We stayed at the Kenzi Farah in Marrakech over Christmas and no, it is not a 5 star hotel by European standards but we got a great package at only £300 for a week including flights so we didn’t mind that the rooms were a bit scruffy in places. The pool side and gardens are really lovely – a great relief from the madness of the Medina and the hassle of the main square – but the bar is pretty expensive, so you are better off smuggling booze into your room, but don’t let the concierge see you – he told us off for carrying a six pack of still water in as ‘this is a five star hotel, you can drink the water’ – but the water comes out of the tap a light brown shade so not appealing to drink! To be fair, he did let us smuggle the water in by hiding it inside my boyfriend’s newly purchased jellabah so that other guests wouldn’t see. DON’T drink spirits in the hotel bar – a shot is around £10!

The bed was comfy and clean, the hotel room peaceful and plenty of hot water – on Christmas Day we were so exhausted after an early morning balloon flight that we ate in the hotel that evening – cannot recommend the hotel food at all, most of it was unidentifiable but we were so hungry we didn’t care. Breakfasts were good though – served up to a civilised 11am with one guy just cooking fresh omelettes constantly, it was well worth making the effort to get down to the buffet – even though it was pretty chaotic the staff tried hard to help as quickly as possible.

Top tips for first time visitors: 1) never pay the asking price for anything in the souk or medina – offer a quarter of what they want then work up from then 2) the helpful bloke who starts taking you to some sight or another will want money and you are likely to end up in his cousin’s shop on the way 3) brush up on your French – it will help massively 4) walk down the road to get a taxi – the drivers bump up the prices from outside the hotel 5) keep small change on you for tips – this is a tipping culture

And, this is a big one: if you eat from the stalls at Djeema La Fna, keep an eye out that they bring ONLY what you order – if they bring extra plates of stuff, send it away, unless you want to be massively overcharged as we were on our first time! If they hassle you, be firm but not rude and keep on walking.

Top places to go: a hamman, we went to Bains Les Marrakesh but there are other good ones; a drink as the sun goes down at the Kosy Bar; a day trip to Essasouria for lunch is also good – be brave and go to the fish market, pick your own freshly caught fish and then pay for it to be cooked and served with bread and salad – you will have the biggest fish lunch ever for around £5 for two – fantastic!

Enjoy – its an amazing city!!!

We went to Marrakech for our first wedding anniversary. We travelled on a BMI flight which was a first for me and was absolutely brilliant, great airline and very fast flight time. Arrived Marrakech and had standard North Africa argument with taxi driver over fare. Got to Kenzi Farah, reception and grounds are really impressive, rooms are not. We moved 3 times and found a nice one at the back of the grounds looking out over the garden and pool. To be honest when in Marrakech the amount of time you actually spend inside your hotel room is limited and Kenzi Farah is amazingly well located for everything you would want to do. We went to Jemaa el Fnaa (big square) and ate street food and were overwhelmed by noise on our first night, battled the souks and drank tea and diet coke in the dry bars. The next 2 nights we went to Le Comptoir (amazing, chic, very well worth a visit and walking distance too). Final night we went to Maison MK, this was featured on Jaimie does Marrakech, hidden in the depths of the Medina. If you are a couple and want an amazing restaurant then 100% visit here - will take a lot of commitment to find it but when you do you won't regret. Love Marrakech, will definitely return but maybe once is enough at Kenzi Farah...

The above title sums it up really. The hotel looks good, has good facilities that could qualify as a 5 star. But the true test of a 5 star is not just about good window dressing. The toilets in main reception were always unclean, wifi very patchy, fixtures in the room were a bit tacky, rough toilet paper, extortionate price for small bottles of water (would be complimentary in other similar hotels) in the minibar.

It's in an area where there are no shops, eateries, bus routes. Just hotels everywhere. Naturally this then makes it a killing ground for taxis. To get into the main happening area like Jema Al Finaa, we paid anything from 15 to 40 dirhams depending on our or the taxi drivers stubbornness at the time..!!

Having said all the above, it is good looking, inside it has a certain grandeur, nice pool, well equipped spa, lots of staff milling about especially during breakfast time. Good buffet breakfast with variety of food. Had lunch once in the cafe next to the pool, was ok but quite pricey. Never had evening meal there because we always dined out at night.

This hotel has very outdated facilities and they should accept the fact that they are no longer a 5 star. Basically I am talking about everything: mattresses, tvs, carpets, bathroom furniture etc...

For the rest, I think it was fairly priced for this quality and we didn't overpay. We liked the inner patio with the garden and birds signing during the morning. Staff was welcoming and friendly.

To make it fair I suggest they downgrade to 4 stars, make a modest upgrade of facilities and it will be all fine. At least on the side of client expectations...