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.