NIGHTTIME MARRAKESH: AFTER HOURS

Marrakesh, known as the “Red City,” is Morocco’s nightlife netherworld. During the day, the square in Marrakesh bustles with acrobats, story-tellers, water sellers, dancers, musicians, mystics, fortune tellers and snake seducers. By night, food stalls open in the square turning it into a huge busy open-air restaurant. And it’s the night that makes Marrakesh North Africa’s decadent & mysterious nightlife capital. Marrakesh has always had a reputation for its nightlife: from discos to belly-dancing bars to underground hash cellars to rooftop champagne and caviar night-gazing. Nestled like glowing dream bugs along avenue Mohammed V are most of the city’s bars, restaurants, bistros, pavement cafés & dimly lit establishments with the promise of the “night of your life”—emerging from the dark caverns into the tangerine and azure dawn with a belly full of exotic elixirs and a head full of dreams is where Morocco takes on its mystical crossroads and kaleidoscopic hues that soak the spirit and stoke the imagination like nowhere else in the world.

Bars
A nice start: Hôtel Tazi. While the hotel bar is more of a TV lounge and not much to look at, it does have a fantastic selection of imported and local beers, including Casablanca, Société des Brasseries du Maroc, Flag Spéciale, and Stork Première. The Piano Bar at the Hotel Jardins Le Mirador not only offers the tickling of the ivory by a tuxedoed maestro but a breezy array of mythic cocktails by a opalescent pool. But if the star-gazing isn’t working from poolside there’s always the rooftop café-bar above La Renaissance, Place Abdel Moumen ben Ali, and Le Petit Poucet are both chic and sophisticated and have the best vodka martinis in the city. The Palais des Congrès, avenue de France, is a hulking complex that boasts four café-bars. Café Oued el Had, avenue Casablanca, just outside town, is a smaller complex of three bars that are, yes, open all night. The classic crown jewel here, however, is the Le Churchill, the bar of the Hôtel La Mamounia, which has a sumptuous Moorish and Art Deco interior, and a James Bond-esque dress code. With its leather and fine wood paneling, Le Bar Churchill, named after one of its most famous guests, is the perfect place for an aperitif or a digestive in its jazzy nineteen thirties atmosphere. Le Comptoir Marrakech-Paris, avenue Echouada, Hivernage, both cocktail bar and gourmet restaurant is still one of the coolest places. However, if you are looking for a taste of a chic underworld you’ll want to check out Palais Jad Mahal. With its subterranean blinking nightclub that after midnight feels like you are in Satan’s private basement VIP club Mahal is the kind of place that is at once vertiginous and enthralling. Le Comptoir Bar A is a classic watering hole for any visitor to Marrakesh, conjuring up Hollywood-esque Arabian Nights. Then there’s Pacha Marrakech, one of the world’s most exotic  “super-clubs.” It has two lounges, two restaurants as well as a ballroom and nightclub manned by international DJs. And when you are too drenched with sweat to continue you are welcome to take a dip in the on-grounds swimming pool with stunning views of the Atlas Mountains.

Casinos
The Mamounia Casino in the Hôtel La Mamounia, avenue Bab Jedid  has a Grand Casino that is with roulette central. A less Monaco-like alternative is Es Saadi Hôtel, avenue Kadissa, Hivernage. Entrance for both is free but a jacket and tie are required. Both casinos require fairly high minimum stakes to play, making them not so attractive for the novice gambler.

Discotheques & Dancing the Night Away
Avenue, in the grounds of hotel Le Meridien N’Fis, avenue de la Menara, is a hive of excitement, music and elixirs. For more of an uptown New York City feel head to the Cotton Club, Hôtel Tropicana, Lotissement Semlalia. THEATRO is pure Studio 54 in the desert: Disco balls hang from the ceiling, skin-baring dancers show off their moves, and high-decibel dance music together with performers on stage provide hours of entertainment. With PACHA MARRAKECH it feels like Ibiza has been transplanted in Marrakesh, and just like its sister club in that Spanish party island, Marrakech’s Pacha is restaurant (Moroccan and international fusion), bar, and club all in one space. The A-list DJs call this home. LE COMPTOIR DARNA drinks are out-of-this-world and also very expensive—and the beats are a mile a minute, thumping electro North African heartbeats taking you deep into the salt caravans of your dreams. LE DIAMANT NOIR – Pl. de la Liberté, Guéliz has a seedy old world charm and attracts everyone from jet-setters to locals to movie stars because of its amazing bottle service and dilapidated grandeur. AL’ANBAR, a hybrid of Asia and North Africa ambiance and muzak, is ritzy, loud, and booming. And PARADISE is pure North Africa-meets-West.

VIP, VIP, VIP
If you are looking to travel in pure Rachel Weisz & Daniel Craig style then the Fandango in the Mandarin Oriental is a must; it’s a mirage of light and sound that envelops you in an ultra sensory experience and a chic atmosphere. Cocktails flow from the bar with a Moroccan twist. Chilled harmonies and pulsating beats are blended by DJs bringing this lounge club to voguish life every night. Fandango is one of the city’s most desirable places to party. Also in the hotel there’s Rumi. Rumi is like a scene from 1001 nights. Flickering candlelight is multiplied a hundred fold in the mirrored ceilings. Its exotic scents and sounds transport you to the most magical Marrakesh. In a vibrant yet elegant Moorish setting, fine dining shares the stage with first class entertainment. Throughout the evening, guests will be both charmed and dazzled with local talents magicians, dancers and musicians. The menu offers both traditional and Evolved cuisine in which select Moroccan specialties are presented with the most imaginative contemporary twist. And, of course, you’ll want a sumptuous “morning-cap” at The Cake Shop. Home to the finest teas, handmade chocolates, natural oils, special marinades and a selection of foie gras flavoured with Moroccan spices the Cake Shop is a sweets Shangri-La: From French cookies and Macarons to an excellent selection of Moroccan pastries, you will go to bed feeling like you are in an Arabian Candyland.