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All-siälGREEI( ISLANDSBlockbuster beaches

l/IETNAI,|Hanoiand Saigon,headliners again

MOROCCOThe kingdom inprime time

NEW YORI(Hoopla on the Hudson

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Lrrocco has so many microclimatesand miniseasons that any time of1,ear brings something green.April has vistas of wildflowers.Temperatures remain warm

:rLtrurh lor sunbathing and swimming intor].-t..rber in Marrakech. By mid-January, the::edinas and desert landscapes are delight-:'u111 empty, but ask your concierge to check'.,. hether roads are clear of snow before driv-:r.'s into the Atlas Mountains.

To get around, I used planes, trains, rent-ed cars, and private long-distance taxis. Adriver costs $50 a day on top of the car hire,rnclusive of his food and lodging (which he

f,rranges)., Tlrc country codefor Morocco ß 2 12. )

MARR,AITECHThe government crackdown on touts has

made solo medina wandering possiblg butrou'll save time and headaches by hiring aguide for initial forays. Yow riad host orhLriel concierge can book a certilied guidertor about $15 per half day). Guides earni\tra money lrom commissions on your.hopping, helping you with bargaining that,-an involve written negotiation. If you don'ti,. .lnt to shop, make that clear from the start.

The trick with rlad stays is not to get lost.E''3n taxi drivers änd the winding alleys.-rntusing. so ask your riadhostfor airport::;kup as well as an escort when dining-' :r -ri hich you may not want to do, since

-::r>l rrildshave excellent kitchens.The Riad El Cadi has 12 rooms offadjoin-

::._i prtios and a courtyard with a tiny poo1.

T:.: Chechaouan Suite is named after its- :::-centurl painted-cedar ceiling; the)..rinla Suite has a separate loggia(44-37-.:--<i. ia\ -8+78: doubies, $75-$100). A silk

-.::i.ant and 6.1 members of his family once. i: ::r lhe Riad Eniia, which now has just

: ::: :-it§- Eclectic and traditional Moroc-

-.- ^.::.c '*irh arant-garde European de-

' -=, ,: ::. "summer house.'' set among ba--:r: ir:i: ::d date palms. and the "winter- --- .i:--J: h.is Fez-st11e cut-tile mosaic

- .:- _i133.-- .':r:nli'' roofs. hand-carved.. ---,.. .,::::.- lnd §t-rod-beamed ceilings.

I ..': - ::--: j:i nini-spas. ri'here you can

have facials, massages, and various Moroc-can treatments (44 - 44 -09 -26; tiadenlja@cybernet.net.ma; doubles, $275-$3 15; &).

The cheery salmon-pink Riad Noga has

Internet access in each room and a solar-heated lap pool. Two chefs concoct deli-cious couscous and take requests for otherinternational cuisines (44-37 -7 6-70; riadnoga@iam.net.ma; doubles, S132 $192).French architect Christian Ferrö restoredthe Riad Kaiss, a red-and-white l9th-centu-ry house in an alley near the Dar Si SaidMuseum of Moroccan Arts. The eightrooms are smallby riadstandards, but some

have private terraces and the scale is com-fortably human. Tall plants and linen-cov-ered chaise iongues 1111 one of the morebeautiful riad courtyards (phone and fax,44-44-01 -41 : doubles, $ 1 2G$ I 67).

La Mamounia has recently replaced manyof its Moorish details with faux-Art Decofixtures. The best rooms still overlook thepool and I 7-acre garden (44-44-89-8 1 ; www.mamounia.com; doubles, $169-$a06; &).Twenty minutes from town on the road toOtarzazate, the Amanjena has colonnadedarcades and vast reflecting pools- {eliber-ate references to mosque architecture thatleel kin§ meshed with Aman's cult of he-

donism. But maybe that's the point at thisbubble of seven vil1as, 34 domed pavilions, ahigh-tech hammam, and an excellentrestaurant, with its privileged, privacy-seek-ing crowd (44-40-33-53; amanresorts.com;doubles,$700 $800).

