Name: Ryad Amiran and Spa
Price range: from £314.50pp (7 nights includes flights and transfers)

Select Room & Board Basis | Mercury Holidays

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General view

We spent 3 wonderful days at this charming and authentic Riad close to the Medina in Marrakech. It was an oasis of tranquility set amongst the hustle and bustle of the city. The room was comfortable and the staff were really friendly and welcoming. We enjoyed breakfast during our stay which was very good. The fresh breads were excellent. I have to say the mint tea at the Ryad Amiran was the best we had anywhere in the city. I would certainly stay here on my next visit to Marrakech.

An oasis amongst the Hustle and Bustle of Marrakesh.

The holiday started well with the flight and pick-up from the Airport. The driver was great and chatted to us on the way to the old town. When we reached the city walls, he even drove his car through the gates and as close as possible to the Ryad. Squeezing through gaps I dint think his Land Cruiser would go. He even got out of the car and carried the bags to the door of the Ryad. 

On arrival at the Ryad, we were met by our hosts. We enjoyed a welcome mint tea while our cases were taken to our room by the Cook/maid. While drinking the tea Naima our host proceeded to bombard us with all the packages on offer by them. We were advised by her, that “we may be able to find all of the packages out, many of these people are not honest and that you are asked to pay for all or half of the package at the time of booking, but when you turn up at the pick-up point no-one turns up.”  These kinds of tactics applied the pressure to book through them.  We decided to book a couple of excursions. A ballon ride over the Atlas Mountains to catch the sun rise and a trip into the hills to ride camels and quad bike followed by a night feast and show. We also agreed on a taxi ride across the city at a discounted rate. 

The intention was to book and pay for all the excursions through the Ryad leaving us cash to spend in the Souk. The manager offered to change my cash for me at an exchange rate my   of 10MD Moroccan Dirham / £1 sterling, but having checked the rate before I  left the UK I pushed and agreed on 12MD/£1. I was happy with the deal. 

Then came the first negative. Before booking I had checked the hotel on a few websites including TripAdvisor and Hotels.com, which states under Polices   “This property accepts credit cards, debit cards and cash. Cashless transactions are available.” When I asked to pay for the trips and the Holiday Tax by Card Naima advised me that they only take cash. This, like other residents I later discovered, left me having to run around to find banks and cash machines each day to withdraw cash not only for the Souk but also to pay Naima for the excursions. Not a very professional or conducive situation. Still, we booked a balloon ride over the Atlas mountains for 1,400 DM each that’s £233 for my wife and I. This did include an early morning pick up and transfer to and from the balloon site. To be honest this was one of the bests parts of the trip and one I will remember for a long time to come.  We took the afternoon to ourselves and having paid out the holiday tax, set off to replenish my stock of cash for the balloon ride. Having wondered through the town and into the Souk we had a great time and eventually found our way back to the Ryad after an entertaining evening meal. 

Negative point number two was soon to raise its head.  Covered with a layer of dirt and dust from the afternoons walk my wife went to shower before the end of the day. Unfortunately, the shower was not that hot and had to be run at full heat to get anything like a decent shower.  After less than 10 minutes of showering the water had stated to run cold making it impossible for me wife to continue. I went down to the night port how tried his best but could do nothing he called Naima who advised to “wash faster” but to wait 15 minutes for the water to warm up again.  My wife had to sit in a towel waiting for the water to regain its temperature. It was now late and by the time my wife had finished showering, and I waited my turn under the inadequate shower I was not best impressed. The next morning before setting off on our balloon ride, we rose early to get ready. Fearing the lack of water my wife and I had to try and take a shower together. while in some situations this can be romantic; when you fear the water will turn cold at any minute, romance is furthest from your mind.  We left early before the managing staff were about and returned late at the end of the day  missing them. That night we showered together quickly again and in the next morning I decided to confront the management with my issues.

When I told Naima, to her face, the problems I had been having she suggested that “we should wash quicker “ and that there was nothing wrong with the shower. She followed this by laughing at me. I found this both rude and insulting and told her so. At this point Naima spoke to the manager, and I followed her into his office to explain my dilemma. After telling me that each room had the same size water heater, and no other guests had complained even he suggested I was taking to long in the shower!  I pointed out that, I have travelled around the world and have never staid in a hotel, B&B or anywhere else that had given me a problem with a shower to this extreme extent.   Eventually he listened to me and offered to transfer me to a superior room for the duration of my stay. I was happy to except the room, and we moved within the hour. Our only fear was that the same situation would happen again, and I would again be taking a cold shower.  Fortunately for me that was not the case, and the showers held out and were much less of an issue.  
There were some other discrepancies with the description of the hotel.  Under Room amenities the room was described as having : Bathrobes and slippers, Bidet, Mini bar and a Television in common areas. 
The bathrobes and slippers would have been nice but were nowhere to be seen (Mabe in the small SPA room?)
Th Bidet must have been in another room as I didn’t find it in any of the rooms, we staid in. 
As for the Mini Bar, we had a small fridge in the room which may have been a minibar at one time in its life, but it was empty of any stock!
Regarding the TV in Common areas, when I never saw one. But to be honest that did not bother me. 
With reference to the food served at the Ryad we are only able to comment on the breakfast. This consisted of mainly coffee, low grade orange juice accompanied with a toasted French baguette with butter, honey and jam, a pain au chocolate and whatever dish the cook made fresh. Some days this was French toast or a roti. Never did we see any fresh fruit, yogurt of cold / hot cuts of meat. I saw the manager one morning eating boiled eggs and commented that he was lucky to be having eggs. He told me that I should ask and I could gave some.  The next day I asked and my wife and I enjoyed a plain omelette each. 
As a constructive comment it would be nice to have a menu selection for breakfast and to provide a little more variety than bread !
It is worth noting that being a mechanical engineer by profession I deduced that the issue with the hot water tank was that the thermostat was set to low and hence the water was not hot enough. This was why we had to have the hot water on full to be able to take a show. To the managers credit within the hour of me advising him of the possible solution he had an engineer out to the room to fix it. 

Negative point number four came on day three. On arrival Naima was very keen to book us onto her tours and packages. When discussing the trip into the dessert to take a camel ride followed by a ride out on quad bike into the dunes followed be a night feast with a show the were two packages on offer. One at 600DM per person and one at 750DM per person around £50 and £63 each. For the life of me I could not work out the difference.  We picked the one at £50 as they both seamed the same. To be honest it seamed that Naima pushed this the most. On the whole it was I good day although the camel ride felt like a short donkey ride on Blackpool beach. The quad bike were fun but there were not enough for us all to ride one each and both my wife and I had to share as well as another couple. It was only when looking  over photos I could see just how bald the tyres where and this had been to cause of  the one and only crash I had.   Also on the trip out our transport driver stopped off at a seemingly random spot to give us a short tea break. This transpired to be a shed/shop that tried to sell us all Argon Oil for skin treatment at premium prices. I noticed that it was once again a cash only transaction and the tiller was keeping a not of which driver had brought which customer. On my return home I was contacted by one of the other trippers who had checked out the Argon Oil he had purchased a discovered it was oil for cooking. He had called the number on the bottles and confronted the seller, who had advised him the person selling the oil to us must have made a mistake.  Having sat through all the sales talk I can confirm that she was adamant that this was oil for the hair and skin. Our suspicion is that the whole stop was a confidence trick and that the drivers where on a cut. Who else was on that cut I could not say. 

Despite the negative aspects of the Ryad we found Marrakech both interesting and fascinating from the rooftop cafes and restaurants to the hubbub of the souks and the fun of haggling a good price. The old town is dusty and there are a number of crumpled buildings following the earthquake of 2023 but this is to be expected and did not detract for the whole. We had a memorable holiday a may return although not to the same Ryad.

Great trip to Marrakech but the Ryad let it all down. The only 5stars it should have are negative one's

Lovely place. 
Owner/ manager is so nice, nothing is too much for her. 
Friendly hotel and staff.
You can book excursions through the hotel.
They also offer spa services massages and hammam reasonably priced. We didn’t get chance to try the service as we only had a short stay. 
They also offer henna tattoos. 

Our room was nice and clean. Very big bed !! 
Bathroom was nice. 

Great location to get into the souks and square, but also close to the gate of the town so you can get out to other places. 

Breakfast was nice, varied slightly each day. 
Evening meals can be provided, you need to tell them in the morning and it is cooked fresh for you 

It’s an oasis of calm inside the chaotic medina.

Lovely little place

Just returned home from a 4 night stay in this cosy and authentic ryad, already wishing we had longer.  The family run space was a welcoming peaceful surrounding to find some quiet away from the bustling medina.  The rooms are cool and spacious resting spots out the African sun. The rooftop terrace a calm and relaxing area to rest tired feet. Breakfast was delicious. Coffee fantastic.  Orange juice refreshing.  A home from home atmosphere.  We enjoyed our trip and felt safe and welcome here.

We fell in love with morroco here.

Awful experience from start to finish with an easy jet booking 
Dropped off near it at 8 pm and walked through rubble and empty lanes to get to a basically unmarked black door 
No water - no tv in room
No room service phone
Didn’t look superior and def not 5 star
Dust an inch thick on hairdryer
Expensive water given as we were so thirsty after a long trip
Security guard greeted us and said there was no food available and no special diet catered for
The window was like a prison window 
I felt oppressed and trapped and contacted the rep via a very very poor WiFi system
No help basically put up with it attitude 
Luckily we only stayed two days and I was so glad to leave 
There was no proper spa just a concrete square in the main floor
The upstairs terrace was dirty and unkempt 
The spa room was just a couch in a tiny room
No price lists etc
We were constantly harrassed when out and there is no point in asking directions unless u want to pay over ten euros for a sentence !
We asked three locals where main sites were and they did not know
Luckily we were next to a very good restaurant and paid 140 for two meals there ! 
Scared most of the time 
Uncomfortable and felt ripped off and scammed by easy jet !! As hotel description not at all correct - never saw an a la carte !! And breakfast was bread based only and microwaved! 
I won’t go back !!!

Hideous

The hotel is ideally situated at the heart of the gigantic Medina of Marrakech, in the Bab Doukkala neighbourhood. This charming design establishment was completely restored in 2010 in accordance with an authentic Moroccan style, and offers a warm and traditional setting. Guests are welcomed in a lobby by a friendly staff, which is ready to assist with service and information. The hotel consists of a ground floor, including a common living room with a salon, TV and Internet access. It comprises a total of 5 rooms, each equipped with all modern comforts and decorated with taste and refinement in a contemporary style with an oriental touch.

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Ryad Amiran and Spa