Mum and I have just returned from a break at the Dar Shama, without any doubt, one of the best hotels we have have ever stayed in.
In the most beautiful grounds, even nicer than depicted in the website, this small intimate hotel offers a level of service and elegance that is comparable to some of the best 5 star hotels in the world.
We failed to meet one member of the staff who did not go out of their way to make our visit as easy and relaxing as was possbile, and nothing was too much trouble. Our suite was furnished with the most exquisite Moroccan furniture, and was clean, and beautifully maintained. Both mum and I are vegetarain and the chief went out of her way to provide us each day with a different culinary delight. The food was outstanding, and together with the excellant service, were every attention to detail was taken, we had no reason or desire to look for alternative restaurants outside of the hotel..
We were told by reception to treat the hotel as our home, and they all went out of their way to make that happen.
If you are looking for elegance, charm, and excellant service at a hotel that offers you a 5 star stay, then we could not recommended this hotel more highly, and we certainly shall be revisiting next year.

My family , 9 adults of varying ages plus one 10 month old baby, have just returned from 5 nights at the Riad Dar Shama in Marrakech.

We had a wonderful time.

The Riad is situated a short journey from the historical centre of Marrakech in the beautiful Palmeraie area, and is surrounded by lush and beautiful gardens where you can sit on one of the many sofa's and enjoy a drink with your friends and family , or just find a spot to sit quietly and read your book and enjoy the warm sunshine. ( We had super weather about 23 - 25c degrees each day).

The rooms are in the main part of this lovely old Riad, and ours had the beautiful and original floor and wall tiles, with stunning Moroccan rugs. The bed was large and very comfortable and the whole place is spotlessly clean. The water like in any old house, takes some time to run warm ,but when it did reach the taps, it was very hot and plentiful.
Some of our family had modern showers in their rooms, we had a huge old bath in ours, which was perfect for a long lesiurely soak.
From reading other reveiws it seems that others were expecting a modern , faceless, hotel, that could be anywhere in the world.
Riads are not like that. They are old merchants houses or palaces, set in private walled gardens.
Dont expect double glazed windows , piped music and plasma tv's( although Dar Shama does have TVs in the rooms )
Do expect traditional architecture and furnishings, antiques and good old fashioned service.
If this is not the experience you are after then book with one of the big hotel chains.

At Dar Shama, breakfast and dinner are served in the main dining room, surrounded by lovely antique Moroccan furnishings and the gorgeous tiles floors are covered in hand made rugs.
In the winter the temperature drop considerably at night and we sat each evening around the large open log fire with the candles burning and discussed our day, whilst the lovely waitors looked after us. This is the nearest we shall ever come to having our own butler !

The food was typically Moroccan, and we have returned home with tangines and recipes hoping to be able to recreate some of the marvellous dishes that we were served. The soups, the salads, the tangines were all so tasty and we ate far too much!
Do try the local wine, both red and white is very very drinkable.

Breakfast is not to be missed . It consisted of pancakes, potato scones, fresh bread s and preserves and homemade cakes.The freshly squeezed orange juice was also a great favourite along with the mint tea.

For lunch I recommend the chicken and almond pastille, a sort of filo pastry pasty, full of delicous minced chicken and almonds with a spicy seasoning.......but there was so many things to chose from we were spoilt for choice,

The girls in our group had a Hamman treatment one evening. It was well worth the money. 250 dirham for the bathing and scrub and 350 dirham for the oil massage.( about £43 in total ) It takes about an hour and your skin feels amazingly soft afterwards. A real holiday treat.

The shuttle bus cost the 9 of us 300 dirham ( about £2.40 per person ) to take us to the main square in the medina. I wouldn't recommend driving in Marrakech unless you have nerves of steel. The traffic is chaotic with as many a 5 lanes of traffic going around roundabouts a once !!!
We saw a man on a morobike with a bed under his arm, another had a large TV on his lap and one young lad had his pals and his dog all on his pushbike !!

