Ifrane was founded in 1928 by French settlers from various regions, who chose to mimic architectural styles from home…….sloping tiled roofs, and single family buildings. It sits in the crater of a former volcano at 1,713m above sea level.
IFRANE DAY 1
The rain continues to fall in Ifrane so definitely no golf today. Lucky that the hotel has a huge spa offering a multitude of different treatments, and a nice gym with good equipment. The weather forecast is for clearing later today with a decent but quite cool day tomorrow…….ok frickin cold day tomorrow, but no rain! I am working out in the gym then blogging…….the rest of the gang is working out also, then they plan to take a trip out to the course for a look see, before returning for some spa time.
They are raving about the course when they return, saying it is beautiful, etc.,etc., and that there was not one golfer out on the course, even though the weather had cleared, it had warmed slightly, and the sun was out……..should have gone along and taken the clubs……..it was playable as far as I was concerned. The tee sheet for tomorrow was totally blank……..except for us……..the whole place to ourselves…….should be great.
Our room situation improved somewhat after a discussion with the manager this morning and he promised an upgrade. While everyone was out, I went to the new room with staff and found it to be much better, on an upper floor, with a big corner balcony and great views of the property. I wasn’t in there long before the call came in asking me to move again due to a water problem on that floor outside the new room, and would I mind?………..off we go again. Down one floor and into an area with only 4 rooms off a large central lounging area……..I walk into the new room…….big entry hall, into the living room, stroll past the overstuffed couch and into the master suite………yes, now they have realized who they are dealing with!!! I joke with the manager later and tell him, maybe if you moved me a couple more times I would have ended up in the Presidential Suite.
The goats provide a blow by blow of their hammam this afternoon, and it sure sounds interesting. They are part of the lifestyle here in Morocco with many people doing them weekly. I’ll leave it up to you to look that one up, but Jutta sure feels smooth.
We have been gathering pre dinner downstairs in the huge lobby lounge area with multiple big couch, big chair, enclaves organized between massive stone pillars……..choosing to sit in one particular area in a back corner to avoid the cigarette smoke…….yes inside smoking allowed.
Service here in the hotel leaves a little to be desired……everyone is very nice mind you, but the phrase “Lost in Translation” comes to mind a number of times per day. We hoped dinner tonight would be in the second hotel restaurant called “Oriental” and we all thought it would be Chinese Food…….yum…….already counting my chicken balls, and craving the combo fried rice……..turns out it is a Lebanese themed joint, and it is closed until tomorrow. I suggest we eat here in the lounge as I had seen others do yesterday and we ask for menus……..couldn’t be worse than yesterday so we give it a go, and it actually wasn’t that bad…….a bit pubby, but the rest of the crew had some lunch out at the golf club so just perfect for them.
Our window for golf is tomorrow, and that is it. One day of reasonable golf weather before the skies open up again. Group decision to loose a day on our Ifrane stay at Michlifen, and get down off this gorgeous mountain to some warmer/drier weather. Our hotel in Marrakech can accommodate us so it is done.
IFRANE DAY 2
Breakfast at Michlifen is one of those buffet extravaganzas but with a very nice Moroccan twist. Absolutely stuffed ourselves getting some fuel in the engine for a day out in the cold…….thats the bullshit I came up with, and excuse for eating so damn much. I also managed to snag half a loaf of bread and a few pounds of cold cuts…..cut it lengthwise into a hoagie…….and had lunch ready in the bag, just in case I needed a snack.
The golf club presents itself beautifully, but it is deserted, and the pro shop is sold out of pretty much everything…….Jutta grabbed a hat for me…..little early present…….and I’m sure there won’t be too many Michlifen Golf & Country Club hats back home, so it’s a keeper. Being the only people on the tee sheet today, we can tee off whenever the hell we want, so after a quick trip down to the driving range we head to the first tee. Interesting note…….as mentioned previously it is pretty cold today, but expected to warm up a little by noon……How cold is it?……..I have never had to break ice to loosen the balls in my pyramid on the driving range before, so today was a first for that.
The course………ordered by Mohammed VI the King of Morocco, a golf lover, could be nothing other than a signature course if Jack was going to build it. Signature courses are personally designed and overseen by the legend himself, and if you are the King, then that is what you get. It only took a few holes to realize that this was not a Nicklaus masterpiece, but was nicely done and was very playable. Generous fairways, and fairly accessible greens……..moving back a tee box made it more difficult for us short hitters, and playing from the tips would have made it a “BEAR”. Not that he dumbed it up or anything, but the only real defense the course had was length. I guess you don’t build a course for the king that he has to play bogey golf on now do you?…….the odd par and birdie would have to be gettable.
Course prep was over the top for the first week of December with perfect greens, fairways still had plenty of grass but it was dwindling, tee boxes were immaculate, framed with a gravel border, and barely a divot mark to be found. I thought we might be a bit more up and down after seeing the view from the clubhouse, but basically played flat along a plateau except for holes 9 – 17 – 18, which had exposure to a cliff edge, and were really beautiful. John and I finished in 3 hours, with the ladies right on our tail. Jutta was keen to play some more so headed back to #1, but after hitting approaches into #2, and with the sun hidden behind the clouds, we decided to book it back to the clubhouse and catch the hotel shuttle with the gang. Nice experience but won’t be going back in a hurry.
Dinner tonight at Oriental was great even though I couldn’t even get a little chop suey. We are on the road tomorrow morning……leaving 7 degrees, and heading to 20……..5-6 hour ride to Marrakech……
HUGEBLOGSITE 
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