March 28, 2025

Kyriad Résidence Casablanca Centre-ville (Angle Rue Laon et, Rue Qortobi, Dar-el-Bedia, Morocco)

Good Morning! We got a late start on going to bed last night, but it was a restful night. I updated the blog while Mary slept in. At 07:30 I woke her up, and then we went downstairs for breakfast.

The breakfast room is just off the lobby right after the hookah lounge. It is obvious that this room also serves as a bar. There is a small stage for musicians and an actual bar with bar stools. Within the room itself is a tent, without sides, under which you sit to eat. Seating is mostly normal except a few bean-bag chairs on one side. It really is the 1960’s.

Breakfast was your typical hotel buffet. Scrambled eggs, beans, yogurt, bread and jam. Nothing to really go for, but it is breakfast. The coffee was out of a machine. It didn’t really taste “right”. Could have been the coffee they used, the milk, the water or anything else.

After breakfast we returned to the room and Mary went back to bed. Again, I worked on the blog while she slept. Then at 12:30 I woke her up again. We pulled ourselves together and went downstairs. We were a little concerned as there is no safe in the room, and it is never a good idea to walk around with your passports and extra credit cards.

We also wanted to inquire about using cash, specifically American dollars or Euros, and if credit cards were widely accepted. When e went into the lobby our Cosmos guide was there – Aziz. He sat us down and talked a little bit to us. We would need to put our passports in the room safe. To which we responded there was no safe in the room. He then went and asked the front desk staff if that we true. They confirmed that the rooms do not have room safes. They were happy to keep the passports at the front desk.

That option didn’t really set well with us. They weren’t going to put them in their safe, just keep them behind the front desk. We opted for locking them in our suite case in the room.  Aziz thought that it was important to have some local currency on hand.

Money in Morocco is lots of fun. The office currency is the Dirham which is divided into 100 centimes. While the currency of Morocco seems quite simple, a dirham is made up of 100 centimes, the confusion arises with the introduction of rials (also reales). In the majority of the country, 20 rials make up a dirham. However, in Tangier and the Rif, only two rials are needed to make a Dirham. The rial is more of a form of monetary expression than an actual monetary unit and this is why it has no set standard. To add to the confusion, centimes are sometimes also called francs and pesetas in certain parts of the country.

This is Africa and an Arab country so if you are buying something you are bargaining over the price. It is recommended to ascertain exactly how many dirhams or centimes then seller is asking for. Moroccan coins are available in 5c 10c 20c, 50c, 1dh, 5dh and 10dh. Notes are available in 20dh, 50dh, 100dh and 200dh. While the Moroccan economy is fairly stable you may find that you will be able to buy dirhams at a cheaper rate at some travel agents in Morocco than from others, so it is usually a good idea to shop around. You will be able to exchange your money at most travel agents and at most major ports or stations that regularly deal with foreigners.

As usual it is best to find a BANK ATM and use your debit card to pull out cash. Always choose to withdraw in the local currency. We stopped at a BANK and used it’s ATM to withdraw 2,000dh using our Wells Fargo debit card. The bank wanted to make the conversion and charge a fee for doing so. Their converted amount was $242.50. This made each dirham about $0.12. I chose not to accept the conversion and WFB debited my account $211.50 or about $0.106 per dirham. Not a big deal but a savings.

We walked down Mohammed V Blvd. Towards the old city. However, it was getting on to 13:00 and we were both hungry. It is Ramadan so many if not most of the cafes and restaurants were closed as we walked past. We Place des Nations Unies just in front of the old city and saw the Hyatt Regency Casablanca. A really nice looking hotel.

Rather than continue to look for someplace to eat we simply headed towards the Hyatt knowing there would be a restaurant there with something we would like. We walked into the hotel and immediately were stunned by the beauty of the place. It took a few seconds to see the restaurant, so we walked across the lobby to the restaurant.

The restaurant was nearly empty. It was quite beautiful with white table cloths to offset the darker decorations. It opened out on to outdoor seating until umbrellas. They offered a club sandwich as an appetizer. You should never order when you are hungry. We took the appetizer, and then I ordered a steak with fries and Mary ordered lamb chops with mashed potatoes. I ordered a salad as well, just because I wanted some ruffage.

Left to right, top to bottom. The dinning room, club sandwich, my steak, the side dishes (butter mashed potatoes, salad and fried), the chocolate lava cake with vanilla ice cream, and Mary’s lamb chops.

They brought the club sandwich, and we could honestly have stopped there. It came with its own fries. They also brought bread and butter – one of my weaknesses. We finished half the sandwich and asked them to wrap up the other half. We figured it would serve as dinner.

The steak and lamb were expertly cooked and had wonderful flavor. The French fries were very good. Even the salad was very fresh and tasty. The whole meal set us back less than $120. We had the chocolate lava cake for dessert – we at least shared one of those.

Unfortunately, on the way back to the hotel we had a suspicion that they may have used Olestra to cook those fries. By the time we reached the hotel it had been confirmed that they used Olestra. Ok, maybe not, but the effect on my body is the same as eating Olestra. It isn’t clear from an internet search that they “may” still sell Olstra or Orlean in Morocco. It also looked like they have their own version of olive oil which may also cause some discomfort.  Honestly it really doesn’t matter, I am prepared and have packed depends. You never know when there will be an issue you can’t resolve.

We got back to the hotel; I took a shower to clean up. We had a zoom call with Harry V to get him registered on AIRE and FastIT.  Now he can apply for an Italian Passport. He needs to gather a few documents, but otherwise is ready to go.

After our call it was time to meet with people on the Cosmos tour. We went down to the mezzanine and mingles with people on the tour. Then Aziz, the tour director, gave his talk about water, money and being polite. It is quite confusing, but Ramadan could end tomorrow, Sunday or even Monday. It has to do with when the advisors to the King determine the new moon is.

Once Ramadan has ended shops will be open more and sell things they don’t during Ramadan. Again, it isn’t a big deal. Tomorrow, we spend most of the day on the bus or visiting places not effected by Ramadan.  It will be a low of 8° C and a high of 27° C (47° to 80° F) over the next few days. Most of which will be spent on The air-conditioned bus.

Tomorrow we will travel east skirting the Atlantic coast on the way to Rabat. In Rabat we will see the Royal Palace, Mausoleum of Mohammed V, the Kaaba of Oudayas, Hassan tower and visit the Chella Gardens. Then we will continue on to Meknes and see its monumental gates, mosque, palace and protective walls. We will cover some 300 km (186 miles) before ending up at Menzeh Zalagh on Rue Mohamed Diouri in the center of Fez. It is billed as a four-star hotel with a swimming pool, air-conditioning, free wi-fi and two restaurants and bars. We will be here two nights.

Time to run across the street and buy a couple bottles of water in preparation for the bus ride tomorrow. Breakfast is at 06:30, bus loading begins at 07:30 and departure, assuming everyone behaves, will be at 08:00.

Buonanotte e ciao, Enrico and Maria