Riad Elias

First trip to Marrakesh for my family & I. We were received at the airport by a driver arranged by the Riad. Once in the area, the parked quite far & my family & I ended up carrying our luggage to the Riad. The walk was a good 15-20 minutes, needless to stay not happy from the get go. Next morning we were served a breakfast of pastries & local pancakes bought from the market just outside (we saw them as we toured the area). The bakeries has plenty of flies hovering around the food, luckily no one fell ill. Describing it as a continental breakfast is quite a stretch. The toiletries being described as designer in the hotel.com site are quite exaggerated, we had a tiny soap, with a shower gel & shampoo (both the same), not designer! Not sure how it’s rated 4+ The proprietor was quite interesting, one minute he was extremely inviting, next he was annoyed. He told us the city imposed local tax we needed to pay the night before checking out was to be 2.5 Euros for the 2 adults & my older child who is 11. When I reviewed my email it said no tax for those under 12. I showed him the email & was told by Said that the websites (he said bookings.com) kept changing the age, even though it’s a local tax. Once I questioned him he was not happy, he said don’t pay anything in quite a rood manner, I walked away. My husband spoke to him & said we would pay. He thought as is the last night, it’s best to go with the flow. He later apologizing to me for speaking the way he did.

We had a wonderful stay in this riad. It is deep in the medina. Although you may be able to find it using GPS, its better to ask them to meet you somewhere and guide you through the medina. There are signs to help navigate if you know to look for them. The riad owner, Sayyid, was extremely hospitable. He really enjoyed our 2 year son and played with him in the courtyard. They have a pet turtle roaming freely in the courtyard. This is what my son remembers most about our trip. We had friends staying in other riads meet up with us at ours. Sayyid greeted them with tea, wine, and olives on the house. The room was comfortable and stylish. It is a very small riad with only a few rooms. Sayyid let us choose the one we wanted. We did have issues getting hot water, but it was so hot outside, we didn't mind. The AC in our room worked really well. The location is great being right in the heart of medina. You can get to Jemma el Fnna fairly easily using GPS. Everything felt very safe.

Sayid was a wonderful host. I was a woman travelling alone and he went out of his way to make me feel welcome. I was greeted with a large bottle of water, which you'll need, and peppermint tea the evening I arrived. Sayid gave me a little souk tour on his motorbike the first morning, which was quite the fun experience, and dropped me off and picked me up at the two museums in the market. He even mailed off a couple postcards for me while I was off on an excursion and charged me upon my return 3 days later!! Breakfast was delicious, pastries or Moroccan pancake crepes with fresh fruit spread and tasty coffee. The riad itself is very charming and my room was perfect, the bed comfy and the room had plenty of shelf space and storage very conveniently out of the way. The shower had plenty of hot water. The ambiance felt very authentic and I loved it. Pick up and drop off at the airport were very reasonable, and on time, even with my weather delayed arrival. Smoking is allowed in the common areas though :( The location is great. Hard to find but you'll see in the medina everything is hard to find. There is a sign but the airport transportation arranged by the riad brings you right to the door. Its a fabulous location for soaking up the medina life, all the souks in the market, and a short walk to the jma al fna. There is so much action going on I never felt unsafe as a blonde American, though I do speak French. A wonderful and too short stay!

Not impressed, wifi incredibly slow, the owner was a fraud and tried to get me to pay him more "taxes" that apparently Hotels.com didn't cover but the receipt was for someone else.

Fantastic hotel and excellent service from the Manager Said. He is friendly and very helpful with planning your stay and helping you with any questions you have. Great location, nice rooms and excellent breakfast. We will stay here again while in Marrakech on our next visit.