Sharon Louthian

First, who is Sharon? We never worked with anybody named Sharon to our knowledge. We did work with Marion. We had a lot of back and forth to get the trip that we wanted. It seemed that our requests were overlooked and we had to keep bringing them up.
Arriving in Casa Blanca our driver was not at the airport to meet us. We had to call the given phone number and coordinate the meeting. The driver, who was the first day guide, did not speak English well and was not easily understood. The first day's tour was not as presented, consequently we did not really understand some of the stops. (We stopped at a plaza with lots of pigeons???) It would have been nice to have the driver's name ahead of time. The size of the van was nice.
Rabat--our guide was knowledgeable and gave a good presentation.
Chefchoun--our orientation walk did not happen at first. We were delivered to the hotel and we then asked Rashid, our driver, to give us a quick rundown.
On the way to Fez we stopped at the Volubilis ruins and the local guide, although knowledgeable, was on his phone all of the time. I almost asked him if we were interfering with his day. The restaurant, Roman City, was excellent. The chef, using his mother's recipes presented a great lunch (one of the better meals of our trip to that point). The ruins are ok, but if you have been to as many Roman ruins as we have it was redundant.
In Fez, our local guide was excellent. He had the patience of Job with all of the stops that the ladies in our group wanted.
Regarding the desert camp, we should have prepared a small bag for the overnight and left the suitcases in the van (please suggest this to future travelers). This would have made the transfers much easier and better. The camp was good, our camel guide was great and very nice.
Atlas Mountains-Dades. We stopped at the "Hollywood" movie studios to, take a picture of the outside? We had been in the car for an hour and half or two hours and were expecting a restroom. Nope, we would have had to pay to enter the facility. We did stop shortly down the road after requesting a break. The Eden Hotel was great but we only spent fifteen hours there.
Marrakesh--our guide was good and visiting a Madrassa was educational and brought history to life.
Essaouria--we were supposed to go to a restaurant where we would pick out our fish and it would be cooked for us. This feature was skipped entirely and we missed it (we have done this in other countries and enjoyed it greatly). We found the above restaurants the next day after our cooking class but were too full to have a dinner. The cooking class was well done, shopping, chopping and eating.
Essaouria to Marrakesh--our driver Hallie was early (we left prior to six AM!) and very nice.

General notes:
All of the hotels were very good to excellent and well situated.
We were never informed that KimKim was going to "sell" our trip to another broker. We were surprised to find this out two days prior to the start when we received release forms from Ultimate Morocco. We were disappointed as we thought that you were the actual tour company.
It would be beneficial to future travelers if you gave an idea of the cost of all of the meals that had to be paid in cash. ATM's were usually easy to find but limited in how much cash could be taken out. International banks like BNP Paribas was a great option and we suggest that guides direct guests to these branches.
As with all trips that we go on, adding tips to the package is irritating. Since you give suggestions on tipping, just include the amount and pay the drivers and guides directly.

Lastly, as we stated earlier, our photographs, videos names or likeness may not be used in any social media or posted online.
Kathleen and Paul Hart

Our trip was memorable and went smoothly. As per what was told to us the guide and driver was waiting for us at the airport. he picked us up and took us on our way. All the cities we were escorted to the Riyads by responsible representatives who took care of our stay there unitl the next time we meet the driver. The places we stayed were all clean and comfortable. Breakfast was sumptuous and served on time. We are vrey happy with Kimkim travels service.

Our driver Omar was phenomenal. Friendly, excellent driver, helpful and curious. He made the trip memorable and went out of his way to help. Showing us his family home in Dades was memorable for us. The hotels were great except in Chefchuan the blue city despite our request we got the room several floors up with no elevator and it was dusty and musty smell in the room making my allergies unbearable. The hotel in Marrakech and Fes were excellent. The hotel in Casablanca was not so great and front staff a bit rude. The desert experience even though spectacular was marred by poor camel seats in 2 out of 4 causing loss of thigh skin and constant risk of falling off. The food there very ordinary and entertainment very primitive and amateurs and we couldn’t take it after a few minutes. The SUV driver drove on the dunes recklessly and most of us were sick ignoring our request not to do so. The guide Salaam in Marrakech and host family for cooking class were just amazing. Very memorable.Meeting Abdul for tea in Rose valley was great. Small hotel in Dades valley was very good hospitality was warm and great food even for vegetarians. The vehicle was very comfortable and spacious. The arrangements by Sharon were very efficient.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Club Val d'Anfa Casablanca

