Riad & Spa Esprit du Maroc

Rarement vu un Riad aussi grand. Ce Riad est la différence entre un Hotel et un Riad. Très calme, intimiste, le personnel discret. Le lieu est très spacieux. Le Menage est fait parfaitement tous les jours. La hauteur des plafonds des chambres avec sa décoration lui donne un effet de chambres de sultan. Facile d'accès, le quartier autour est très intéressant car beaucoup de commerçant, de restaurant. Sylvie est très accueillante et se soucie tous les jours de votre bien être, tout en étant très discrète. C'est mon 4 éme Riad à Marrakech et celui ci reste de loin mon préféré.

A gem hidden in the back streets of the Madina

We stayed for four nights in total and found the Riad charming at first, all though it was very far from any main roads. Basically we found out that the only way taxi can drop you by or even near the Riad is if they have a permit. This made the journey a bit difficult as you are no always able to use the Riad's taxi service when you're out and about. All though I felt generally safe it was a bit stressful walking back with the labyrinth maze to find the Riad ahead of us. We got lost so many times. It is lovely to be in such old and ancient place but it can get too much. We really enjoyed Jalal and Hakeem's service the workers at the Riad, they were incredibly helpful and there to help at any time, however the owner (french lady) we found unhelpful giving us no tips where to go, where we can take cash out, how to find things, and her english wasn't to good standards. We really were disappointed how she lacked heart and passion for her city and her lack of know-how. Instead she often insisted we eat at the Riad, use the spa (which was not free) and showed annoyance when we said we booked restaurants elsewhere. When we stayed there the Riad was almost empty of guest and she forgot to book our taxi to the airport and instead of apologising told us she works long days and was very tired. This was incredibly unsatisfactory to us and often we felt she lacked humidity and care for us as her guest. We really love the staff but wish we had benefitted a more worthy owner with our stay.

The room was lovely, the staff were great. Breakfast adequate - lovely setting on the roof terrace. Just hated the access way in and would most definitely not have stayed there without my husband in tow. I've never been scared anywhere in the world about walking on my own, but I was there. They also pushed a lot for us to eat there, have spas there, we preferred to go in to the Medina where there was more life.