Just got back from a first visit to Marrakesh and the stay in this riad.

Firstly the location. Upon exiting the taxi, we were escorted through a busy swarming market. It's only a 2 minute walk from the main gate, but the smells and sights to a new traveller visiting Marrakesh is almost overwhelming. Your first thought is "oh my God....where are we being taken?". However, we walked down 2 narrow sidestreets and entered a small corridor into the riad.

First impressions are how quiet it is. And you feel like you are in a small oasis somewhere. A charming Morrocan type building with tiled floors, walls, wood and lanterns. Plenty of plants dotted around. It felt cool and clean and was charming to sit back and enjoy the view. We were offered mint tea with some nuts which was very nice. We were then shown around a few bedrooms and the faciilties and given the choice of 2 bedrooms. There was a seperate chilling out room with TV, a plunge pool, a jacuzzi (not very private as in front of reception area) and the roof tearrace. They offered lunch and dinner facilities along with massage.

The bedrooms were clean, comfortable and functional. The beds were very comfortable and the bathroom was again clean, with a large shower. Rose petals flanked the floor and in the loo!. The rooms were cleaned daily and towels changed at least twice a day. The cleaners seem to be around the riad all day cleaning !.

The room had air conditioning and also a ceiling fan. These made the rooms cool.

The roof terrace was lovely. I would not agree with other reviews in that the view is stunning - unless you like to see lots of satelitte dishes and corrugated iron and breeze blocks on top of every roof top. Yes - you can see the occasional mosque, but stunning it isnt. But this is not the fault of the riad!!!.

The roof terrace had lots of sun chairs, but if you are sunbathing, they were not loungers ie; if you want to sunbathe your back, you would have to lie on the tiled floors. The terrace had 2 areas of canpoies by which to gather shade.

The riad offers home cooking at 225 dirhams each for lunch or 325 dirhams for dinner. On the first night we had Morrocan sald followed by lemon chicken with wine. A beautifully cooked meal.

Now onto the negatives….

Breakfast is a more unsatisfactory affair. Don’t get me wrong – I believe that you should have traditional type breakfasts. The problem was that it was the same thing. Day in day out, we had the same concoctions of Moroccan pancake, breads and fried doughnut things. You need a robust stomach to swallow that down for 7 days on the trot!. My only grievance on breakfast was that it lacked variety. Perhaps some yogurt, or cereals or even plain bread would have made the difference.

The service from the staff is attentive, but we were shown certain amounts of inflexibility during our stay. Our agent said that we could eat breakfast or dinner up on the rooftop terrace, but when we requested this, we were given excuses and a sudden lack of understanding. Funny that some guests later in the week were given this service – perhaps because they were French and we were English!!!

My partner also fell ill for a day and in fairness they supplied water. But when I asked for some bread, again I was told it was not possible. I know that we were staying in a different accommodation, but this was a frustration as I did not have the local knowledge to find some bread for her.

Lastly, the location – it is a good 20 minute walk down to the souks and the main square. Also a 20 minute walk into the new town. I know that there are riads closer to the square and you should bear this in mind. A taxi organised by the staff at the riad cost me 50 dirham. Yet when I jumped into one outside the riad of my own accord, it cost 20 dirham. Make your own conclusion.

Overall….did it deliver?. Yes it did. But I now know that there are other riads out there that are slightly better in facilities and in a better location. But as a starter, it was fine

When we got out of the taxi on the road just off which the riad is situated we were a little concerned! it is a busy and typically morrocan market street, quite dark with people selling fruit and veg and meat (dead and alive!) with a constant stream of bikes, donkey carts and cars. The riad is just off a one of the side streets and on entering the beautiful courtyard all the noise from outside dissapeared! We were greeted by the lovely friendly staff who brought us tea and a selection of fruit and nuts. We were then taken to our rooms which were beautiful, morrocain in style with tiling, fire place, traditional lamps and a wonderful bathroom with a massive tiled shower and rose petals sprinkled around, something that was done everyday more than once! very romantic. The hotel has a pool and a jacuzzi neither of which we used as most of our time was spend on the fantastic roof terrace which was breathtaking. lots of places to sit and sunbathe with cacti and plants all around with lovely views over the city and we could even see the mountains on clear days. it was really one of the best features of the hotel apart from majid!! he seems to work everyday all day but still smiles and is very helpful and polite, a true gent! he was always on hand to prove you with drinks on the roof terrace or whereever you wish to sit (there is a lovely spot by the pool too!) and he was always there to let you in at night and serve breakfast in the morning! he really did make our stay really comfortable. would recommend the riad to couples as i think all the rooms have only double beds, we were there for one week and couldn't have wished for a better riad!

We visted Marrakech at Easter after spending time in Madrid and Casablanca. Having visited Tunisia and Turkey before we thought we knew what we were in for interms of the soukhs. The Riad is hidden down an alley in the centre of the soukh and we found it difficult to locate running the gauntlet of several would be "guides" but that is about the only thing I would complain of in this holiday.

Our room gave us all the atmosphere we had imagined, sultry ambience, plush upholstery, colourful decor and romance. The beautifully decorated bathroom was strewn with rose petals and the room had all of the "extras" that make you go "Oooohh!" like fluffy bath gowns, perfume and body lotion as well as soap. It certainly made me come over all romantic - if I had been on honeymoon this room would certainly have put me in the mood for love!

The hotel very deliberately does not have televisions or internet but you would go to a different type of establishment if you wanted that. also I don't think I would want to bring children here. Our room was the smallest but still had a big double bed and sitting room area. As for noise - we were never disturbed by other guests or noise from outside.

The staff were attentive, helpful and ever present. They gave us tea and cakes on arrival, a tour of the other rooms, the pool, massage room and the roof terrace and were able to give us directions and order guides and taxis whenever we needed them.

Location aside I would definitely recommend this riad and when we return to Marrakech I wouldn't mind staying there again.

Unfortunately this riad didn't live up to the promises they made on their website. The standard of maintenance was poor, and the location inconvenient. The staff spoke no English, which is inconvenient in a French-speaking country as most of the locals speak no English either.

The rooms were not really clean with rubbish left from previous guests.

Maybe there is a true luxury riad available in Marrakech - this just isn't it.