If you are going to Marrakech we highly recommend Riad Magellan. First the Riad is gorgeous and the rooms and common areas stunning. Rose petals float in the fountain in the center of the Riad. The staff is all service and good humor. My son and I are traveling the world for 100 days with the search for the source of the finest spices and herbs as our thread. We stumbled on Riad Magellan, Phillipe and Stephanie's dream riad and lucked out. Phillipe was so generous in helping us find the markets and out lying areas where spices come from and are sold in the souqs. The staff took care of our every need. We also are applying our new found understanding of spices by cooking along the way and we let Phillipe know so the first night he hooked us up with Amina and we helped her prep dinner. Phillipe made sure we got the recipes too. Dinner was THE best meal we had in Morocco. Nothing like home cooking. The atmosphere in the Riad is one of friendship and family and we interacted with the other travelers there as well., We shared day and night time treks out into the souqs and into the city and exchanged stories late into the evening, by the fireplace with wine, of everything from dealing with touts and monkeys on our backs to other places traveled to. One couple from England scoped out all the rooms before they left so they could plan a return to fill the place with all their friends. I can't say enough good about Riad Magellan. Don't miss it.

Clean, uncluttered balance between traditional Moroccan and contemporary design. Convenient for Djemma el Fna with that important extra of kind and helpful staff and service - and a lovely fire place - believe me you need it on those January nights. Will return.

It was a smooth journey from the airport to the Riad, having let the owner (Philippe) know in advance the day before on email. Upon reaching we were immediately greeted with tea and snacks and given a run down on possible places to visit, general tips for travel and a helpful answer to our many many questions. The Riad is located very close to the Medina (about 5 min walk) and although the little roads can get confusing we were provided with a map that helped us navigate our way around. The rooms were very comfortable and the only small problem we faced was the heat of the water from the shower which fluctuated between cold to scalding. Apart from this, breakfast was wholesome and delicious all three days, the guard Mohammed was a star with any little requests we had post dark and it really is a beautiful building. I don't think I'd visit Marrakech again but if I were to, I'd stay here. Thanks Philippe!

Having never experienced anything similar to Marrakech before it is fair to say I was a little intimidated at first. But from the moment we were greeted by our luggage porter (the Riad is in the heart of the Medina so our transport was met at the nearest gate) I started to relax. His beaming smile and open gestures meant that despite only understanding some of his French we knew we were in good hands.

Weaving through the streets and alleyways we started to marvel and wonder at our surroundings. The dark wood door of the Riad opens into a light and airy courtyard and once inside the hustle and bustle of the Medina is replaced by tranquil trickle of the water feature. We were warmly welcomed (plenty of mint tea) and settled in and also provided with maps, directions, a few highlights and importantly, a couple of key identifiers to help us get back to the Riad.

Our room (the Red room) had a comfortable 'lounge' area downstairs along with a bathroom that housed the biggest bath I have ever used. A staircase led up to the mezzanine bedroom. Everything about the room was great - comfy bed, clean and tidy, good lighting; I could even get on to the wifi from the room (very useful for planning our day's activities). Back to the bath - honestly, it is huge, so much so that I thought there would never be enough hot water to fill it, so we put it to the test. Needless to say the tap never ran cold and a relaxing, bubble filled mega-bath proved the perfect unwind after a day in the souks.

We met Philippe the owner on our second day and he made a point of introducing himself and making sure we were settled in. He subsequently helped us with several touristy queries including researching and booking a hot air balloon flight, all without fuss. It is always nice to stay somewhere that the owner is involved, there is much more care and attention and Philippe was the epitome of that. We didn't dine in of an evening but we filled ourselves on the breakfast each morning.

Despite our initial reservations about Marrakech we left having loved our few days and are sure that a big part of that was our great experience at Riad Magellan.