Marrakech, with its interesting culture, remarkable monuments, great food and buzzing atmosphere, was a wonderful experience for us. Riad Arocha and its friendly staff made us feel at home and were helpful and cordial when we needed advice on things to do in town, including nightlife, and help us with our stay. The Riad was homely and furnished in beautiful Moroccan style. Most of all, it was relaxing and peaceful, all one needs after a day at the Medina!

We arrived by bus from Agadir. From the bus station the taxi driver dropped us off in front of Kaa El Mechra entrance, the northern part of the Medina. A teenage boy came forward and said he could guide us but he couldn't find it so we walked in circles and the boy had to ask others. Eventually we ended up at the front door to Riad Arocha. We gave him a generous tip of 100 dirham’s and then he and his two followers started to argue wanting another 200 dirham’s. We had to wait for the door to be opened and the boys didn't give up. We were let in and sat down, the lady in charge came in and asked how much we paid them and then she let the boy in and we had to face him again, by now we were exhausted. Why let him in?
Only French was spoken and when asking for directions a map was shown to us on where Jemaa el Fna was pointed out, it was only a 15 minute walk away “tout droit, tout droit”.
It was not and we were completely lost, After an hour we came to the square, we ate and only talked about how to get back. We decided to get out of the Medina and follow the wall until we came to the Kaa El Mechra entrance; from there we were completely lost again. We knocked on another Riad and asked for help which arrived after 20 minutes, another maze like walk back to Arocha followed. In the morning we meet other guests also having difficulties to find their way. After breakfast we joined forces and started walking, again we were confused in which way to go, we split and when we reached the square we took a hop-on-hop-off tour bus and got off at Guéliz, had lunch and then we turned our heads and went into another hotel and booked a room. Took a taxi back to Arocha, got our stuff and checked out.
The staff was unhappy about us leaving but we made our best to explain why. The Riad is nice and we were looking forward to this stay but it did not feel pleasant to have to worry so much about finding your way in and out. We knew we had to pay in full for our booked two nights stay and buy an extra night at another hotel but it was worth it! The description given by booking.com is not correct. The location is not in the heart of the medina, it’s not close to Jemaa el-Fna, and there is no panoramic view from the roof terrace.
I’m in the travel trade and with this experience I wouldn’t recommend to stay inside the medina. Better to stay outside and visit the medina and the square with an authorized guide.
Our visit to Marrakech left us baffled, too much hustle, no shopping at all!!! "Our escape from the Medina"on New Years Eve is something we can laugh at but we would have preferred to have an overall better stay!

To be honest: my first impression of this riad was not good. Our Morroccan driver had to spend a long time on his mobile before he could get someone to explain where the riad is actually located. The woman who checked us did not understand English and no one in the place could show me where the riad was located on a map. My one attempt to ask one of the staff take me to a junction that *was* marked on the Medina map turned into a 25-minute maze-like walk that failed to achieve its goal. I have to give the guy credit - he tried really hard to help us. It's just that he didn't know what we really wanted, and we couldn't tell him... our French sucks.
When we returned to the riad, frustrated, the two French women who manage the hotel were back on deck. They spoke English very and were able to help us with our questions and book a table at a nice restaurant for dinner. They also gave us the telephone number of a good taxi driver who was willing to take his cab all the way to the riad's fornt door. Not many drivers are willing to do this because it is really hard to find and they're worried they won't be able to turn around in the alleys.
The room we stayed in was beautiful - one of the best I've seen in Morrocco, and the courtyards are tastefully decorated too. I just wish the building wasn't so well hidden in the northern part of the Medina. I normally have a pretty good sense of direction, but this was too much for me to deal with. If you stay here be prepared to rely a lot on taxis. Otherwise you're better off staying somewhere further south.