One Night in Casablanca, Morocco

Casablanca is usually not the main attraction for many visitors to Morocco, but it's where most international flights arrive and depart from. Flights will often arrive late at night and/or depart early in the morning. Given that public transport, including the excellent train service, stops running late at night in Morocco -- you're almost forced to seek out a hotel for a night in Casablanca.

If you're like me and hate to spend a lot of money for just one night, a clean mid-range hotel in the center of town is ideal. I stayed at the Maamoura Hotel, which fits the bill. It's a very friendly, 3 star, Moroccan run hotel where a double room will set you back around USD 60. The hotel offers a simple breakfast, they organize early taxis to the airport and it's close to the main train station which is convenient if you're traveling to and from Marrakech or Fez.

It's easy to walk to many good restaurants and cafes from the hotel, as well as the tourist information office, banks and anything else you may need. The Hotel Maamoura is in an Art Deco building which is one of the fun surprises of visiting Casablanca -- the architecture. Another sight not to be missed, if you've got a few hours to spare, is the amazing Hassan II Mosque.

Book the hotel directly by e-mailing: maamora@hotelmaamora.com. The manager, Mr Moubarak, is quite fluent in English, French and Arabic and is extremely helpful.

_{Image of Maamoura Hotel Lobby - © Anouk Zijlma}