Casablanca

Staff a bit rude, room very ordinary, was dusty with renovations, our request for sea views room was never honored, location good, food was good

Authenticity & Character

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Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Euphoriad

Rabat

Very pretty boutique hotel, very nice staff, service and food, good location

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Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Riad Nila

Chefchaouen

Dusty, musty, our request for ground or lower floor was not known to the hotel and we had to climb multiple flights with luggage, allergies were bad here. Location very good.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Palais Faraj Suites & Spa

Fès

Most amazing hotel palace, very accommodating staff, my room had a window opening to wall do they upgraded us next day to a suite. Food and location perfect.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Relaxing Desert Camp - Royal Bivouac

Merzouga

Room okay, food poor, entertainment very poor, manager driver reckless and uncaring

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Chez Ichou

Dades Gorge

Warm hospitality, great food, pretty setting

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hôtel & Ryads Barrière Le Naoura

Marrakech

Great room, food, location and staff

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Driving Tour of Casablanca

Casablanca

Not much to see except the Hassan mosque which was spectacular , beach walk was nice, dinner was nice at the hotel , hotel itself ordinary

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Afternoon Guided Tour of Rabat

Rabat

Guide disinterested, not prepared, couldn’t show us the drive through palace grounds because it was time for royal kids to leave school, could not show us the mausoleum because some special visit. Mostly waste of time. We went and saw the mausoleum next morning on our own.

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Orientation Walk & Free Afternoon in Chefchaouen

Chefchaouen

Pretty yet very touristy town, asking for money every where for photos, had a great meal

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{{start_location}} to {{end_location}} via Volubilis and Meknes

Morocco

Roman ruins very nice, good guide

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Guided Tour of Fes

Fes

Guide Said, so so little disinterested, city magnificent

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Merzouga to Fes via Midelt, Azrou, & Ifraine

Morocco

Beautiful drive, Ifrane just beautiful

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Guides, Drivers and Staff

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Dades Valley to Merzouga Camel Trek via Todgha Gorge & Tinghir

Morocco

Camel ride substandard poor seats, dunes magnificent, camp substandard, poor food and very poor entertainment, reception office before the camel ride unfriendly and asking to paid for washrooms use. Camp manager driving us was reckless and scary.

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Guides, Drivers and Staff

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Marrakech to Dades Valley via Ait Ben Haddou

Morocco

Bit long drive, the Ait Ben Haddou trip got, dusty and tiring, rose and Dades valley very pretty

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Private Cooking Class w/ Souk Tour

Morocco

Lovely family, very warm and welcoming. Very nice cooking class, yummy food, getting dressed in traditional Moroccan outfits a surprise bonus.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

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Guided Tour of Marrakech

Marrakesh

Great guide Salaam . Enjoyed the tour, Souks and atmosphere

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Guides, Drivers and Staff

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Fantastic trip to Morocco!

Had a really great experience with Sharon and her team. As an overall experience, I would say she listened to my wants and needs, and planned our trip accordingly. She was also amendable to working with our pre existing accommodations and tailoring the tour around that. From start to finish, everything ran smoothly. Her hotel recommendations were spot on.., perfectly located and really luxurious! I also felt that the nights and times she recommend were perfect.

Our driver, Rachid, was outstanding and provided excellent service. He was never late and kept us on a perfect schedule. Most of our private tours were great and I really enjoyed them….

I previously was working with another planner for this trip and I felt he didn’t understand my style of travel. After switching to sharon, the trip really came together.

Ahmed, our driver was superb.

The guide in Marrakesh was not a good choice.
He spent most of his time talking to his friends than to attending to us.
other that he, the trip was exceptional. Thanks, Sharon

Activity Review

Guided Tour of Marrakech

Marrakesh

The guide was an idiot! If i were you, I would not use this guy again.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We planned a 15 day trip for our family group of 4 adults with Sharon's help. She helped put together an itinerary that would suit our group. Our overall experience in this trip was wonderful and we learned so much about the Amazigh (Berber) culture and traditions and about the history of Morocco. The warmth of the welcome we got felt special - and we got this from all the people whom we interacted with: our tour manager, the drivers and the staff at the Riads where we stayed. We wanted cultural immersion and indeed that was what we got.

