Wednesday 28th March 2018.- my wife Barbara's birthday when I always take her out for dinner. We decided on the Caravanne restaurant at the Fairmont Royal Palm Hotel, near Marrakech, and took the afternoon flight from London, planning to spend two days there and then three days at the Al Medina hotel in the coastal town of Essaouria.

Dinner was excellent but my breathing became difficult and the hotel called a doctor. Forty five minutes later I was in an emergency ambulance with lights flashing and siren on, bound for Marrakech – my last recollection of that night.

Next day I regained consciousness in a pristine hospital room with several Moroccan medical staff staring down at me. In what became almost a surreal situation a very English voice said, "I am Dr Amrani and you were admitted here at the Private CIM Cardiac Clinic last night from the Fairmont Hotel. I have been a heart surgeon at London's Harefields Hospital for more than 20 years. (England's top cardiac hospital ) and I live in London at Harrow on The Hill but today I have two operations here in Marrakech."
He then advised me I was in a very serious condition and needed a quadruple bypass operation. When I asked how serious this was, his response was simply that "if we operate now there is a very good chance of success," and he would rearrange one of his other operations. The next morning I awoke in intensive care to be told by Dr Amrani that the operation had been a success, and I am eternally grateful to him,his anaethetist and all his team.

Back at the Fairmont, Barbara had returned four hours after my admittance, to get all the help and assistance from the night manager and his staff. A member of staff even visited the Clinic to be updated on the position.

Shortly after flowers and get well card were signed by the manager and staff were delivered to her room. My son and daughter arrived later from London and were allocated the last room in the hotel – a beautiful villa in the grounds at a room rate, until I came out of Intensive care.

After a week in the Clinic I convalesced at the hotel for two weeks and experienced a level of help, service and friendliness from every member of staff in all departments, such as I could not have imagined after 50 years of hotel ownership.

Afif Salibi, the General Manager and all his staff exemplify hotelkeeping at its best.