[SKOURA, MOROCCO] — This is my overview of an incredible stay at the mind-blowing Dar Ahlam a luxurious kasbah in a hidden palm oasis on the edge of the Moroccan desert. A hotel review of Dar Ahlam luxury hotel, the best boutique hotel in Morocco. Located in Skoura, Dar Ahlam is the perfect luxury hotel to explore the Sahara. __________________________ After a long, bumpy slog over the Atlas Mountains from Marrakesh, I got out of the dusty Mercedes van in an indiscriminate parking lot outside a great mud-walled compound. Steep walls up to the sky. This is it? I wondered under my breath. This is the place I’ve heard so much about? And then, with silent porters in linen tunics grabbing my bags, a great
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[MOLTIG-LES-BAINS, FRANCE] — Here’s a review of the beautiful Chateau de Riell a beautiful boutique hotel and spa in the mountains of French Catalonia and the best boutique Relais & Chateaux hotels in the region. _________________________________ So, here I was last April sitting in Skoura, an oasis town in Morocco, and I had to make a choice. Fed up with my stupid job, I’d quit and left for a little sabbatical for a month in Portugal and Morocco. My plane to the States left the next day, but I wasn’t ready to go back. So I cancelled it. I flew back to Barcelona, walked up to the Hertz desk and asked “Can I rent a car for a long time? Like two months?” “Si!” So they hooked
[MARRAKESH, MOROCCO] — Here’s my hotel review of Villa des Orangers the best boutique hotel in Marrakesh. Villa des Orangers is my vote for best luxury hotel Marrakesh. ___________________________ It was midnight on a full moon in Marrakesh. A late flight from Barcelona after a many-hours transfer in Casablanca. The driver pulls over on a very busy, unremarkable street, next to a gas station, an LP gas depot and about the world’s most frenetic bus stop and taxi stand, drivers wailing and waving, engines gunning. Everyone looked to be in charge, yelling at other drivers to be doing something other than what they were doing. Buses, trucks and loud scooters screamed by, drowning out the shouts of the cab stand. The luxury van stopped in
[RAVELLO, ITALY] –– Years ago I finally realized what I really like: cliffs, overlooking a distant ocean, preferably with a pool clinging to a steep hillside. From then on, it’s been my focus on choosing where I go on vacation. (You’ll see this as a common theme throughout this site!) Palazzo Avino fits all of those criteria. Plus, small, quiet and really expensive. After a recent remodel, it is on almost every Top Ten list of all hotels in the world. They have some rock star-great rooms and terraces, with prices to match. Years ago I finally realized what I really like: cliffs, overlooking a distant ocean, preferably with a pool clinging to a steep hillside. This has all of those things. Sitting high on a hilltop in Ravello,
[POSITANO, ITALY] — If you’ve never been to Le Sirenuse in Positano, put it on your list. Le Sirenuse is the best hotel on the Amalfi Coast and one of the best hotels in Italy. It’s also one of World’s 50 Best Hotels. Nothing compares to sitting in the grandstands (the pool) overlooking one of the prettiest views in the world. A cascade of villas, hotels and restaurants tumbling down to the sea. One of the most pristine, elegantly designed and not-over-the-top luxury hotels. Spotless and shiny Vietri tile all over in a mint-condition building that was a private summer house until it was turned into a hotel in 1951. Now stuffed with all the Sersale family’s antiques and artwork. It’s an outside-indoors place, where the windows