A highlight was our "day with the locals" in Boumalne Dades, where we had Abdou Idrissi (owner of Moroccan Immersion) as our very knowledgeable guide to Berber culture, architecture, life, cultivation and irrigation. It was a treat to be in the kitchen with our hosts Malika and Khadija as they prepared a tagine and couscous in the traditional way. They and their children were so open and welcoming and we surprised my husband with a birthday cake. Definitely the most unique birthday he has celebrated!

Each of the cities we visited gave us a chance to experience medieval towns by staying in Riads in the Medinas of these towns. Our local guide Mohammed in Rabat, a different guide named Mohammed in Fes, and Salaam in Marrakesh were all excellent - knowledgeable and personable.

While in Fez we found out that our wonderful tour manager and driver, Salaam could not accompany us for the rest of the trip, due to circumstances outside anyone's control. We cannot say enough about Salaam as a guide and chaperone for our trip: he is fun to be with, incredibly knowledgeable about history, architecture, culture and more and he made sure we were comfortable as we made our way through our first three stops. To Moroccan Immersion's credit, they made sure that they had good drivers for us at short notice in a busy season, so there was no interruption in our programming. Even though he could not be with us for the rest of the days of the trip, he kept track of where we were, communicated with the drivers we had and made sure things went well for us. Abdou was of course, in the background, making sure things went well.

The other drivers we had were very good but they did not have the same level of knowledge and ability to guide and inform us as Salaam did. This did impact our tour experience - and we understand that it was because of something beyond anyone's control.

Our favorite stop was as Kasbah Tiziri in the Valley of the Roses. Our hosts Michelle and Hussein were wonderful and gave us delicious food and their own insights into life in Morocco. The Kasbah has a beautiful garden, has been modernized beautifully while maintaining a traditional identity.

All along we had beautiful drives - between Rabat and Fez, Fez to Merzouga and then from the desert camp in Merzouga to Marrakesh. There had been rain after a four year drought and the countryside was green (except of course near the desert area). We got to experience spectacular views as we drove through the low, the mid and the High Atlas mountains (many peaks with snow). Our drivers negotiated the challenging drives smoothly and safely.

We ended by spending a day in Essaouira which was a nice relaxed ending to our trip in this charming seaside town.

We covered a lot of ground, physically, and learned a great deal during our trip all while experiencing a feast for the senses and a sense of warmth and welcome!

Hotel Reviews

ONOMO Hotel Casablanca Airport

Nouaceur

This served its purpose as a place near the airport so we could make our morning flight.

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Staff

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Palais des Remparts

Essaouira

Charming hotel. Great rooftop terrace with ocean views.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Everything was clean and good. The incense smell in the rooms and the riad was a bit overwhelming.

Riad La Croix Berbère

Marrakech

Good location near the main square. We were able to find our way through the maze of streets using Google maps. We were here for 3 nights

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

We got great personal attention from the staff here over our stay of 3 nights.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The riad was clean and well furnished. The discrepancy between the two rooms was noticeable - one was a suite and the other was a standard room. When traveling with another couple that doesn't feel great.

Kasbah Tiziri

Kelaat Mgouna

A rave review for this Kasbah and for Michelle who refurbished this historic building with authenticity and elegance. The hospitality, food, beauty and comfort of this place were a stand out.

Authenticity & Character

The attention to architecture, especially the brickwork on the facade were special.

Location

The views from the rooftop and from the terraces, as well as the garden were lovely

Staff

Wonderful hostess and wonderful staff. Hussein as well as the young man who helped him were warm and chatty.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Sahara Stars Luxury Camp

Merzouga

This was a gorgeous camp. Our rooms were comfortable and attractive - amazing to have plumbing and hot and cold water in the desert. The dining room was beautiful and we had amazing meals at this camp.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Ali was very attentive and kept track of everything and made sure we were comfortable.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Riad Merzouga Dunes

Merzouga

This was a comfortable hotel and served well its purpose as a jumping off point for the desert camp.

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Staff

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Riad Farouzi Fes

Fes

We enjoyed our stay here. A beautiful Riad, great breakfasts and good service.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The rooms were clean. Some features of a historic building were a challenge.

