The first village to be established in Morocco was Al Hoceima in 1963. Facing El Pinon, a small Spanish fort located on an islet, Al Hoceima was nestled in the heart of a eucalyptus forest within a national park. A village of traditional huts from its inception, Al Hoceima was geared towards tennis and horseback riding. Inaugurated in 1963 by
Hassan II, King of Morocco, required guests to transit through Tangier or Rabat before arriving at the village after long bus journeys. Aware of the problems this caused for guests and the club, Hassan II offered, in 1964, the construction of an international airport very close to the village. Al Hoceima closed in 2003 for economic reasons. On February 24, 2004, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake caused numerous casualties in this wilaya (province).
In 1966, Club Med opened the Agadir village. This initiative was bold, but it marked the beginning of the tourism boom for the region. Six years earlier, Agadir was struck by a devastating earthquake measuring 5.7 on the Richter scale. This earthquake, the deadliest in Moroccan history (15,000 victims and approximately 30,000 injured), largely destroyed the city of Agadir.
The club was the first tourist complex to be established there and secured a prime location directly on the beachfront. In Agadir, the club achieved a double success, as it was the first permanent village in the club network to be open year-round. The main attraction is golf, with the renowned Golf des Dunes course located a few kilometers from the village, which regularly hosts high-level international competitions.
What really struck the GOs in Agadir was the first village where a GO had their own room…
HURP GO, two seasons in Agadir
Having worked as a sailing GO (Gentil Organisateur) during university holidays between 1968 and 1972, I continued to frequent the club as a GM (Gentil Membre, or Guest Manager). Those were the good old days of Club Med, when everyone was on a first-name basis, when we ate at tables of eight, when the villages only accommodated a few hundred people, and when the evening entertainment was fun.
I don't recognize Club Med today at all. The villages are gigantic, some restaurant tables are reserved for guests who order wine from the wine list, like in Gregolimano, for example, and signing up for paid waterskiing or sailing courses is essential if you want to do more than a three-minute spin or a thirty-minute outing each day. Room prices vary depending on the room's orientation and the view. The GMs who now pay top dollar have become demanding and sometimes even complainers.
For all these reasons, I stopped going to the club a few years ago, which no longer corresponds at all to the one from the time of Gilbert Trigano, the poor man, if he saw what Club Med has become!