We stayed in Ouarzazate for two nights in January 2011, and both nights were spent on Mercure Hotel, a 4 star hotel in front of the Kasbah.

The hotel is very nicely located, and easy to find, especially if you have your own car, as we did. From the outside, the hotel looks very good, in a modern bulding with a Morrocan touch. The repection area is also nice and new. The hotel has a good view of the Kasbah, from where we took some of our best photos.

While checking-in, the reception staff demanded we pay in advance for the 2 nights, which seemed a bit strange and unusual, especially in a 4-stars hotel like Mercure. We had made our reservation online, and got a nice price of about EU$45 per night for a double room. So, it was a good value hotel.

The rooms were disappointing, and did not look like a 4 star hotel. It looked like a 3-star, really. Actually, we later stayed in a Hotel Ibis in Fez, and its room seemed much better. The furnitures were old and not of the best quality. The minibar was empty and not working and the TV only had 3 channel, none of which were in english. The room had a balcony, but with no furnitures on it, not even a chair, so we could not use it as we desired.

The breakfast was included in the price and was a nice buffet, very tasty and filling. We did not have dinner in the hotel, as the restaurant was a bit overpriced.

We used the hotel's hammam and had a great time. It costed about MAD$160 for both of us, and we had the hammam only for ourselfs. It was very relaxing, especially after a long day of driving.

The hotel had a nice swimming pool, which looked very inviting, but we could not used, as it was way too cold during our visit.

Overall, it was a good hotel for a 2 nights stay, and a good value, considering its promotional internet price. But the rooms really did not match the hotel's common areas, and wasn't really up to the 4-stars standard.