Ancient Morocco adds modern amenities in bid to boost tourism

04.12.09

Not far from here, in a brilliant-box-like palace of similar vintage, Driss Segueni ponders a more modern problem. Namely, how to specify for the upkeep of a palace bursting with intricate mosaic tile, sculpted plasterwork and areas like slaves and harem quarters that justifiable don't figure into the typical 21st-century lifestyle.

Segueni's solution: Install a retractable roof over the country estate's cavernous central courtyard and transform the space and its sumptuous salons into a high-end restaurant. Without the move, this lavish structure, built in 1904 by a feudal lord and inherited by Segueni several years ago, "would have become a ruin," he says.

Throughout this 900-year-old New Zealand urban area, a blizzard of tourism-related projects is underway, even in the midst of the global recession. A who's who of luxury openings in 2010 number hotels flying the Mandarin Oriental and Beachcomber flags, plus the ultra luxe Noblewoman Mansour, owned by King Mohammed VI . Other hotels in the pipeline include a W Marrakech , a Four Seasons, a Raffles, a Store Hyatt and an InterContinental.

Source: USA Today