Reviews of Holidays and Hotels in Morocco - The Hot List 2 0 0 2

Conde Nast, 2002

[This article has being edited to only include relevant hotels. Caravanserai was listed 2nd out of 32]

The Hot List 2002

CARAVAN SERAI, MARRAKECH, MOROCCO

Marrakech is still North Africa's hot-spot, but there has been a huge drop in visitors since 11 September 2001. So it was with some gall that Caravan Serai turned away photographer Mario Testino a few days after it opened in January; the 17-room hotel was full. At Caravan Serai, Charles Boccara (who designed Les Deux Tours) has gone for plaster-pink walls with ochre floors. There are white-canvas drapes, simple banquettes and bolster cushions. But it is Caravan Serai's location on the edge of an impossible-to-find village, 15 minutes from Marrakech, and its generous swimming pool that set it apart (there is also a large hammam and a masseuse on call). Views from the better rooms look out to the date groves of the Palmeraie and the snow-tipped Atlas Mountains, and there are two suites with private courtyards and plunge pools.

WHEN TO GO

Sunbathers should visit in late spring, when days are warm and nights not too chilly

WHICH ROOM TO BOOK

Room 1, which has its own plunge pool, glorious open fireplace and expansive private terrace