

If you note what was posted on " Moroccan Summer " on section before , you can probably gather what I mean about service intentions but with the comprehension bit to fulfill what was requested , rather missed the mark . Some ingredients were initially removed , when one asked - they did another .. instead of just garnishing with strawberries for colour , it was strawberry purée .. anyway , got to say hats off to a new drink  ;)

Then when asking for ziplock bags , the 2 from housekeeping who came went off & did not return , whilst another 2 came to check how things were going & helped follow through somewhat when another pair showed up .

Buggy service was readily available for the somewhat large grounds , helped a lot considering the heat & often cloudless skies during the day

Weeks before our stay , FS requested our preferences .
They actually installed an additional AC unit for my suite , you will see a photo of it in earlier TR . Kudos to them !

Been trying to post a photo here & elsewhere but there seems to be an issue again .. was not even allowed to edit this until now .

Preamble ;)

This TR is getting rather complicated to write , partly due to FT glitches & numerous meals we enjoyed at other fabulous properties in Marrakech  .. so will need to figure out how to place those too . Must be fair & other FTers reading this may enjoy our experience , hopefully more will be able to visit in the near future .

As we were informed that our LH flight was cancelled , 5 of us who were now stranded had to hope FS had room ( s ) for us until our potential flight ( s ) . We are relieved that though our villa had incoming guests , we were able to move to the Royal Villa as the occupants had just checked out and no one else had booked it .

Hotels in the city were running at about full occupancy !

Check In

As we were already guests , we need not check in .  
All our " stuff " , and there was a substantial increase since our check in was a week prior  , was moved & nicely arranged for us .

We had gone out for a long lunch at the Royal Mansour .. & returned ( to a fitting move ) directly to the Royal Villa :)

From the villa gate , looking outwards

Little driveway with a fountain 

Fountain in the courtyard just beyond the foyer

Fountain in the driveway at the villa front door 

Buggy goes round quite easily 

Foyer

Lovely flowers

Room

There were 4 rooms or more like suites  ..  like 2 masters 

Here is one

Master too 

For those preferring to have a slumber party 

The fourth room

Bathrooms & walk in closets

There were quite a number , 5 possibly 6 including a powder room 

The master ensuites were generously proportioned - huge 

The jets / showers were electronically controlled & posed a problem as one first had to figure out the instructions , but needed it in the correct language !

One of the bathrooms , smallest

Smaller one

Another

One of the master ensuites 

Bathtub which was set up to be used on the last day but was too busy to relax in 

The huge jet / shower / steam room 

A side of of one of the smaller walk in closets 

The larger ones were rooms of their own leading to the bathrooms , flanking the walls 

Villa jacuzzi , pool & lounging area

We were pleased with this after the s]relatively smaller jacuzzi & plunge pool in the 2 bedroom villa

Pool being cleaned early morning , jacuzzi with waterfall in background 

The outdoors dining table often shared with birds , firepit to the far right

A lovely area to lounge in , one with shaded canopy of creepers at the far end , see photos below 

La dolce vita :) !

In room dining

We had a rather large dining room which we used for 2 breakfasts and also the outdoor table for lunches and snacks .
The dining room with 2 sides of sliding doors

Our scrumptious breakfasts 

Outdoor meals

We had to watch out for birds intent on sharing our meals . They serenaded us with bird song early in the mornings and usually during  the " cooler " parts of the day too .

Spa

We enjoyed the spa just about daily . It is large yet very private . We hardly shared the relaxation lounges ( there were a few ) with others although the hotel was very full . The therapists are very experienced and though we often had a few therapists almost dedicated to 3 of us , we were pleased with others assigned to us on the various days off by the regular therapists ( we stayed more than a week including the time in the 2 bed room villa )

Thankfully , Sodashi is being used again , thanks to another FTer and FS Elite :)

Our bodies were well taken care of & also helped with the stress on the news of flight cancellations , of the first of us from the weekend celebrations leaving too .

The lobby of the spa with a small selection of babouche & clothes , beauty salon to the side

Relaxation lounges with dried fruit and nuts , teas , .. availab

View from one of the treatment rooms

Preamble

While we did not stay as it was a busy week for hotels , GM Marcel T , offered to show us suites during our 2 visits . Availability opened up during the latter part of our Marrakech stay but was too complicated to make switches with the situation we were facing then .

We eventually stayed at FS the whole time .

( Am doing a TR on MORAK as the error message was not making editing FS Marrakech Part 3 possible yet )

Will write , hopefully within the next couple of days , about the beautiful suites we viewed during our 2 visits including 2 dinners , one indoors as it was during the heatwave and the second al fresco when there was actually a decent gentle breeze .

Stand alone 2 bed room suite / pavilion

As MORAK was running about full occupancy , we were given a short ride to the only one ( we were able to view ) while it was readied for a very late arrival ( or possibly early predawn ) .

This was the Oriental Pool Villa ( unable to edit the heading )

On entry , one sees the outdoor lounges and the villa pool

Master bedroom with raised / stepped up bed area

View from bedroom 

Signature round with marble bathtub 

Dressing area , walk-in / walk through 

Other outdoor lounge and dining areas

Another Oriental Pool but Spa Villa

On our second visit , we were shown a villa with direct access to the spa .

Views of the outdoor lounge areas from the entrance 

Living area

Master bathroom with signature round bathtub 

 
View from / of another bathroom 

Another bedroom 

Cosy corner

Infinity pool Villa

Managed to view another villa type , but as it was being refurbished will show only few photos 

Good lap pool with flowering creepers on 2 walls but no view 

Have their private in villa spa

Indoor dinner SHIRVAN - while jet lagging ;)

We had 2 dinners in MORAK , both at Shirvan . The first was on our first night in Marrakech during the heatwave , naturally we chose to dine indoors . Took photos , the 3 others with me too , so that we could remember the numerous dishes we enjoyed . Below are a few  ..

Delicious rack of lamb with lots of broccoli 

Doughnuts à la Rose

Our desserts spread included Chocolate mille feuille , frozen baklava , Paris Marrakech ( MORAK ' s french iconic with oriental touch ) , pistachio ice cream .. 

Al fresco dinner , Shirvan

After most of our celebration group left for Germany , we returned to Shirvan with 2 others who also extended their stay .

Al fresco was an excellent decision that evening as theer was a gentle breeze which made dining in fresh air even more pleasurable 

Three of us really enjoyed the vegetables tempura at our first dinner , we had to enjoy it again - definitely did not disappoint :)

Lobster Pastilla

We were glad we returned and tried even more of the wide repertoire 

Lovely grounds

We enjoyed strolling around parts of the seemingly vast grounds , were on the buggy too for some of our exploring the villas

Sunset by the main building