Morocco Travel Guide

CULTURAL    FESTIVAL

HOTEL

HOTEL

Festivals & Events

Assilah Festival

(www.c-assilah.com) The Centre Hassan II des Rencontres Internationales is the main focus
for this annual festival, held over three weeks in July, when artists, musicians, performers and
about 200,000 spectators descend upon the town. More than 30 years old, the cultural festival
features numerous workshops and public art demonstrations, concerts, exhibitions and events
with participants from all over the world. A three-day horse festival, including a Moroccan
fantasia (musket-firing cavalry charge) takes place towards the end of the festival. Download
the iPhone app from the Apple App Store.

Sleeping

Assilah has a choice of decent but uninspiring accommodation options in the new part of town;
a more interesting option is to rent a medina house. A host of properties in Assilah’s medina
have been bought by foreigners and wealthy Moroccans and renovated as holiday homes. At
any time of the year it is possible to rent a house in the medina or near the beach through the
agency House in Asilah (www.houseinasilah.com ) . There are some wonderful two-, three-
and four-bedroom houses available with stunning decor and all the comforts you are likely to
want. Prices range from about Dh600 to Dh3000 per night. Per week, a house rents for
Dh4000 in low season to about Dh15,000 in high season.

During high season (Easter week and July to September), the town is flooded with visitors so
it’s advisable to book well in advance. Assilah has a limited choice of budget hotels.

BEWARE THE TOUTS

Accommodation   Touts   meeting the buses   or  trains  offer   basic   accommodation   in  the medina  for about   Dh75.   It’s    usually a

large   room    sleeping    up  to  seven   people  on  thin    mattresses  on  the floor.  Some    also    offer   rooms   in  unofficial  B&Bs    at  much

higher  prices. Be  careful however when    renting through touts:  there   are many    scams.

Drugs   As  tourism and kif (dope)  use have    increased   in  recent  years,  so  too has the number  of  touts   operating   in  Assilah.

Assilah has a   large   young   population, and unemployment    is  high.   Kif plays   a   big role    in  Assilah:    increasingly,   tourists    are being

offered it, often   as  part    of  an  elaborate   scam    to  fleece  them    (Click  here ).

Hôtel Patio de la Luna €€

Offline map Google  map (    0539   41  60  74; 12  Pl  Zellaka;    s/d Dh350/450;   )  The only

accommodation option in Assilah with any local character is this intimate, Spanish-run place
secluded behind an unassuming door on the main drag. The somewhat spartan, rustic rooms
have wooden furniture, woven blankets and tiled bathrooms and are set around a lovely leafy
patio. The staff are friendly and it’s very popular, so book ahead.

Hôtel Belle Vue €

Offline map Google  map (    0539   41  77  47; Rue Hassan  ben Tabit;  d   Dh200,  low season  Dh100)

A friendly, small hotel in a quiet side street, run by young Moroccans who are very welcoming