Dar Al Walidine

A big no. I’d tell people to stay away. We booked for after Ramadan and were charged 560 euros on our credit card before arriving. At check-in, we were sent to different accommodation and told a bachelor party group had booked the property for the same dates and paid more. The manager asked us to find somewhere else and promised a refund. We were told they preferred to give the property to someone else because Booking charged a high commission, so the owner could make more money. We only got a small part of our payment back through Booking, and they are still managing this property. Please avoid it so you don’t end up charged in advance with nowhere to stay. We’ve contacted a lawyer about next steps.

We stayed for two nights and loved it. The atmosphere, hospitality, staff, and service were all top notch. Ms Yasmine was a friendly, helpful host who shared lots of information. I’d absolutely recommend this riad to anyone visiting Marrakech, especially women.

The hotel is in a quiet spot close to the old medina, just a few minutes away on foot, though it takes longer if you have a bad sense of direction, lol. Taxis are cheap by European standards, and other places weren’t far either. The pool was never crowded, unlike at bigger hotels, and we had our own key and lots of fun. The rooms were beautiful, and they offer an airport transfer. Everyone was kind, gave us plenty of tips, and made the place feel like home. We loved the fresh food, made with care rather than for a crowd, and everything was clean. Whenever we needed something, we got it. I’d read comments about taxi drivers having trouble finding the hotel, but if you show them the little address card from the hotel, they can find it easily. A hundred percent recommended.

This feels more like an Airbnb than a hotel. They should be clear that it’s someone’s home converted into a hotel, like visiting the in-laws. There’s construction all around the area. Outside food and drinks are banned, but there’s no room service, and they seemed annoyed that we hadn’t booked excursions through the hotel. At 8 pm, the mother asked my friend to take off her flip flops because they were making too much noise. Ridiculous. The next morning we were waiting for a camel trip we had booked and contacted the company at 8:30 to ask about pickup. Amina, the mom, then told us the driver had arrived an hour earlier, waited the whole time, and was leaving. We frantically tried to reach him, then got an email saying that when the driver arrived, Amina told him we were sleeping because we’d been out late. There are no televisions at all, and there’s a serious bug problem.