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Hearing the word Casablanca, the brain inevitably flashes back to photographs from the old 1942 film: Humphrey Bogart smoking cigarettes under the flickering lamps of the famous Rick’s Café; an impeccably dressed Ingrid Bergman walking through the city’s bustling souks; A kiss shared in the smoky fog of a Moroccan afternoon. And although this vision of Casablanca immortalized in the film is fiction in every sense of the word, it was actually filmed on the Warner Bros. backlot in Burbank, at eleven. Although that didn’t stop a local entrepreneur from opening a replica of Rick’s Café. in the city in 2004, it’s hard to believe the film hasn’t played a role in Morocco’s decades-long quest to become one of the world’s most glamorous tourist destinations. (As evidence of this last point, just take the relentless appeal of the glittering five-star hotels in Marrakech, or the trendy remains in homes overseen across Tangier’s expat network that attract the world’s best bohemians. ) .
However, at some point, Casablanca became known as a stopover for traveling between the country’s most popular tourist spots, or simply as a place to spend the night for businessmen visiting the monetary capital of Morocco to close a deal. But the arrival of the Royal Mansour in Casablanca will completely change the situation.
Located in one of the most sought after addresses in the city, an Art Deco skyscraper and former hotel on the edge of the old medina, built in the 50s and resurfaced after 8 years of renovation, the hotel has already landed in the city with an explosion. When I visited in June, the bright, high-ceilinged lobby was packed with well-heeled locals (many of whom may have simply hidden their interest as they visited the city’s flashiest new restaurant, which appeared among the six hundred carved fish). of Bohemian glass that serves as a smooth, wavy element) and the expected crowd of foreign businessmen, but also, reassuringly, a handful of families and couples obviously visiting Casablanca for pleasure.
The fact that the hotel is already attracting tourists can probably be attributed to its impressive origins. The team’s momentum benefits the Royal Mansour Marrakech, which, since opening in 2010, has dazzled visitors from around the world with its spirit of lavish luxury with no expense spared – the new hotel is literally fit for a king. (It belongs to King Mohammed VI). At first, its splendor may seem a little overwhelming, but once the eye gets used to all those reflections and all this marble, coming from the four corners of Africa and even beyond. The intricacies of the hotel’s opulent design shine through. Simply take in the moody lobby bar that will pay homage to the former Diplomate Bar, once part of the historic hotel that once stood on this site, through the 1950s style of its patterned marble floors. geometric shapes and the mosaic mural on the hotel’s original façade. (My favorite old-fashioned detail? The meticulously recreated Art Deco elevator dials. )
In the rooms, spread over two dozen floors and all with striking perspectives of the city, that sense of character only deepens. Each of them is like a jewel box, filled to the brim with the finest examples of fresh Moroccan craftsmanship; Think of superbly lacquered wooden desks carved into sublime modernist curves, or abstract rugs inspired by the country’s wonderful culture of intricately woven rugs, or delicate glassware and ceramics created by local artisans in caramel and smoky gold. (Suites that recall the city’s cultural history are, in particular, charming, in which you can find piles of vintage copies of Cahiers du Cinéma or black-and-white photographs of the bright Hollywood stars who visited the city in its heyday. )Even so, here you can also imagine each and every one of the luxuries that you can think of. , from strangely intuitive tablets to lighting fixtures and curtains, to huge marble bathtubs in which to relax after a long day walking around the medina.
Speaking of which, before exploring the city, you need to make the most of the opportunity to appreciate it from above. The most productive position to do this is on the 23rd floor, where you will have amazing perspectives everywhere you look. Array is also where most of the hotel’s culinary offerings reside, available from the elevators via a glass-floored walkway that’s not for the faint of heart. (The adrenaline rush might help whet your appetite, though. ) First, you should stop at the aptly named Le Rooftop bar and its giant outdoor terrace, which was already packed with a younger crowd of well-heeled locals. sipping early afternoon cocktails, which increased in number as the sun neared the horizon to cast a stunning orange glow over the city. But the real star of the show is La Grande Table Marocaine, which offers plates of incredibly crisp and aromatic tagine and briouates alongside grilled seafood from the coast around Oualidia. (Additional problems too for the perfect sushi restaurant, run by Japanese chef Keiji Matoba, which already seemed to be a lunchtime favorite among the local business crowd – and rightly so, considering the quality of the freshness of the sashimi to smack your lips).
Finally, given the mind-blowing scale of the spa at Marrakech’s Royal Mansour outpost, it’s no surprise that the wellness on offer here is serious business. However, while most city center hotel spas tend to favor the underground (I mean basement) atmosphere, at the Royal Mansour Casablanca there is enough space on the upper floors to dedicate large areas and airy to the spa, so they did it. Spread over the fourth and fifth floors of the building, the maze of smooth, bright hallways connecting a yoga studio, a beauty salon, a state-of-the-art gym, and even a magnificent outdoor pool are wonders to behold. . – and that’s before even entering the remedy rooms. Although I opted for a much-needed deep-tissue massage, the truly gentlest thing is the signature hammam remedy, which isn’t so much the kind of scrub you’d find at your average Moroccan spa, but rather an hour-long symphony of cleansing. consistent with the taste of black. soap and argan oil, preferably followed by a massage or facial remedy (the spa is the only one in the region to offer state-of-the-art Hydrafacial treatments) to give you a glow that will rival the freshly polished marbles in the hallway.
Yet for all the unabashed luxury on offer here, what makes the Royal Mansour Casablanca truly appealing are its deep connections to the city beyond its four walls. Which makes a lot more sense: If the hotel is likely to do big business in rooms for high-flying businessmen, it’s also likely to attract a more intrepid recreational traveler, curious to delve deeper into one of the city’s under-the-radar cities. explored in Morocco. . On a morning tour of the city, I was shown all of its most stunning sights: including the Hassan II Mosque, which is the second largest functioning mosque in Africa. But the nearby expanse of the medina beckoned, and a walk through its winding streets and alleys harkens back to the centuries of multicultural history that created the bustling city that exists today. Monuments reflecting their long periods of peaceful religious coexistence are particularly fascinating, with the atmospheric corridor of the 1920s Ettedgui Synagogue situated just a few blocks from the finely carved interiors of the 18th-century Ould el-Hamra Mosque. He told me impressive main points through the consultant the Royal Mansour had hired.
But what was arguably even more desirable was exploring, with some other local consultant, the street art scene, which presented a rare window into the feverish artistic power of today’s city, whether it was a stroll through the leafy League Park Arab and the adjacent skating rink. park to appreciate the colorful graffiti that embellishes each and every wall, or head to the French Institute in the affluent Palmier district, where one of the many spray-paint-taking young women was invited to personalize the look of a building.
It was the type of original interplay with the other folks that make up the urban cloth that turns out all too infrequent during a remain in a five-star town hotel, where one regularly feels firmly remoted from reality. (And again, given the more curious nature of visitors most probably to come here on vacation, it makes sense that this would be at the center of the hotel’s offerings. ) Back in the gilded bosom of the Royal Mansour, and up to the 23rd-floor bar, it was transparent that this wasn’t just a glitzy new spaceship that had crashed in the middle of Casablanca: after cutting off the layers of gilding and Bohemian glass, it was a hotel that was in discussion with the town. which also surrounds him.
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