This trip was a little different to our normal exploring trips. Following an extremely busy period and some personal illness we needed a get away to chill and relax and not spend lots of time exploring. Morocco had never really been on my radar and when Jo suggested we go to Marrakesh I surprised myself by saying yes. 

Unfortunately this page doesn't contain many photos and probably doesn't contain anything helpful to the visitors and readers but hopefully a good review of the hotel etc

We booked a 4 night break to Marrakesh through easyjet holidays. The process was simple and easy. I managed to find a discount code and get an extra £100 off the holiday so booked it immediately. 

We stayed in the Iberostar Waves Club Palmeraie Marrakech which is advertised as a 4* hotel and resort. We booked a private taxi from the airport which I would recommend as it gets quite busy when you exit the airport and trying to find your local holiday rep.  The process was simple and easy. 

Arriving in Marrakech we was extremely surprised by how strict the customs process is. It's the same when you are leaving also. We had our passport checked three times at three different locations by customs officials even though we had already had them checked at border control and had our fingerprints taken. Everyone has a final scan of their luggage before leaving the airport. The whole process is quite time consuming so expect to be in the airport for up to 2+ hours going through security and border control etc. 

Once we got to our taxi we could relax.

A rather busy drive with bikes and motorists coming from all directions at every turn. It took around 30-40 minutes to arrive at our hotel. Check in was a smooth process, even though we'd paid extra for upgraded priority location we were placed at the far end of the hotel which was no big deal as we still had a balcony etc. A reasonable size room, large bathroom with large shower and a large double bed. The mini fridge struggled to keep anything cold but the ice cold water machine at the end of our corridor was a nice touch. 

For me this break was a welcome break where we sat around the pool taking in the atmosphere and enjoying the sun whilst eating and drinking to much!

There is a lot of activities advertised locally form day tours to local trips in the desert. We chose to leave out the sightseeing on this trip as my main objective was to relax and do nothing which is very unusual for us on any trip. 

Even though the plan was relaxation we still managed to go to Marrakesh Market (Moroccan Souks). The famous flea market with a maze of back streets, shops and outdoor market square. 

The hotel Iberostar Waves Club Palmeraie runs a free shuttle bus several times a day. We booked on for the Sunday morning and booked our return journey 3 hours later. At this point we didn't realise the bus drops you 20-30 minutes away from the market, It's obvious this is done so they can have you pay one of their taxi friends to take you to the market as they are lining up  waiting for you on arrival.

We dodged the taxi drivers and followed a crowd of people that looked like they knew what they was doing. A combination of that and google maps and 20-30 minutes later we was in the main market square. 

It was not long after 9.30 on a Sunday morning so it was very quiet. Many shops were just opening and lots of street vendors were still setting up ready for the day. 

We walked the streets of the local area (Medina) roaming and browsing a huge variety of shops. We spent lots of time being pursued by local shop keepers and stall owners. We spent some money on lots of Moroccan Oils and scents which we liked and after a couple of hours we made our way back to the bus stop. On the way back the market had became much busier and we was glad to be leaving at this point as we could barely walk past a shop without being pressured into going inside to buy something we didn't want. If I had to compare it to something it reminded me of a cheap fake Turkish market as pretty much everything sold in these shops is obviously bad fakes from the Barcelona football tops on sale for 5-10 euros to the extreme designer Louis Vuitton handbags for £30.

Once back in the hotel we relaxed once more. 

The hotel had 2 main pools, one was an adults only pool and the other has a fun activity pool. They had another kids pool also. Facilities in and around the grounds was impressive and the entertainment program kept everyone that wanted to be involved busy throughout the day. 

Each night had a show that was extremely well put together considering it was just the entertainments team doing the day and evenings. 

The show stopper for me was the food in the restaurants. A large buffet style restaurant opened several times a day for Breakfast, lunch and dinner had a variety of food that changed each day.

Another on site restaurant which you needed to book and a snack wagon next to the pool serving burgers and hot dogs throughout the day with pancakes in the afternoons. 

The dessert selection was unreal and I challenge anyone to leave here not gaining a little weight!

As I said at the start the trip was booked purely for a relaxing trip with no exploring and photos were kept to a min so there isn't a lot to put here. 

Would I recommend Morocco or Marrakesh?

Yes, I would def go back to Morocco and I'd like to try some of the other holiday destinations like Agadir etc.