Palais Riad Lamrani

We only found out about the €16 minibar charge when checking out, and the way it was explained left us feeling misled. We’re fine paying for what we use when prices are made clear, but at Palais Riad Lamrani we couldn’t find a price list or any sign saying the minibar items cost extra. At check-in Ahmed rushed through the room, pointed at it and said, “This is the minibar,” without mentioning charges. If it hadn’t been pointed out, we probably wouldn’t have touched it. When we asked about the bill, Ahmed argued that since he hadn’t said the items were “free,” we should have assumed they were chargeable. He kept insisting we must both have failed to hear him. Guests shouldn’t have to guess hotel policies, and a reasonable question about unclear pricing didn’t call for such a defensive, confrontational response. It felt extremely unprofessional. Acknowledging that clearer communication would help future guests would have made a big difference. There wasn’t a manager on site to speak with. Khaled was the one positive part of that exchange: he listened, agreed that clearer signs and communication would help, and apologized. Still, the whole situation gave us the impression guests were expected to discover these charges at checkout. Marrakech is known for hospitality, and after five visits to the city, I never expected to feel misled for the first time by a 5 star hotel. People often talk about scams in Marrakech, which made that impression even worse. We stayed just before our wedding reception in Marrakech, so this was a very disappointing end to what should have been a special occasion. Between the lack of transparency, the argumentative attitude and the poor handling of a legitimate concern, we can’t recommend this property.