Typical, I thought, as the pilot came on the tannoy and informed us that “we’ve hit a thunder storm six miles from Marrakech” I had been looking forward to a February week in a converted Palace in the warm sun of the North African continent.

We circled the storm enveloping the ‘Pearl of Morocco’ then broke through the vast clouds bank to find an ocean of maroon dessert below us and baked red mud plains in the distance. Down below us was Marrakech, the “Red City”, it was then I could see how the whole metropolis could be generalised by a single colour.

Despite the drizzle I knew we were going to be well received. Through the crowd I could see two immaculately dressed gentlemen in black holding a ‘Welcome from Cadogan’ plaque, with my name on it. We drove from the airport in the shiny black Mercedes, passing palm-fringed roads as we headed towards the ancient Arab quarter. Up ahead loomed the foothills of the majestic snow capped Atlas Mountains.

In Marrakech there are really two options as far as hotels are concerned – you can be either inside or outside the town walls, which are know here as the Median. The hotels in the outer part of the city tends to be quieter, but the architecture is from more recent times and is slightly less inspired than what you will find inside the old town. We were lucky enough to be staying in the Palais Sebban hotel, which is one of several old Riads in the centre of Marrakech. A Riad is an old converted palace, normally with an internal garden, and by definition they are almost all located within the boundary of the Medina. Due to a combination of their architecture and location, the Riads manage to score on both counts, having a great location, but also being protected from the chaos outside by their high walls.