Riad El Palacio

Chefchaouen

A beautiful Riad. The staff may have been a little over their heads, though Fatya was working hard to make us comfortable and was a lovely hostess. We were two couples traveling together and the rooms we were assigned were quite different - one quite spacious, and the other rather small.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Can't say enough good things about Fatya - but she did not have enough support.

Cleanliness & Comfort

As mentioned above the rooms were strikingly different.

Riad Dar Chrifa

Rabat

A beautiful Riad with excellent service - great start to our Morocco adventure. We had a lovely dinner there as well as breakfast.

Authenticity & Character

The architecture and the rooms were beautiful, traditional, yet comfortable

Location

Easy to get to once we got oriented to being in the medina

Staff

Welcoming and warm

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Visit Anima Gardens

Marrakesh

We enjoyed our visit to Majorelle and Anima gardens. Majorelle gardens are a tour de force of color and garden design meeting amazing plantings especially of succulents. The little museum of Berber clothing, ornamentation and life was also gorgeous. The Anima gardens are a bit outside the city but were worth a visit for another unique garden which incorporates colorful artwork and sculptures. It had a good outdoor cafe which was a good and relaxing lunch spot.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided Tour of Marrakech

Marrakesh

Our original driver/tour manager Sallam was able to be back with us for this extended tour of Marrakesh. Visiting the Palais Bahia, an old madrassa with a long history, and of course a tour of the medina were done really well by Sallam and we enjoyed it all very much! We stopped at a government certified herbalist shop. Sallam also filled in info about Ait el Benhaddou for us. We said good bye to Sallam after this tour.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Dades Valley to Marrakech via Ait Ben Haddou

Morocco

We had a guided tour of a kasbah which involved also understanding cultivation inside a kasbah. This road is spectacular and the kasbahs are amazing to see - the way in which they mimic and blend into the countryside is interesting. Ourzazate was interesting with an entertaining tour guide of this big movie studio where many movies were filmed from westerns to historical and biblical movies. At Ait el Benhaddou we were dropped off at the wrong place to enter - this necessitated crossing a stream on stepping stones. When we contacted our driver he came back and got us to a bridge which seemed to be the more normal way to enter. Lack of signage and aof guide at this site made it less enjoyable.

Hiking the Road of 1000 Kasbahs

Morocco

Please note: There seems to be no way to indicate that we did not do this activity. I couldn't proceed with the review without giving it some star.

Merzouga to Dades Valley Via Todgha Gorge

Morocco

We had a different driver for this segment of our tour who was a very good driver but was not a guide. Again, he was doing this at short notice and did his best. The Todgha Gorge was gorgeous as was the drive to Dades valley. Very lovely countryside!

Camel trek to your Camp

Merzouga

One couple from our group of four rode the camels to the camp. The others took the suv. The handoff from our driver to the camp personnel was a bit chaotic and it was hard to understand exactly what was going on. The sunset ride was beautiful and a unique experience made more unusual by the fact that it was raining in the desert!

Tour of Desert Region

Merzouga

I think I covered this in the previous review. We also visited a workshop where we learned about the fossils from that region and saw the artifacts they made incorporating the fossils. Very unique!

Fes to Merzouga via Azrou and Midelt

Morocco

Our driver Mohammed was the nicest man but perhaps was not someone who usually functioned as a guide. He did his very best, since he had been assigned to us at short notice. Getting to the hotel on a rainy night (not usual in a desert region for sure) was a challenge and it was a good thing we had phones with service so we could help with online maps and navigation. Next morning we visited Rissani, a kasbah, and also enjoyed the Gnawa musicians. All enjoyable.

Guided Tour of Fes

Fes

Mohammed, our guide for Fes, was the best site specific guide we had. He grew up in the medina there and seemed to know everybody. This was an extensive tour, which took us to a great viewpoint for a panoramic view of Fes, and also included the palace, the medieval university and the madrasa as well as a visit to the jewish quarter and a synagogue, also the souk. The famous tanneries where leather is dyed was interesting also. We also got to see how the tiles for the amazing tile work were made. We really enjoyed our guide and the tour!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

{{start_location}} to {{end_location}} via Volubilis and Meknes

Morocco

Volubilis is a wonderful site located in beautiful countryside. We enjoyed the mosaics which are in pretty good condition , the baths and the remains of a temple. Our guide was helpful.

