I was totally cynical when I read the reviews for Dar El Kanoun. Can anywhere and anyone be that good? Well, all the positive comments you read about this place are true. After spending the daytime in manic Marrakech, this is the perfect retreat. So peaceful and calm, with beautiful furnishings. Omah (the owner) cannot do enough for you. Besides arranging a cab to pick us up from the airport, and always having one available to take us into town. He immediately drove to collect us, when he heard we had walked to the supermarket, went over to the bus station to buy the tickets for Essaouira for us, and checked up on the company we had booked for a hike in the Atlas Mountains.
After experiencing the indifference of staff in other hotels we have stayed at around the world, it was such a refreshing change to find there are still people like Omar and his staff , who really care. Don't stay anywhere else!!

Dar El Kanoun is a jewel of a guesthouse in Marrakech, far enough from the center of the city to be peaceful, but close enough to get there easily by taxi. Our rooms were beautiful, as are the common areas and the gardens surrounding the house. Our only disappointment was how cold the water in the pool was - even my hardy daughter jumped in and right back out.

Dar El Kanoun is in a residential area, so if you are expecting entertainment (other than what you can provide for yourself) this may not be the right choice. We were in walking distance from a lovely hammam, where one of us enjoyed skin treatments and massage. We also walked to the supermarket, which was an interesting cultural "adventure". We bought argan oil there to take home, at the suggestion of Geraldine, one of the hosts.

But the main pleasures of Dar El Kanoun were enjoying gracious and wonderfully prepared breakfasts and dinners, reading, relaxing, and recharging as well as having engaging conversations with Omar and Geraldine, the couple who own the house. Omar is a great cook, and we had fun discussing recipes, among other topics.

Omar was available when we needed help but completely respected our privacy. Both Omar and Geraldine were incredibly helpful with directions, suggestions and phone calls to sort out local arrangements and plans for us. It was like visiting family, only without the guilt or drama.

We drove from Casablanca to Marrakech, in a rented car (without a GPS) because we had no idea that there would be essentially no street signs anywhere we went. After circling the general vicinity of Dar El Kanoun and being escorted by a police officer part way, we pulled over at a resort that ended up being quite close. The guard at the resort kindly called Omar, who drove over to escort us. I strongly suggest a GPS if you intend to drive in Morocco. And do not go over the speed limit - they are very strict about enforcement.

Overall, our stay at Dar El Kanoun was perfect!

Omar and geradine are the best hosts one could ever wish for. In a country where nothing runs to time Omar managed to buck this trend. Everything ran like clockwork, including airport pick up, daily taxis, restaurant bookings and trips to ait behaddou. Our room was clean ,spacious, with private balcony overlooking swimming pool and garden. Even though we ate in marrakech's 'best' restaurants we found the evening when we at at the EL Kanoun to be the best food we had anywhere. You will find nothing is too small for Omar to fix. A perfect stay. Thourougly recommended, the best hotel I have stayed in years.

This is a tiny boarding house in the middle of nowhere, which It is freezing cold in the winter. There is nobody at reception but if you phone the owner, who is very pleasant, comes running from wherevever he lives (if he is not out shopping). There is nothing to do but read ( no english tv apart from some news in english on a french channel).
so you just have to stay out until you're tired enough for sleep.

Going back to shower & change before going out again in the evening is quite a mission with all the travel involved. It takes 15 minutes to walk to the bus stop and then it is a 20 minute trip into the centre; you can wait any amount of time for a bus to come. If you order a taxi the 'special hotel rate' is double that of getting one in the street., however, there is no chance of getting one in the street that far out of town..

Eating at lttle coffee tables is uncomfortable and therefore we only ate breakfast.. The house, which is not old, is situated in a suburban road surrounded by other newish houses. The garden is taken up with a tiny pool which gets virtually no sun on it because it is so built up around. So views from our terrace were the back of other houses.

We had to pay in advance and had to pay for the full period even though we moved out to spend our last two days in a hotel in the centre. Our second hotel was so luxurious with an enormous swimming pool, spa, choice of restauants etc. It was quiet, had a lovely view of the mountains but was close to everything and cost less.