Riad Penelope

The Riad is right in the centre of the Medina, but tucked away, which worked brilliantly for us as a couple. Smail was an amazing host and went out of his way several times to make the trip easier and less stressful. You could see how hard he works, seemingly around the clock. We had an amazing stay. Thank you so much, Smail. We hope to come back and stay again when we’re in Marrakesh.

We spent a lot of time on the amazing sun terrace, taking a break from the hectic streets. The Riad was spotless, with comfortable, spacious rooms and all the little details that made our stay easy. Most of all, Smail, the Riad manager, made our time in the city centre as simple as possible. Nothing was too much trouble for him, and his customer service was outstanding. He’s an exceptional young man, and this review is for him as much as the Riad itself. I’d stay here again in a heartbeat.

Our triple room, HIBISCUS, matched the online photos, and housekeeping did a very thorough job. The cleaner even moved our suitcases to clean underneath. Those were the good parts. We’d just driven from Merzouga and wanted to freshen up, but the Riad was hard to find and nobody answered the doorbell. There was a torn handwritten sign asking us to WhatsApp a number. We called and got no reply. After more doorbell attempts, we asked a neighbour for help. She called too, then another neighbour tried. What a welcome. When the day manager finally turned up, he barely introduced himself and offered no apology or smile. The bulky furniture took up a lot of space. The bathroom was large but windowless and painted lead gray, with awkward access to the tub. It felt like being in a casket. The curtains and throw pillows were red faux leather, the headboard maroon crushed velvet, and the area rugs shaggy and red. Water pressure was low, the air conditioner made intermittent loud whirring noises, and we could hear water running constantly. The manager said the neighbouring riad was filling its pool. Breakfast was horrible, with instant orange juice and hard bread. Later the manager became more sociable. He warned us about the many "arnaqueurs" (scammers) in Marrakesh and said Ryanair requires a printed boarding pass or charges a fee. He kindly offered to print ours. We talked about riads generally, and I learned the owner is a French national living in his home country. The manager said he isn’t hands on with daily supervision, and that lack of involvement showed. We’d just come from Riad La Cigale Marrakesh, where the owner actively managed the property and service was consistently warm, courteous, gracious and efficient, with attention to detail. We were three people, and these are our unanimous observations. Our personal advice is to avoid Riad Penelope. Don’t rely only on the rating; read reviews first, as we learned to do afterwards. Check the map carefully too. Being inside the Medina doesn’t guarantee easy access, and Penelope is difficult to reach through the maze of alleys.

On my first trip to Morocco and Marrakech, I arrived on crutches with a cast. The manager was genuinely concerned about how I was doing and very helpful. Breakfast was massive and delicious, almost more food than I could manage, which is a rare and very good problem. Thanks to everyone at Riad Penelope for everything. I’ll stay here again the next time I’m in the area, 100%.