Quality of Experience

Orientation Walk & Free Afternoon in Chefchaouen

Chefchaouen

We did not have an orientation walk. However when we asked, Salaam was able to make suggestions about what we should try to see and also about places to eat.

Rabat to Chefchaouen

Morocco

Beautiful drive with good and informative conversations with Salaam. We stopped in Volubilis, an ancient Roman site. The guide there was good but not a stand out.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The guide was good but not a standout compare to other guides we had on our trip.

Transport

Afternoon Guided Tour of Rabat

Rabat

We had this tour on the morning before we drove to Chefchaouen. We were a bit tired the first evening and just enjoyed walking around a bit on our own. The next morning we had a wonderful tour with our guide (so sorry not to be able to pull up his name). We also visited the ancient necropolis of Chellah where we got a sense of what an amazing city it must have been. We also got to see the amazing black and white storks who have built enormous nests. We had requested a visit there and it has a history going back to the Phoenicians and the Romans prior to being used by Muslim rulers. Spotting the stork nests became a feature of our whole trip - they often they build nests at the top of a mosque.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arrive in Casablanca & Transfer to Rabat

Morocco

We had set up a group Whats App chat with Salaam prior to our arrival. This made our arrival go smoothly despite the fact that one couple arrived in Casablanca a few hours after the other couple. Salaam made sure the other couple was comfortable and got coffee and water before we got there.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Salaam was an exceptional tour manager/driver

Transport

Very comfortable brand new vehicle - an eight seater van for four of us and the driver.

Having Sallam as a guide meant that I was traveling with a celebrity. Everywhere we stopped, people knew him from his travel videos. I even recorded a few clips that he uploaded to his channels. I never got used to the way people interacted with him, but I did get preferential treatment since he was my guide. I always found it amusing, especially at the police checkpoints along the highways.

Since food is a big part of why I travel, I asked Sallam for recommendations in almost every place we stopped. He never led me astray, whether I asked for a fancy restaurant or a quaint one. There were even a few times when he picked little hole-in-the-wall spots I would have never found and ordered for me. That was how I discovered tanjia, one of the highlights of my trip.

I also like to be active when I travel. I customized my itinerary to include multiple day hikes in different parts of Morocco. For this, Sallam was the perfect guide. He was game to walk the longer distances I wanted, acted as photographer along the way, and opted for the more adventurous trail when options were available. This meant that I got to get my hands dirty scaling and crawling under a few rocks and that I got to take in some vistas at the end of trails that I would not have otherwise reached had I been with a large group or with a guide who isn’t physically fit.

Our driver Abdel was terrific. We did a 10 day tour of Morocco and learned so much about the history and culture and warm people of Morocco. All the Riads we stayed in were clean and beautiful. The highlight of the trip was the camel ride to our camp in the dessert. What a magical experience. Thank you Sharon and Abdel.

Hotel Reviews

Riad Dar Chrifa

Rabat

Beautifully restored and updated Riad. In the one night stay we enjoyed the delicious food for breakfast and dinner, nice staff.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Riad Farouzi Fes

Fes

My least favorite place to stay. A tad antiquated compared to the other beautiful Riads we stayed in. The staff was excellent, good breakfast. Our rooms were right off the main lobby so it was a bit awkward. The window in the bathroom was shared with the kitchen, another awkward situation.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Did not feel very safe walking in this area, but the host walked us to a restaurant both nights we stayed there.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Palais Tara & Spa

Marrakech

Beautiful Riad in the medina of Marakech. Close to restaurants and shopping. Clean and modern.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Kasbah Tiziri

Kelaat Mgouna

Warm welcome and delicious food made by the host Michelle. Clean and beautifully restored Kasbah.

Authenticity & Character

Super authentic

Location

Could not walk to anyplace but the views were amazing from the rooftop terrace.

Staff

The hosts could not do enough for you, Very accommodating.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Riad Madu Premium Camp

Merzouga

Great food. Beautiful "tents"! a magical experience!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Guided Tour of Marrakech

Marrakesh

Learned a lot on this tour but felt we had to spend money when visiting the many vendors and crafters.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Fes to Merzouga via Ifraine and Azrou - Camel Trek to Desert Camp

Morocco

Highlight of our trip. A magical experience

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport