Mesmering Marrakech

Advantages: Stunning scenery!
Disadvantages: food, a bit of a culture shock

...Marrakech has always been high up on my list of places to visit, so earlier this year I packed my bags and set off with a friend to explore the city. We flew with easyjet from London Gatwick to Marrakech Menara airport, convinently located around 15 minutes taxi ride from central Marrakech. Morrocco has a closed currency system meaning that Morrocan Dirhams cannot be brought into the country or taken out. There are Bureau de Changes located throughout the city and they accept most major currencies including pounds and euros. The two main languages are French and Arabic, although English is widely spoken along with many other languages. A word of warning - Marrakech is a city where you have to haggle and haggle hard. Never accept the first price and be prepared to walk away! Prices quoted are usually 2-3 times as much as...

tecnomars 20.09.2009 · Read review
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Review of Marrakech (Morocco)

Peace and Tranquility in a Busy City

Advantages: Peaceful, pretty with wonderful owners and staff. One of my favourite places ever.
Disadvantages: No tea making facilities. Early morning call to prayer gives a swift awakening

...What kind of traveller are you? Do you like to spend your holiday budget on a luxury villa somewhere, with all the mod cons, or do you prefer more Spartan accommodation, on the basis that you're just renting somewhere to rest your head at night? Usually, I fall into the latter category - as much as I like luxury, I cannot justify spending large sums of money if I'm visiting a city in order to get out and about, and discover the culture and meet the people. However, I've just returned from Marrakech, and found a happy medium. Riad Dar Sbihi is in the northern part of the Medina (old city) in Marrakech. A riad is a traditional Moroccan dwelling. It is laid out around a central courtyard, with the rooms communicating with the courtyard, but not with each other. The result of this design is that you step from a bustling (and dusty...

mattygroves 12.05.2008 · Read review
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Review of Riad Dar Sbihi, Marrakech, Morocco

Marrakech - it's like marmite you love or hate it.

Advantages: The mix of the city and the lovely riads
Disadvantages: The polution from petrol

...My daughter and myself have recently been lucky enough to spend four days in Marrakech in October. It was to me an amazing experience. We had a very early morning flight with Easy Jet, which meant we had most of the rest of the day to spend in Marrakech. From emails that I had been exchanging with the mamagers of The Riad Zolah in whch we were staying I knew we were being met at the airport, and taken as close to the Riad as a taxi can get. We were the last people out of the airport as I had left some things on the plane, and had to wait for it be be boarded before they would go and look for them. Luckily they were still there, and so was the taxi driver. It is an easy 15 minute drive to where we were dropped off, and met by a young lad with a big wooden cart which took our luggage and he guided us through souks and bewildering...

Alison3 01.11.2008 · Read review
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Review of Marrakech (Morocco)

A Safe Place In Sunny Marrakech

Advantages: good room, nice decor
Disadvantages: staff, breakfast

...This summer, I had been working full time, trying to earn the money in the gap from university but decided that once I'd had a taste of sun on our one week heat wave that I needed to get away myself. I had logged onto lastminute.com to see what kind of deals and destinations were coming up as I was literally looking at anywhere but a great deal came up for Marrakech, however I didn't have the money to pay upfront and new it would be gone by the time I got paid. Since I passed by this I logged onto ebookers.com and had a look at their hotels as a lot of the other holiday deal websites were giving hotels which didn't look as great. They have Ryad's over there which are almost like a bed and breakfast idea they are not the same service as a hotel. I decided to book through ebookers.com for the Hotel El Andalous as my researching after...

ms19 10.11.2009 · Read review
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Review of Hotel El Andalous, Marrakech

  48 hours in Marrakech (Morroco)

Advantages: Beautiful climate, friendly + helpful locals,respectful people, great shopping,out of this world! :)
Disadvantages: hassel to buy, quite dusty (not great when you've got a cold)

...Only a 3 and a half hour flight from the hustle and bustle of London to the vibrant, colourful and unique city of Marrakech. As we flew over the city, it looked liked a patch work quilt of green and caramel brown. In some places there is a lot of lush green areas but the majority of the city is dry with a dusty caramel covering the roads and streets. Marrakech is a city in Morocco, North Africa. The two main languages spoken in Marrakech are French and Arabic. 98% of the population are Muslim with the other 2% being mainly Christian. Many Europeans do live in Marrakech and many having holiday homes there. The currency conversion rate is: 1 United Kingdom Pounds (GBP) = 15.84 Morocco Durham's (MAD) The most expenses spent are usually in the UK to and from the airport. I recommend that you book online if you want to park...

Tink27 19.12.2007 (21.12.2007) · Read review
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Review of Marrakech (Morocco)

Riad Al Moussika Marrakech : The hidden gem of Marrakesh !

