We spent a fabulous week in September at this Riad, the team could not do enough to help us. We will return, but perhaps as more of a weekend break next time. Trust Abdess's restaurant recommendations, we ate in some amazing places. The Mai Thai was amazing.

Warning....if you do the horse riding trip be aware that the half day option involves 3 hours of solid riding and does not include lunch at a Berber village as detailed. The ranch where we were taken had no English speaking guides or staff. Funnily enough, no matter how slowly and loudly they spoke we could still not understand them. If you like trekking through waste land for a gruelling 3 hours straight and at one point tracking a wild boar that our guide spotted maybe this trip is for you. Well give it a miss next time.

Visit the Artisans before braving the souks, and then try and get it cheaper. It will give you a real idea of what you should be paying.

We did miss having a swimming pool throughout our stay but spent the day at the Beldi County Club which was relaxing although the food was a little disappointing.

We also visited the Ozude Cascade which was a little more exercise than I had anticipated but was totally worth the effort. If you have trouble navigating down steep hillside or climbing countless steps maybe this isn't for you.

Make sure you get the airport mega early when departing. The ques are crazy and we made it to the gate with 3 mins to spare, with no time to raid duty free dispite arriving at the airport 2 and a half hours before departing. They do not care if you miss your flight either so just be prepared. You cannot spend your local currency when you go through security apart from buying snacks.

All in all we had an amazing stay and can't recommend the Riad highly enough.

My wife and I stayed at the Riad during a visit to Marrakech in September 2012. The Riad has a real authentic feel with lots of original features in our room. We both enjoyed the hospitality and the wonderful atmosphere, including opulent breakfasts in our room. The staff was always very helpful and made the whole experience a very memorable one.

This is THE place to stay in Marrakech. The team at Riad El Mansour are warm, professional and ensure they do everything they can to make your stay enjoyable and comfortable. My husband and I stayed here for 4 nights in September 2012 and the service from the time of booking right til our final farewells was first class. Make sure you stay at this riad if you're after:

- A traditional, authentically Morrocan-styled riad: the riad itself is beautifully appointed and furnished and had the nice cosy feel to it, compared to some of the bigger hotel chains.

- The best hospitality: the entire team at the riad were kind, helpful and were eager to please. Abdess, the manager, had arranged an airport transfer for us and were welcomed at the airport by Mustafa and his big smile! When we arrived at the riad, we were treated to mint tea and the most delicious biscuits and pastries. We arrived pretty early in the morning and the team made sure our room was ready as soon as possible, as they guessed that we had been up quite early to make our flight. After being shown to our room, Abdess gave us a tour of the riad and also provided us with a map of the city and highlighted all the major sites and points of interest, and was super helpful in answering all our questions.

- Beautiful rooms: we stayed in the Jonquil room on the first floor, which I think is one of the least expensive and perhaps smaller (?) rooms, but it was the perfect size for two. The room had fresh flowers, a fruit basket, pastries and dried nuts on arrival. It also had the modern comforts of an air conditioner and and iPod dock, which was useful as there was no TV (but to be honest, there's really no need for a TV in the room when there are so many other places to relax in the riad, ie the rooftop terrace or their courtyard). I adored the toiletries - beautiful soaps, shower gels and fragrant shampoo etc. The room also had a safe, which is always important to us when travelling. The Jonquil room was a great place to come back to after a long day out.

- Good location: the riad is located within the Medina and is about a 20 minute walk from the main square. A taxi can take you up to a 3-minute walk away from the riad (so definitely book a taxi to the riad when you first arrive). Abdess' map made it easy for us to know where we were going and how to get back. The riad is at a quiet end of the street and there were always many locals about, even during the night. Some locals tried to trick us to tell us that we were heading the wrong way when we were returning to the riad at night, but luckily Abdess' map and detailed instructions and tips served us well! The riad is also nowhere near a mosque, which is very important if you want a good night's sleep (as I believe the call to prayer can sometimes start as early as 5am in the morning)!

- The most amazing Moroccan meals: breakfasts were always filling and they always made fresh Moroccan pastries. We also did a cooking class with Latifa was great. It was more of a demonstration, which was just as well - I don't know if the meal would have been as delicious if we had cooked it ourselves. It was an honour for us to watch Latifa at work and we loved the chicken lemon and olive tagine dish. It was our favourite meal during our time in Morocco!

- Other extras: we also used had the hammam and massage, which was so relaxing; we took a trip to the Atlas Mountains with one of their drivers Hassan, who was warm, spoke fantastic English, and stopped at any time that we requested for that perfect photo opportunity; the team also organised door to door taxis for restaurant bookings to take all the stress out of trying to find a taxi at night and bargaining a fair price.

All in all, our stay at Riad El Mansour was truly memorable and we'd definitely recommend this charming riad to anyone who is considering visiting Marrakech. You'll be in great hands.

For my 36th Birthday I travelled to Marrakesh,
Stayed at Riad El Mansour which was simply the best,
The staff were so helpful, friendly and kind,
So willing to offer advice and their time,
Treasured memories of a four night stay,
The crazy square both at night and day,
Many sights to see and places to go,
Marrakesh, I thank you, I'll miss you so.

Thank you Latima, Moustafa, Wadi, Abdess and Robert and everyone else who made this a fantastic city break. Perfect in everyway. Shokran. Sarah and Richard