Morocco Group Vacation Review: Fez Riad Stay, Medina Markets Guided Tour, Sahara Desert, Marrakesh

Morocco was a fun destination and we got a really good overview of the country.  Our guide and drive were quite good.  But there were some challenges and as opposed to my previous two five-star Zicasso trips (to New Zealand and Patagonia) this one wasn't as well executed by the travel agency.  First off they sub-contracted to a different agency and didn't seem as knowledgeable about our destination(s), not to mention that likely because of this one more middle man we didn't seem to get as much value for the money spent.  Two of the hotels were changed without notice (one from a Riad which would have really enjoyed to a lower grade hotel that was subpar in Ouarzazate (dirty and quite cheap) and the second subpar place was an old run down place in Marrakech-- so bad that when we returned to Marrakech later in the trip we ended up booking our own place.  We were also oddly booked for two nights in Ouarzazate even though there is little to do there.  The travel agent gave an excuse about why that place was worth it but his answer betrayed the fact that there is a good chance he's never been to that town.