Had wanted to stay in an authentic Riad - and this did not disappoint. Had declined the offer of an (expensive) collection from the airport - so took a taxi to Jamaa El Fna (Dh100 - approx £8) and then phoned Ali on the provided number. He came and then took us to the Riad on foot - a five/ten minute walk. There is no way you would find your own way!

We had opted for the Zafraan suite - it had a window, very comfortable four poster bed and large bathroom, with enormous sunken bath (plenty of hot water available). Our friends room had no window to outside world - but did have a four poster shower!

The Manager, Ali, most helpful and seemed always available. Breakfast was simple - fresh orange juice, pancakes, bread, honey/jam and tea/coffee.

The markets/souks are an unforgettable experience - you can wander round for hours - but don't forget your way back "home". Beware of locals who "want to practice their English" - but want to take you to their favourite areas/shops/stalls.

Initially the shopkeepers seem over bearing in their efforts to entice you in - but after the second day you are able to walk past without feeling uncomfortable. If you do intend to buy, you must barter - there are no price tickets and the first price mentioned is normally more than double what they really expect.

We went to Marrakesh in November 2007 for a long weekend, whicle visiting Spain. From Madrid there are 2h flights with Easy Jet, very cheap.
I wanted to stay in a traditional marrocan house, a riad, not in a modern hotel. We stayed at Riad Quenza.
The riad was not bing, about 6-8 rooms, each with a name and a flagrance of a spice. We stayed in the ZAAFRAN room, the shafron.
Everything looked so authentic, I realy felt like in Scheherezade. Each night we dinned inside, they prepared traditional maroccan dinner for us.
The city is a very strange combination of smells: spices, leather, smoke and dyes. Most of the time, you don's like the smell. It's so easy to get lost on the streets, there no street names and they all look similar. We paid a guide to show ua arround, expecially goind in the Medina.
Don't buy too many things from there, you will end up having a bad barging, even though they convince you it did a good job barganing.
My husband was repeteadly told...he has a berber smile...he hot good prices. Not true! Decide from the begining how much you are willing to spend on anything that you want to buy and don't ever pay more!
When you start negociating for the price, start with ofering 10% of what they are actually asking. The real price is somewhere around 25% of their asking price.
Overall, I liked the experience. This was my first trip into a arabic country.

We arrved and were met as planned by Ali, who we assumed was the manager. A lovely meal and a bottle of wine had been prepared as requested by his colleague Naima, a wonderful young lady who seemed to work from morning till night non stop keeping the rooms clean and preparing breakfasts and any evening meals required. She prepared yet another amazing 3 course meal during our stay, which surpassed anything we'd eaten in Marrakesh!
The Riad is a perfect location for access to the Jemaa El Fna Square. Be prepared to be pestered by shopkeepers as soon as you walk outsiide the security of the house. You daren't even make eye contact as you wll be immediately "pounced on".
We were warned by Ali not to be drawn into negotiations if we wanted to purchase anything, or to eat out, as he had "family and friends" in business locally. He could introduce us to these people, who would "give us the best deal as he was a local".
He later told us that his comissions from other activities has depleted because of the drop in tourism.
Therefore when we wanted a nice restaurant, we asked for his advice. He was only too pleased to personally take us to a restaurant which was virtually on the doorstep. He had a long conversation with the waiter and personally presented us with a five course set menu, and then departed. This menu had 5 courses, which was far too much food for us, and much too expensive for the surroundings (a table set rather sparcely in a vast empty restaurant which felt like eating in a furniture store, as they also sold rugs and artefacts).
I asked the rather nervous waiter if there were any simpler dishes we could have, and after a lot of confusion on the waiter's part, we were FINALLY brought an a -la -carte menu which had a better choice at reasonable prices per dish. The three of us shared a first course of Morrocan salad, and each had a main course and dessert (no wine available of course) - which came to approx 850dm including a tip - approximately a THIRD of what had initially been offerred!
At the end of the trip we again asked Ali about his suggestion of accompanying us to buy some souvenirs for "the best price". Once again he took us to a huge emporium just round the corner from the Riad. He had a long converstion with one of the staff, and then announced we would be now "looked after" and he would meet us later for anything else we wanted.
We chose a djellaba ( a cotton Kaftan-type garment) and four tin wine/water bottle holders. The "best price" offered for us to purchase these items was 3000dm!!!
I expected to barter and eventually bought the djellaba for 300dm - I declined the other items as I had seen them for 180dm elsewhere, and not 400dm which I was being asked to pay.
I had hoped Ali's "introduction would have saved my rather heated discussion with the shopkeeper, as I didn't expect the "best price" would be TEN TIMES what was still obviously a profitable amount at 300dm!!!!!!
I told Ali on our return that I thought his "friends" were dishonest, and after that he could harldy look us in the eye, as my remark obviously implied he was too, and was only after earning as much commission as possible from us via his "introductions"!
This spoilt our experience at Quenza, as I felt Naima had been excellent, and genuinely was concerned for our comfort, even coming to see me in my room when I was unwell to ask if she could do anything to make me feel better. I just felt that Ali should have concentrated more on whtever his role was at Quenza, which from what we observed didn't appear to be very taxing.
I would recommend this Riad, but would not advise accepting any "help" from Ali.

My fiance and I stayed here during a busy period around Easter, when it was difficult to find bookings. Ali from the riad came to the airport and picked us up (for €15 per person, much more than a taxi) and guided us deep into the medina. Although it´s pretty close to the Djemaa el Fna (about a 10-minute walk), you will definitely need someone to show you the way and then take good mental notes or you WILL get lost finding the place, especially at night when all the shops are closed and the medina looks completely different. We stayed in the Zafraan suite, which is roomy and has a great bathroom with a tub, and paid about €70 per night for the room - I believe the other rooms were less.

The riad is well-appointed overall and has some great sitting areas in the courtyard and on the roof. Breakfasts were very good, and Ali and Tahar, who ran the place, were both very friendly and accommodated our every need, although their English wasn´t the best. Overall I´d say you can get better value in Marrakesh without much trouble - the other rooms seemed pretty small and everything the riad offered to book for us (tour, rental car) was about 25% more than we found on our own, but perhaps that´s the case everywhere. We visited at a busy time so it´s hard to complain too much about what we got.