we should have perhaps gone to the Majorelle Gardens and/or had a horse carriage ride at sunset - but i for one had NO sleep (probably still obsessing about lost luggage) and wound up going downstairs to the courtyard in the middle of the night and trying to curl up on one of the sofas, but found it no easier to sleep there - so the next morning i was not in great shape for another HOT day in Marrakech
Kelly really wanted to experience a hammam/bath and i had been a little concerned all along that it might prove to be disappointing - even when she had not had the wonderful pampering of a Turkish bath
Beatrice recommended the Alhambra baths and we booked a package for 700 dirhams (about 70 euros) to include hammam and massage
it was REALLY disappointing - here's some of what i wrote on tripadvisor:
"we were put into a room shared by both genders on wet (i.e. not changed between
guests) towels/sheets to lie down in very heavy robes (with
underpants/knickers on), then into a bathing area that was also
obviously not cleaned (Kelly found a used bandaid in her
foot-soaking water - ewwww) on squishy cushions (again not changed
between guests) - 2 attendants came in and very lackadaisically splashed
and soaped us, then upturned buckets over our heads - i guess that was
the hammam!
back to the wet beds to lie around for a while and at some point an attendant
rubbed our feet for less than 1 minute - 2 little girls came in wearing
towels around their waists (no idea where their parents were) and 2 men
came in and were put on beds very close to them! (again ewww)
finally came the good part of a full body massage by a very competent professional
masseuse and then baths in rosewater with nice scalp massages - so it
ended well, but honestly out of about 1 2/3 hours, only the last 1/2
hour was at all pleasant"
so - it was a good refuge from the heat, but nothing special at all
we then had a light lunch at the Kasbah cafe down the block - i think everyone is tempted by the seats by the front, to watch the street traffic - but then they (like we did) move to the back to be closer to the misters where it is much cooler and more comfortable - really nice people and a basic menu
we were SO tempted by the salads but had been warned not to - and i remembered succumbing to fresh tomatoes and onions in Cairo long ago - 2 of my friends got so deathly ill they called the hotel doctor - so we resisted the temptation and had hardly any problems with the food at all in Morocco besides the usual mild adjustment (slightly funny tummies but nothing terrible) - 1 big advantage i think was that Kelly brought probiotics and we took them faithfully - i will definitely do that on my next trip too! (Costa Rica, if anyone's counting - in August to celebrate Kathy's big bday)