You need reservations for Yacout, themedina restaurant where Bill Willis's inter-pretation ol Moroccan design is the mainpoint of interest (44-38-29-29l. prix fixe,

$54). Iobsil, another see-and-be-seen p1ace,

puts a nouvelle spin on royai Moroccan cui-slne (.44-44-40-52; prix fixe, $46, includingwine). Expats rave about the cooking at DarMarjana, in a medina house (44-38-51-10;prix fixe, $50, including wine), while youngMarrakechis flock to the Parisian worid-fu-sion scene at Le Comptoir, in the modernsuburb of Le Hiverna ge (44-43-77 -02; prixflxe, $24-$30). But my favorite tagine was

an hour out in the High Atlas, on the terraceat the Kasbah Toubkal, which has a 360-de-gree view of Berber mountain villages. Italso has simple guest rooms, if you want toattempt a dawn assault on 13,665-lootMount Toubkal, Morocco's highest sum-mit (44-48-56- I 1 ; kasbahdutoubkal.com;doubles, $30 $50; day-trip from Mar-rakech, $85, includinglunch and hiking).

ESSAOUIItAA former storage depot for almonds, theRiad Gyvo has been transformed into a mu-

seumlike space filled with conter:'.

art and Berber artifacts (44-7S-lwww.riadgyvo.com; doubles, S50: :.saouira has few taxis, so you'll need .,

stay at Dar Mimosas, a collection oi .

a garden in the mimosa forest fir;from town (44-47 -59-34; mimosas..net.ma; doubles, $260-$342). Just .

the southern gate, the new Sofitel Mog:has a large pool, a gym, and a thala..apy center. Rooms are conventional.you've been staying in riads, yolumt; .

conveniences such as room service,-90-00; www.sofitel.com; doubles, S I .

Frederic Damgaard, of the Damga:

Gallery, shows self-trained local artis:,as Mohamed Tabal, a Gnaoua trance.cian who's had shows across Europ:.Mohammed VI is a client (44-78-l--The king is also a patron of 40-ye.,.-Abdelrahim Harabida, whose smal. -lery, the Bab S'baa, is in a stairwell .:18th-century Bab S'baa gate (44-78-11 -'

TANGIERThe Kasbah, medina, and Art Deco c,ter around the Avenue Mohammed \' ..-

the center of mythic Tangier, ancMooresque Hotel Minzah is the best ba..exploring. Ask for guide Moham::'Bouzian at the front desk (39-93-58-85.

-45-46: doubles, $110-S140). On the ti:Cap Spartel, between the sea and a p.

forested mountain, Le Mirage is a ,g:,choice for summer, with 25 whitewas:.villas and a landscaped garden overlook:a vast white sand beach (39-33-ll-31.-34-92; doubles, $1 16-$503).

Le Marquis, near the medina, has gc

seafood, especially the sautöed shrimp ugarlic, and a devoted clientele of octo:narian former fashion modeis (39-94-

32; entr6es, $10).European interior decorators sour-

Moroccan material at the Boutique Majid

the medina. Owner-collector Abdel Irl.jid-who is on a first-name basis with Yr,(Saint Laurent) and John (Malkovich, u 1

hung out here while lilmtngThe Shelteri,'Sky)-keeps museum-quality Fassi we.ding curtains and other embroidered te:,

tiles packed in painted cedar trunks (39-9:

88-92). The Delacroix Art Gallery, acro,from the Hotel Minzah, showcases your:

Moroccans (39 -93-21 -34).

FEZThe riads arebigger here than in Marrakec:(with tiled courtyards rather than plante.gardens), and the decor looks back to th,

19th century. At the Dar El Ghalia, ten roomand five suites surround a soaring double

CoNt)E NAS] TRAVEI