Having stayed at a couple of other riads in the medina I was immediately impressed by the slick service. The staff all spoke excellent English, were speedy with any requests you may have, and very charming. Definitely make sure you have at least one dinner in the Riad as the women Berber chefs can cook up some serious home-cooked feasts. Try the Tangia - a local specialty slow-cooked in the nearby farnatchi (communal oven) for five hours and arrives as a kind of Moroccan hot pot.
Design is shabby chic but without the shabby. Everything from the furniture to the furnishings has been artfully placed and on closer inspection its obvious that the detailing has been lovingly created with high quality materials rather than jumbled together at some cheap workshop.
At night the place comes into its own with the smell of fires from the rooms and lanterns giving a gentle glow to the courtyard. The sound of the water trickling over the infinity edged pool is incredibly calming and worth sitting in one of the side covered areas soaking up the pure calm of the place knowing that you’re just footsteps away from the hubbub that is the medina – it is in one of the oldest parts and so excellently placed for all the action of the souk.
You may think you can find a cheaper riad but if you want somewhere that is impeccably run with beautifully finished interiors then you’ll be hard pushed to find anything that even remotely matches this little hideaway. The perfect long weekend and I will be making plans to book myself on the next eayJet flight out there!
- Riad Farnatchi Marrakech
- Riad Farnatchi Hotel Marrakech
