Riad Alhambra

The neighborhood felt run down, with no shops or anything nearby, and getting to the old city and marina took more than 30 minutes by car. We asked to cancel after paying $375. The owner returned only $150, which was better than nothing, so we took it and left. Don’t trust the photos. The place was filthy, despite all the reviews. Even the best room had so much mold it triggered my asthma. The floor, bed, and bathroom were grimy, and the pillows and towels smelled of other guests’ oil and body. Given how dirty it was, I suspect the bed may have had bedbugs too. The shower and tub were covered in fungi, and the toilet was yellow and smelly from urine. I only managed to take a few photos of the fridge, but believe me, you don’t want to leave food in there.

The colonel is lovely and hospitable. The place is amazing, very clean, and the homemade food is tasty and good quality.

The second room had a nice view and lots of interesting details, and the place looked nicely decorated. It’s a pity it was managed so badly, because we don’t want to return. The bed was extremely uncomfortable and hard. The air conditioning in the room we booked didn’t work, so after we explained that we needed it, we were moved to another room. The owner seemed very nervous about us asking for working air conditioning. We couldn’t use it in the new room either, because a strong mold smell came out of it. At night, a baby kitten cried as if dying of thirst and tried to drink from the pool. Later in the evening a man tried to open the door. When I opened it, he just smiled and walked away. The owner also told us not to speak English, though we later heard that wasn’t really true. At first, the owner insisted we pay even though we’d paid online. It took me a while to prove there was nothing left to pay.

Riad Alhambra is a lovely place to relax, attractive and well suited to it. It feels refined and pleasantly high-tech.