Hotel CTM

That late-night time with local families was what made Hotel CTM for me. I met children, uncles, aunties, cousins and bus drivers, shared food, bought ice cream, heard jokes, and laughed until four in the morning. Nobody was trying to get anything from my pockets, unlike the nightly scene at Djemma Al fna with its smoke, snake charmers, monkeys, dancing and sword swallowing. I’d come to Marrakech for two weeks during one of the hottest summers before global warming. After breakfast, which most guests seemed to skip, I went back to my room. A cleaner stopped me and said I should sleep later and stay up at night. I took her advice. She was ten years shy of 90. When I woke around noon the next day, having missed breakfast completely, there was coffee at my door with a dry, buttery croissant. It felt like I’d found home. Hotel CTM is a home away from home if you’re willing to let go and join the family that comes through. It isn’t a luxury hotel or some cool Instagram spot. For me, though, its people make it the best place to experience Marrakech and Morocco. Five stars for them. Merci.