We really enjoyed our stay at Arabo-Andalouse. The Riad is in the old town and close to the Saadian Tombs,El Badi Palace and Palais El Bahia. For us this was just right - in the middle of real-life Marrakesh rather than in the 'New Town' with its more elaborate hotels. The pictures of the riad do it justice and give a good impression. The place is very well appointed, interesting and delightful decor, and helpful staff. If you are looking for a place inside the city walls, and at a very reasonable price, then I recommend Maison Arabo Andalouse without reservation.

That said there were a few issues with our stay. The description of the hotel on hotels.com or expedia (which are linked to off Tripadviser) seems to overstate what - in our experience - was available. For example there was not (in our experience) "televisions with VCRs; bathrooms including bathrobes and designer toiletries; coffee/tea makers and slippers". None of these seemed very important to us so their absence did not matter. For some of the nights we stayed we were the only people in the riad and there was no restaurant. We asked if a meal could be provided the next day (because an on-site restaurant was such an excellent option) and were served the most WONDERFUL meal! We would have loved to sample more and would have done so if the restaurant were in operation.

There were two significant problems. One was that Paolo was not around (which, of course, is completely reasonable). The other staff were most helpful and attentive but our French is only at school level, and their English is somewhat limited. It meant that it was not easy to talk about (for example) whether we could have food one evening, or where to visit.

The other problem was that wifi did not work on either an iphone or ipad. I am fairly techie but could see no way round it. One evening the hotel's internet person came to try and help with this. By turning off all settings on the router (so it basically had no security settings) we were able to access the internet fine. But when he went he put back all the settings and we had no internet. This was frustrating because internet access was one of our reasons for booking. Also, if internet access was working we could have somewhat overcome the language problems, either by using google (or similar) translation software or simply using the internet to research places and options.

The above two issues meant that our experience of Maison Arabo Andalouse was 'Very Good' rather than 'Excellent'. We would definitely stay there again if we returned to Marrakech and have no hesitation about recommending it. It is delightful, interesting and charming. But we experienced some problems that took the edge off our time.

By the way, if you have more than a few day in Marrakesh we suggest taking the full day tour by taxi, offered by the riad, and visiting Imlil and Ourika (Berber villages, Atlas mountains and Ourika waterfalls). At 1350 dirham it is very good value and completely awesome experience.

Don't be put off by the negative comments in this review. The negatives are there because, unfortunately, they popped up and made a difference to our enjoyment. But even with that we still reckon this is a wonderful place and completely recommend it.

I couldn't say better things aboute the hotel. We loved our stay, it felt like an upgrade to our trip. My son was treated so well by all the crew and Paolo, the owner, helped us in every way to make us have a nice stay.
Breakfast is delicious and New Year's Eve dinner was a blast!
We loved it, and will recommend it to the most people we can.
Rooms are clean, and so are bathrooms. The shower is great, however we did run out of hot water one night. Location may seem a bit dangerous, but we felt always safe. Walking distance to and from the Place Jemaa el Fna, and very easy to catch petit taxis.

This Riad is an oasis in the middle of Marrakech. It is a short walk from the main square where all the night markets, snake charmers, story tellers etc are.

Mohammed and his team were amazing from the moment we arrived until the moment we left. Their attention to detail and service was second to none. Upon arrival, we were given a pot of mint tea and biscuits and a map of the town. Mohammed offered to show us to the main
square which was very helpful as I'm pretty sure we would have got lost otherwise!

The Riad itself is beautiful, we stayed in room 7 which was clean and beautifully decorated in typical Moroccan style, it had plenty of space, a lovely comfy bed and a large shower. There is a fabulous roof terrace were we relaxed on our last day on sun loungers. It is centrally located for all the major attractions although the Jardin Majorelle is a short taxi ride away. We walked to every other attraction.

Mohammed did a number of things for us during our stay which we were utterly delighted with and very grateful for. For example, on the first night he jumped in a taxi with us to ensure we got to the restaurant we booked safely. This is an extra touch you just wouldn't see and Mohammed expected nothing in return.

I would not hesitate in recommending this Riad to any of my friends and family. 10 out of 10.

Thank you Mohammed, you made our engagement weekend in Marrakech extra special!

Last February, I had the opportunity to spend the weekend in Marrakech and found myself and my family at this delightful,comfortable riad. Unbeknownst to us there was an hour time difference and our host, Muhamed was so polite he made no mention of us showing up an hour early for breakfast each morning and for our special private dinner he had prepared for us ! There were no clocks around so we didn't realize until we arrived at the airport after our trip was over!The furnishings were lovely and the bed was very cozy. There was a beautiful rooftop terrace where we could watch storks nesting and hear the faithful being called to prayer. It was a welcoming oasis footsteps from the excitement of the center of the Medina.