Riad Dar Kmissa

My wife and I, in our early 60’s, stayed at the Riad Dar Khmissa for eight nights in January, 2012. It has a GREAT location. The Riad is in the midst of the Medina, or Old Town area and within a short (3 minute) walk to the souks and the Djemaa El-Fna .

However, while the Medina swirls around you in what we can only term controlled chaos, the Dar Khmissa sits in a quiet back alley away from the crowds and noise. As others have pointed out, it is a peaceful oasis in the middle of a human maelstrom. And, once you walk to and from it once or twice, it is not hard to find again.

The owners and staff were very helpful. They created a very relaxed atmosphere that made us feel welcome and, moreover, that they were happy to meet any reasonable request graciously and expeditiously. For example, one of the owners met us at the airport,, which made our arrival an easy one, and one of the staff gladly did our laundry without asking for compensation (although we voluntarily gave her 15 dollars for what we figured was about 3 hours effort).

The room was small but quite sufficient for our needs. One small matter was that the shower had no enclosure so water tended to spread across a good portion of the tiled bathroom floor.

Internet access was good. This is in striking contrast to our subsequent experience in Essaouira and Safi.

We had only one problem with the Riad. As Americans with very lousy French, communication was an issue. The owners and the staff spoke either no or very limited English, which prevented us from taking advantage of their local knowledge and advice as much as we world have liked.

One small further observation. As others have noted, a Riad physical setup is different from a hotel. If there is a group of people that arrive late at night and eat or drink before retiring, or you asre still asleep when the staff begins to prepare breakfast, they are not in a room but in an open courtyard that can reverberate to your room. This was only a real problem for us one night and then for only a half hour or so. We did use soft foam earplugs as a precaution during our stay.

On balance, we felt it was, overall, a very good value and would likely stay there again despite the language difficulty. We will just have to work on our French. But we do feel the Riad would benefit from an English-speaking staff member, who undoubtedly would help attract guests from the United States, Great Britain, Ireland and other predominately English-speaking countries that regularly send tourists to Morocco.

a truly wonderful stay. the riad was clean, and the staff was superb. from a timely airport pick-up, to a free upgrade on our room (our first night we were the only guests staying at the riad, so they bumped us up to a suite without any additional charge), to an unexpected but delightful guided tour through marrakech upon our arrival-from vincent the main host. vincent was helpful in pointing out best places to eat in the square, as well as getting us oriented to a city that is easy to get lost in. isham (the evening/overnight host) and layla (kitchen assistant) were extremely personable and kind. and beiga (sp?) the dada and resident chef was fabulous - our first meal, (four courses: two soups, salads, featuring a delicious chicken and olive tagine as the entree, followed by a delightful orange and strawberry iced dessert) was one of the best we had during our two-week stay in morocco.

great location. luxurious rooms. beautiful rooftop terrace. free laundry upon request. tasty food. free wifi. great board games (scrabble!). all in all, a wonderful place to stay and highly recommended!

We just got back from our stay at Riad Dar Khmissa. It was a lovely stay, it was clean, comfortable and they certainly made us feel welcome. The dinner although a tad expensive was delightful. Breakfast is fantastic and we thoroughly enjoyed it. The Riad was so clean and tidy and in a really fabulous location. It could not be better really safe area and literally 3mins walk to the square. The only downsides are that I booked this thinking there was a swimming pool- there wasnt and that the door bell can wake you up during the night/in the morning. Aside from that I would recommend this Riad.

Spectacular experience! Exceeded our highest expectations! A romantic oasis of tranquility, beauty and care in a high-paced city. A real surprise. The perfect location--down a quiet alley, 3 minutes walk to Jemaa, the centre of Marrakesh and 100s of market shops. The management and staff were warm, anticipatory, funny and perfectionist, an amazing combination. The other guests were all enjoyable. Superb decor, excellent meals including lunch and dinner options. Mellow rooftop lounges to read, eat, drink, chat with other guests and snooze.And inexpensive. Highly recommended.