I have to question how some hotels receive their reviews. This Riad is well placed for most of the souks, main square and main sights. However the walking is done amongst cars, vans, motor bikes, cycles and even horse drawn carriages using the same narrow confined space. It is an area totally unsuitable for anyone with any mobility difficulties at all in view of the uneven street without pavements with many obstructions. Just to make it worse there is the intense traffic pollution and none stop harassment to contend with.
The Riad itself is quite beautiful if a little basic. The staff are very friendly and helpful but some are a little inexperienced. The breakfast is not particularly good and the dinner is only average and not particularly cheap. Eating out is a much better option for those able to venture out.
Be warned... we stayed in early December and our first three days were very cold, no more than 13C by day dropping to 2C at night. This meant that there was nowhere in the Riad where it was warm enough to sit except our room which did have a large fan heater.
We were very surprised that we were not told that the pool and the area around it was to be closed for repair. I found out by accident and did request a discount or upgrade which was given. However this was not adequate compensation for having nowhere at all on the premises to sit in the sun which was the only way to get warm.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
February 11, 2013
It is strange that this reviewer should question “how some hotels get their reviews”. In so doing, while raising various negative issues himself, he appears to be aware that he is taking a contrary view to that of the vast majority of reviewers of Les Borjs on this site. Being in a minority, of course, does not necessarily invalidate contrary views. However, at the risk of sounding complacent (for which there is no more room at Les Borjs than there should be anywhere else) it must be significant that, of 284 reviews on Trip Advisor, 95% have rated the hotel ‘excellent’ or ‘very good’, a figure very similar to the hotel’s own questionnaire ratings over the years and those of Expedia clients. That said, it would seem that this reviewer had particular issues with Marrakech itself and, if so, this might to some extent explain his attitude, especially if he or his wife had mobility problems. Marrakech is indeed noisy, dusty, congested and the traffic chaotic and one needs to take this into consideration when booking such a destination. I hoped our website had made this clear, but perhaps not. The Marrakech medina, like all others in the Arab world, is comprised of a maze-like network of narrow dusty passages and lanes all of which require one, at times, to be somewhat lively on one’s feet to dodge horse-drawn caleches, donkeys, mobylettes and street sellers. But this, for many, is part of the very appeal of the place. The Marrakech medina apart, however, I suggest that this review (from a ‘Senior Contributor’) is guilty of the same failing that can be seen in many others, that is, by implying shortcomings but without the essential explanatory detail. Thus, the riad is: “quite beautiful, if a little basic”. How so? “The breakfast is not particularly good”. Again, in what way did breakfast fall short of expectations? The staff are described as being: “friendly and helpful but some are a little inexperienced”. How was this evident? Sadly, therefore, we just don’t know what the reviewer is getting at. By the way, most of our staff are in fact very experienced, especially those in charge of reception, bar and restaurant, all of whom have been with the hotel for several years. As to the pool, we made a decision in August to close it for two weeks in December for essential repairs (in fact, now operational again, it has been completely retiled and the heating system overhauled). We announced this on our website in September on the Home page, and elsewhere, and in an announcement on Trip Advisor. Those booking direct with us were offered a reduction of 50% in consideration. It is true that mornings and evenings from late November to mid February can be cool; our website points this out. It also says that typical daily temperatures in December range from 6 to 18 degrees. I doubt the figures claimed by this reviewer of ‘2 to 13 degrees’. Because of the open plan nature of their design riads are not typically cosy places, in the northern European sense, during the short, cool Moroccan winter. However, it is inaccurate to suggest that: “there was nowhere warm to sit” because Les Borjs has a heated bar as well as a small comfortable lounge with an efficient electric heater; this also applies, needless to say, to the rooms themselves.
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
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