A Rustic Hideaway In Marrakech

So the name of the Beldi Country Club is a giveaway: everything at the beguiling, 27-room hotel amidst fields of roses - from the earth-based pise walls to the sackcloth bags gardeners gather blooms in - is done as it was centuries ago.

20 great things to do in Marrakech

The ultimate checklist for things to do in Marrakech – follow our insider tips for stunning mosques, fascinating crafts and luxury living:

Marrakech Wallops The Senses Part 2

GRILLED MEATS GALORE
Once a popular hole-in-the-wall, (7) Plats Haj Boujema (65 Mohamed ElBeqal; 212-524/421-862; lunch for two MAD163) retains its cheap prices and populist spirit despite the (almost) spiffy new digs in Gucliz. Beauties with kohl-rimmed eyes tend to order panini and pizza, but you should opt for the smoky carnivorous offerings. Succulent minced lamb kofte precede perfect beef brochettes, then flash-charred lamb chops and, for the adventurous, skewers of plush liver or brains. No tasting, please, without the taktuka, a zesty, garlicky tomato-and-grccn-pcppcr relish.

ULTIMATE COUSCOUS
Few restaurants in town bother with the proper raking, swelling and multiple steamings of Morocco's signature semolina grains. (8) Dar Moha (81 Rue Dar el Bacha, Medina; 212-524/386-264; MAD1J00) bills itself as nouvelle marocaine, but its charismatic celebrity chef-owner MohaFedal happily takes an ancien approach to couscous. Start with a mosaic of Moroccan salads at your candlelit poolside table on the patio of French designer Pierre Balmain's former riad. Midway through the degustation menu, a duo of couscous dishes invites you to compare earthier Berber-style barley pellets with the more familiar durum wheat, here as light and fluffy as snowflakes. And near the end of your meal don't forget, the dessert pastilla, made with apples and saffron, dcliciously contrasts cream and crunch. »

Marrakech wallops the senses

FEW PLACES ON THE PLANET OFFER SUCH A DIZZYING MOST FRAGRANT COUSCOUS, THE ULTIMATE TAGINE AND OTHER SPICY SECRETS OF MOROCCO'S CULINARY CAPITAL.  MARRAKECH WALLOPS THE SENSES. 

A riot of colors (mosaic tiles; woven textiles), sounds (the drone of drums from the central square. Jamaa El Fna), and, of course, tastes. Whether in the souks of the walled Medina or the hourgeois district of Gueliz, there is no hettcr place to savor the diversity of North African cuisine—lamb, couscous, eggplant all redolent of cumin, saffron and the crimson pepper sauce harissa—than this ancient crossroads. 

Dinner For Two In Marrakech

Morocco is famous for its food, and no wonder. It's mouthwatering and eclectic, and there's something for everyone. The best-known dish is the tagine, a filling stew slow cooked in an earthenware pot with a conical lid. In addition to chicken, beef, lamb, fish, or vegetables, tagines often include stewed fruit, olives, onions, or almonds. Many restaurants also serve couscous, particularly as a traditional family lunch on Fridays. The seven-veggie couscous royale, topped with a raisin/onion concoction, is not to be missed.

Discover Marrakch in 36 Hours

IN 1939, George Orwell wrote of Westerners flocking to Marrakech in search of “camels, castles, palm-trees, Foreign Legionnaires, brass trays and bandits.” Ever since, the city has been ravishing visitors with its teeming souks, ornate palaces and sybaritic night life. In recent years, a succession of high-end openings and restorations — most notably, the lavish reopening of the hotel La Mamounia — has transformed the city into an obligatory stop for jet-setters. Yet despite Marrakesh’s new cachet, the true treasures of the enigmatic city still hide down dusty side streets and behind sagging storefronts.