Ha Tel Riad Hayat

Breakfast is simple, though eating it on the roof terrace with that great view of the High Atlas was a highlight. The location is decent, but the riad can be a little tricky to find, as is often the case. There are signs on some of the walls. Otherwise, it felt like a typical riad, with no particular complaints.

We were shifted here after the owners said the riad we'd booked was “overbooked.” They only told us after we'd signed in and handed over our passport details. The experience wasn't good. Our friends' room had no clean sheets and the hot water wasn't reliable, and there was sometimes a strange sewage smell. We were fortunate to get our money back for the night. I'd suggest avoiding this place.

I wouldn't recommend this business. The building we were taken to was much older and surely not worth the same as the riad we'd originally booked. In our friends' room, there was an on-and-off sewage smell and no hot water. We had booked another riad with apparently the same owner. At the original place, Mohamed first had us enter our passport details in the guest ledger, then told the group we'd been moved. I'd normally have walked away, but our friends were worn out from the trip and didn't have the energy to look for somewhere else in Marrakech at that time of day. We went with Mohamed to the other guesthouse, though I'd advise being extremely cautious about booking here.

We were right by the main square, and breakfast on the rooftop was excellent. Such a great little find, with authentic character and amazing service. Highly recommended.