Just came back from 8 days in Marrakech (Dec 2007). This quaint riad proved to be excellent value. Very peaceful, clean, and tremendously charming. The perfect hideaway immersed in old world charm.

I suppose we were lucky to be the only guests staying at the time due to it being low season....but this made the experience all the more wonderful........we had the whole riad to ourselves!.......Most of all, praise must go to the staff (Yusef & Hayat) who took care of us.Thank you for a pleasant stay.

The only thing this riad lacks is a TV (never mind if its communal) and perhaps a PC for internet access....otherwise, its highly recommendable and we're already planning another visit there.

This riad is so beautiful and full of character although we were a little scared at first! This is because, as is usual with riads, to reach it you have to walk down a twisting little alley, then a smaller alleyway, before reaching a four-foot-tall alice-in-wonderland type door set into the wall.

Stepping through it you will find yourself in the spacious courtyard where we enjoyed pancakes, coffee, and the best fresh oj every morning.

The three-level house is built in a square around the courtyard with a pretty roof terrace above for sunbathing.

The rooms are quite large, stylishly decorated and the beds are comfy. Each room has an ensuite bathroom.

The staff are very helpful and considerate of your comfort. The manager, Youssef, speaks English and any questions you have i.e. how to spot good jewellery, where to change traveller's cheques etc; he will help you out with pleasure. The remainder of the staff speak a fair amount of French; so a few basic French phrases will come in very handy.

The magic ingredients of this riad is firstly how peaceful and quiet it is. It's refreshing to return to the calm of this guesthouse after the madness of the medina.

The other is the informality and friendliness of the place. Because it is quite small, the staff get to know you quite well. We stayed for four days before travelling out to the coast and returning for one day. As we made our way back for our second stay, it really felt like we were returning home.

Reviewer: British resident in Morocco

Feel the rave reviews of the Riad el az need to be balanced. For the same price, you can find much better quality riads. The main problem with the riad was that it completely lacked charm; there was an eerie silence and you could hear everyone's conversations. The riad offers little privacy in this respect. Also, we were woken up at 7.00am by people having their breakfast right outside our door.

Another problem was that the en suite bathrooms do not have doors. This is absurd! I for one will never stay in a place which does not have doors on the bathroom. I definitely will never go back there!!!

We stayed here at the end of January for 3 nights, for a short children-free break!! We found the Riad fairly easy, first we took a taxi from the airport to the nearby hospital and then a young boy took us to the Riad (a short walk away), for a few dirhams. We found the Riad easily after that first time.

The Riad was exactly how it is portrayed in the photos I've seen, however, my first impression was that it was a little more tired than I had imagined. That aside, I really loved the decor and found it very tranquil away from all the hussle and bustle.

I would say it was very tidy and was clean to a reasonable level. It was very quiet the whole time we were there, as there was only one other couple staying there and only rare appearances from staff.

It was very cold when we were there, but they had portable radiators and gas heaters in rooms, which helped alot. I also noticed a new air-con unit in our room (I'm assuming all the rooms did, although I didnt check).

The courtyard and rooftop terrace were really nice, and I imagine on a nice sunny day it would be more enjoyable than our experience (we did sit on the roof once,but in our fleeces and freezing!)

The walk to the square took around 10 mins and wasnt a bad spot within the Old Medina, but I think I would've prefered one of the Riads that were in the Souks, so you were more in the heart of it all.

We really enjoyed our stay here and would recommend this Riad, however, have not seen any others so I have nothing to compare.