Advantages: Central location, very good value for money, haute-cuisine food, very professional service
Disadvantages: I can't find any

...The Riad Al Moussika, ( www.riyad-al-moussika.com ), where I spent with friends a long weekend at the beginning of our journey to the south of Morocco in early January, is a place that has stopped time, where the magical atmosphere, relives Morocco of Pasha of 1800, but with all the comfort of our century. Everything is perfect, authentic, calm, serene... I recommend strongly this hotel for its central location, even for the excellent and very professional service provided by the young boys of the staff, always smiling and present without being intrusive. The chef and owner, Khalid, a nice and helpful big boy, who speaks I do not know how many languages, but among them an excellent Italian that has enabled me to know a world of things about authentic Marrakech, thing impossible otherwise, due to my language limitations, and, most...

ThaFlyingWanda 20.02.2009 · Read review
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Review of Riyad Al Moussika, Marrakesh

Meanderings in Marrakech

Advantages: Interesting people, different culture
Disadvantages: small amount of hassle

...Useful Information; Moroccan Currency: Durham?s Exchange Rate: £1 to 16 Dirham (dh) Language: Arabic, French, Spanish Capital: Rabat I travelled to Morocco with two friends, Claire and Chris, for a 3 week backpacking trip during the Easter holidays. We travelled around in a figure of eight from Marrakech to Tarradonnt in the south, then to the north where we visited tangier and the other cities, returning to Marrakech via the desert. We travelled by Thomson air which cost £80 return into Marrakech. We arrived early, as we had not pre-booked a hotel, hoping we would be able to find a nice one once we arrived. We took the trusted Lonely Planet with us as I had used this on a previous trip to New Zealand and found it extremely trustworthy, as it has lists of hotels and maps with which to find them. After long queues at passport...

Shelby83 27.07.2007 · Read review
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Review of Marrakech (Morocco)

Eating&spleeping in a riad in Marrakech

Advantages: good food, clean, great cocktails, nice rooms
Disadvantages: --------------------

.... Emphasis on the cheese. My boyfriend had rigatoni quattro formaggi and I had gnocchi al pesto, each around 100 dirhams. Dinner comes with a basket of assorted breads flavored with various herbs and spices. Price per person includes having wine. I eat a great Tiramisù and my boyfriend a dessert that I never had haerd, called Pavlova: super. The manager, Mr Paolo, told us, that the Cafe has 2 double rooms and a minisuite. We asked him the see the rooms. No problems, in this way we could shoot some photos. I think it's a good idea to sleep in a riad for enjoy the real Morocco, that's not possible in a 5 stars hotel :-( ....next time The Sunday Moroccan-international brunch tasts optimal. It's a great buffet, for 200 DHS. It's not expansive, but unfortunatly it comes suspended in July and August because it is too warm and the buffet it comes...

yplon 31.08.2006 · Read review
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Review of Cafe Arabe

Lovely Riad, Shame About the Location

Advantages: Rooms and food are great, very relaxing
Disadvantages: Location, location, location!

...We have just returned from spending the Easter weekend at Riad O2 in Marrakech. Prior to visiting Marrakech we had good email contact with the riad, and we confirmed with them that we would like to be collected from the airport and have dinner in the riad on our first night. We then arranged to pay the outstanding balance by bank transfer. We arrived at Menara airport after a really easy three hour flight, and we were quickly met by one of the riad's drivers, Hamid. He helped us to his car with our bags and we set off for the medina. Having read a couple of reviews on other sites before leaving we were a little wary of the area that Riad O2 is situated in, and unfortunately on arriving I have to admit our worries were confirmed. Hamid pulled up at the end of a road near Sidi Ben Slimane, and we then walked for three or four...

Stizzy1980 25.03.2008 · Read review
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Review of Riad O2, Marrakesh

The New Moroccan Role

Advantages: "Colored cottons hang in the air?"
Disadvantages: "?Charming cobras in the square." (Crosby, Stills and Nash)

...case you were wondering what was meant by ?riads? above, they are small hotels arranged in traditional style around gardens or courtyards, and they are definitely where to stay in Marrakech. There are over fifty of them dotted around the Medina, often hard to spot since typically they have only a discreet sign beside the doorway in an otherwise blank wall to announce their presence. Inside, though, they tend towards the ornate and the luxurious. Prices vary; few are cheap, but most are open to negotiation, as with everything else in Marrakech. We stayed at a supposedly mid-range example ? Les Jardins de la Medina in the Kasbah district near the Palace ? where the least expensive room in low season is listed at 1425 dirhams (£118) b&b a night. Ours, designated ?superior? and which in fairness was stylish and spacious with its own...

torr 06.03.2009 (20.03.2009) · Read review
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Review of Marrakech (Morocco)