The sights and sounds of Marrakech must not be missed, The carpet sellers, snake charmers, spice dealers and tanneries make for a fascinating shopping experience. As Brits we are not very good at haggling, but you must try as it is expected and is all part of the fun and we came away with cushions, slippers, pots and throws for a fraction of the price you would spend in the UK. The Moroccan people are kind and good natured and they do love to talk. Shopping becomes an occasion not a task.

We took the tour bus around the city, at about £14 per person it was a bargain. You get to see everything and get a real understanding of the history of Marrakech. You can hop on and off as you want.

Dar Shama made a perfect retreat from all the hustle and bustle of the city. The pool ( we didnt use it as the water in January was a little too cold for us softies ) looked inviting after a long day sightseeing , and it was lovely just to flop down on one of the many garden sofas, and have a welcome beer or gin and tonic. Just to be able to sit in the warm sunshine, in January and relax was lovely.

It was my husbands 60th birthday on our first day and the hotel, made a big fuss and presented him with a beautiful birthday cake.........it really is a perfect venue for a special occasion. Hamza, the Manager made sure that nothing was too much trouble and that we had verything that we wanted.

I am not sure that any Riad is the place for children and younger teenagers, in fact I am not sure that Marrakech is the place for children, as they don't normally appreciate being dragged about shopping and there is no beach, but for adults of any age it is perfect holiday destination. The baby in our party was treated like a little princess and all the staff made a big fuss of her.
We found that the Riad Dar Shama catered for all our needs, and we all left promising to return .

The sights, sounds and smells bombard the senses ( sorry I know this is an old cliche, but it really is true) and somehow Marrakech and its happy inhabitants leave a real imprint on the soul, I can understand why the hippies of the 60's and 70's found it so addictive.

Visit Marrakech, stay at the Dar Shama as we did, I dont think you will be disappointed.

The guest house looks far better in the pictures than in reality. I liked the garden and the pool area...and that's it.... The room (Ayoub) I got was small and overlooking the wall - it was dark all day long and th lights had to be on all the time. The bathroom was also small. Water was very boiling HOT so be careful! Normally you can use A/C to warm the room. Not in Dar Shama (though a portable electric heater was available so it was OK). The lounge where we had breakfast was big but too colourful; with too many different patterns that did not match at all! It looked as if somebody tried to squeeze everything into one place including some Chinese porcelain on the tables in the corners. No style at all. TV lounge looked OK but there was no remote available to change channels (even though we asked for it). Watching Arabic channels in the evening was not an option for me. Dar Shama is advertised as an elegant place...but IT IS NOT AT ALL. No attention is paid to detail - tablecloth and napkins with stains and holes; dirty red carpets on green floors; the black outfit that the waiters wear does not look elegant either (though the waiters want to be friendly and helpful, they really try)... orange juice offered for breakfast was from a box rather than ffreshly squeezed!
The prices at the 'restaurant' are high as it is an expensive area (Circuit de la Palmeraie with a Palmeraie Golf Palace close by). You can eat cheaper in the restaurants in Medina! Besides - there is nothing to do in the area there unless you want to stay at the pool and read books or sunbathe.
Travelling to Medina every day is expensive - taxi before 7pm is 5 EUR and 10EUR after 7pm and that's when you book it at the reception. If you take a taxi from Medina back to the hotel, it can be even 10EUR before 7pm! You need to take it into consideration.
If you are looking for a charming and a cosy place with a refined style, avoid Dar Shama. If you want to stay in a quiet area and spend the day at the pool and eat in the garden (quite expensive), you may take it into consideration but bear in mind it is in the middle of nowhere

We had our marriage here. The day before, the director of the hotel got into an argument with one of the invitees and wanted to cancel the marriage. I tried to arrange the thing and they did the minimum. They tried to profit a maximum from everything and we did not feel well attended. They have no sense of who is the customer and who is the service provider.