I was slightly worried before arriving in these hotels, due to the critics I had found in TripAdvisor. So I would like to clarify some things in order to try to help other customers.
The most relevant question about this hotel and your possible experience in it is based on its location. This hotel is situated on the Hassan II Boulevard (take care as Google Maps places it on the Mohamed VI Boulevard, and it is not there; there is a mistake since there are three hotels from the same brand nearby; this hotel is situated where Google Maps places the Ryad Mogador Agdal, you will recognize it because this hotel has a U form with a pool in middle). This boulevard in in the new area of Marrakech (the area is called Gueliz) being the center of this area the railway and bus (Supratours) stations. Which means the hotel is very, very convenient if you are arriving/departing by bus/train. Or if you want to explore the new Marrakech (from the train station down boulevard Mohamed VI toward the Congress Palace). That is why on the web and other sites it says the hotel is 200-500 meters from the city center: from the center of Gueliz (the new neighborhood), not of (the old) Medina of Marrakech
If your idea is to explore the Jama Al Fna Square and surroundings, then this hotel is not really convenient; walking there will take you around 40 minutes to arrive to the Square. Of course, taxis are always available and should be relatively cheap (around 20-30 DHR).
On top, it is on the least developed part of the Boulevard Hassan II (the part of the avenue that connects the train station to the 16th November Place is much more lively), so getting by foot at night can be strange since roads in the area are not well paved and there are not too many street lights.
The hotel has a big supermarket just next door, although there is a letter sign at the entrance that forbids entering food or drinks from the exterior (I cannot understand the reason for this, since even the minibar in the room is empty).
Food in the hotel is lousy. I had dinner and breakfast and both were quite horrible, nothing really decent to mention. A lot of things, but none of them were decent quality. Even the staff were not really concerned about keeping the area tide and clean: as you arrive for breakfast most of the tables have been previouly used and do not get cleaned for a veeeeery long time. However, in the train station nearby (200 meters) there are a few coffee shops serving good expresso and a McDonalds, a Burger King and a couple more restaurants.
The room is pretty decent sized, good decoration, nice bathroom. Everything is in very good state, since I believe the hotel is just a couple of years old. I had a view on the pool, although at this time of the year it is too cold to use it. I can believe rooms heading towards the outside of the hotel can be very noisy, since the Hassan II Boulevard is quite a busy one.
The staff are not extremely polite, but they do they work fine. On my way out, I asked for a cab for the airport and at the reception they told me the approximate price (around 100 DHR), stopped a taxi for me and negotiated the price with the driver. Probably you would be able to get it cheaper on you own (it is just a 5 Km, 10 min ride), but having it all done for you makes things much easier. So not too much to complain on this side, although other travellers seem to have had really terrible experiences.
WiFi connection in the lobby is quite good. Altough other guests say they did not, I had a connection in my room also, slightly slower than the one in the lobby but decent enough.
- Ryad Mogador Gueliz Marrakech
