My wife and I stayed at the Riad Ilayka for 3 nights in mid January. We were both a little worried about the timing of our trip at this time of the year. As it turned out our worries were unfounded as the weather in Marrakesh was superb - sunny but not overbearingly hot - and the centre of Marrakesh was bustling but not overwhelmed by crowds of tourists. Due to bad weather at Gatwick our flight was delayed and we did not arrive until late in the evening. It was then that our fantastic Riad Ilayka experience kicked in. We were met at or taxi drop-off point by Hassan and Abdou who are ever present to offer help. They carried our bags as we negotiated the narrow alleyways of the medina and souks to the door of our Riad. Totally impossible to find with a map and very reassuring to have our guides show us the way. As we entered the large wooden door of the Riad we were warmly greeted by the proprietor Nadia and offered our first of many tastings of delicious Moroccan tea. Our bags were taken to our room while we settled down in the peaceful courtyard dining area for a delicious late evening meal of traditional Moroccan food including a delicious chicken tagine and a bottle of wine. The food in the Riad is possibly the best you would find anywhere in this exhilarating small city and it is one of the few places in the Medina where it is possible to get an alcoholic drink.
We were shown to our beautiful room, one of eight individually decorated in traditional Moroccan style giving an overall appearance of a palace straight out of 1001 Arabian Nights! After an excellent night’s sleep it was down to breakfast cooked by Halima and Bouchra whose smiles radiated around the Riad. We spent our first day strolling around the Souks and square sidestepping the snake charmers, storytellers, gymnasts and many others that night and day gravitate towards this world famous square and once again Hassan and Abdou were on hand to familiarise us with the locality where it is so easy to get lost.
Our second day was in total contrast to the first. We were taken by our guide Azziz into the Atlas mountains by our own 4x4 Camel for the highlight of our trip (adil.camel@gmail.com) We delighted in the fantastic scenery, visited a Berber market, a women’s co-operative where Argon oil is produced by hand and had lunch with a Berber family in a remote mountain village. An unforgettable experience and a must for any visitor to Marrakesh.
All of the staff at the Riad Ilayka are super friendly and no request is too great, including asking for an open log fire to be lit in our room – surely something that would not be allowed in any Western hotel but entirely safe and cosy in our Arabian Palace! On the rare occasion when one of our questions could not be answered by Nadia a phone call was made to the Riad manager Moutaa who was on holiday in Paris and we were able to discuss our needs with her across the continents. Such service and attention to detail is in my experience unequalled. Thank you to everyone for making our stay so perfect.

My family and I booked 2 rooms and were very pleased with our choice to stay at Riad Ilayka. Navigating the narrow backstreets we arrived at a modest entrance and were delighted when we saw the beautiful decor that opened up. The furnishings made us feel part of the exotic locale and were much more interesting than the usual hotel room. Breakfast was delicious, the beds comfortable and the marketplace is mere minutes away. We could not have expected more - but more is what we got!

As delightful as the accommodations were the best part was clearly the exceptional service. From the moment we arrived, everyone on the staff made us feel genuinely welcomed and were constantly alert for any unmet needs. From arranging transportation, helping us locate sites of interest (yes, on several occasions a staff member walked with us to sites we had difficulty finding), and providing those little conveniences like an electrical adaptor, Moutaa and her staff went to great lengths to ensure that we enjoyed a most pleasant stay. I'll gladly recommend Riad Ilyaka to my closest friends.

Our group booked 5 rooms out of their total 7 rooms and there're no other guests so we pretty much have the place for ourselves.

This place is so beautiful I feel like I am living in a magazine. The service is excellent. We were having trouble walk to the maze to reach this hotel but the manager always send someone to pick us up from the square here and back. When we ask how they prepare the mint tea, the manager eagerly gave us the demonstration and a quick lesson, when we make a request they even buy us the good quality moroccan tea for us.

We Thai people love taking pictures (especially my family) so we were having a great time here. It looks beautiful in every corners. My family were every picky about breakfast and I think we were giving them hard times ordering too many things but they were service-minded people and always responded quickly to our demands.

The manager is very helpful in helping us planing our trips in Marakesh we won't be able to do it without her, thanks Moutaa Chraibi. She also accompanied us to shopping! Without her we would not enjoy our shopping as we did, she is one aggressive bargainer!

Very impressed!

So, we arrived in Marrakesh on very short notice after abandoning rainy Spain. We stayed in another Ryad prior to this one which was absolutely excellent in every way so we were disappointed with the lack of friendliness at this Ryad when we arrived. The manager was not in attendance when we arrived so we made allowance for this. The rooms are beautifully furnished, exquisite actually, but very dark ( quite common for this part of the world). The Whole Ryad is very pretty and well appointed, though there are no locks on the bedroom doors so you cannot lock your room when you're out. The house boy that was on duty while we stayed there should find another job, sullen, unfriendly and clearly not enjoying his job . One day we arrived back at the Ryad after a day of shopping and rang the bell time and time again for about 20 mins but no one answered. We eventually returned to the previous Ryad that we stayed at and they rang the manager for us. There was some weak excuse about the house boy not hearing the bell and that he was up stairs and we eventually got access. We suspect he was asleep. The manager when she was around tried her best to make us feel comfortable but the feeling of this Ryad was no where near as good ad the previous place we stayed...unfortunately. Very pretty though