Hotel Chems

The one real advantage is the location, conveniently close to the main market. The rest of the stay fell short of what I’d expect from a four-star hotel listed through Love Holidays. It might be less uncomfortable in warmer weather, but the facilities, housekeeping, and food service didn’t meet that standard. The building felt old and poorly maintained. Several plugs didn’t work, the safe was broken, and the sink overflowed when we turned on the tap. Cold air came through the poorly sealed windows even when closed, making our January room uncomfortable at night. There was no kettle, and getting genuinely hot water was difficult. Even at breakfast, hot water was often unavailable; we ended up microwaving lukewarm water ourselves. Breakfast was very basic with little variety, and the utensils weren’t set out properly. Asking for a spoon felt like a burden. I had to ask several staff before getting one, and the team seemed disorganized. Dinner was overpriced for the limited quality and choice, with only one or two dishes available. Bringing outside food was forbidden, with a threatened fine of around 150 dirhams. Housekeeping wasn’t proactive, so we had to request cleaning, and even then the floors weren’t cleaned properly. It looked as if the same sheets were being reused instead of replaced.

I barely spent any time at the hotel, which was a shame because I’d wanted a little downtime. I’m from Africa, and I honestly felt they didn’t like English-speaking guests. Maybe it’s simply that very few staff speak English. If you speak French, perhaps you’d have a better time. The hotel seemed stuck in about 1980 and hadn’t been updated. As a solo English-speaking traveler, I didn’t feel welcome and got an awful room, though I hope the others are better. It looked onto a construction site and parking area, and the entrance light hung from the ceiling without working. I can live with an eighties bathroom, but this one was falling apart; the bath plug didn’t work, and I found out why. The bed was very dated and used, including the ancient mattress protector. My back hurt so much from sleeping there that I’ve seriously booked a massage for when I get home. The TV needed tuning and only picked up three channels. When I asked for an iron, they told me to take a taxi to the mall and buy a cheap one. Also, I’d draw cash in town first. The hotel ATM charged the highest fees I encountered in Marrakech.

On the third day, a fire broke out, and staff didn’t seem trained to deal with it. They tried using towels and bed sheets to put it out and didn’t alert the fire department, while smoke filled the hallways. The rooms were dirty and unpleasant, the TV didn’t work, and the windows wouldn’t shut even in very cold weather. At breakfast, there were so few spoons, forks, and knives that we had to wait a long time. The shower pressure was too low to wash properly.

The photos online don’t look like the place we found, and I can only imagine they were photoshopped. The bed linen didn’t smell freshly washed, and I spotted dirt on the blankets, so I doubt it had been changed. Breakfast had very few choices. The receptionists seemed unwilling to work and served us with disgusted expressions. The hotel was dirty and badly organized. Management should close it within a month, renovate it, and redo everything, because the state of the place is awful.