Our family of 6 (parents late thirties, grandparents late sixties, daughters 5 and 10) arrived in Safi for 3 nights after 3 nights at a comfortable 5-star hotel in Marrakech. My husband and I had wanted to see something more authentic in Morocco and based on all the raving reviews we had great expectations for Riad Safi.

Finding the riad from the Bab Chabah parking was very easy and we immediately noticed that we were among locals. During our 3-night stay the only time we saw other tourists (2 of them) was at the Gegene-restaurant (a very nice place). We also had dinner at Chez Hosni, which we definitely recommend to everyone. Our trip to Safi would have been worth it just for this experience (don't be put off by the location of the restaurant!). Walking in the souks was very relaxing after Marrakech, people were very friendly but not pushy. Pottery was beautiful and very inexpensive (I bought beautifully crafted teamugs for 10dhs each!)

Back to the riad. As a place of accommodation it was pretty much what my husband and I expected and we were satisfied with that. The grandparents were fussier, feeling it wasn't very clean (to some extent they had a point), the shower didn't work very well and there was no airconditioning in our rooms. As there were no other guests, the staff was very helpful and organised bigger and airconditioned rooms for us. In the end only one of the rooms (Océane) had airconditoning which worked so the grandparents could at least be comfortable, if not sleep because of the noise from the medina (do pack earplugs!). We had reserved a dinner the first night, which was nice (moroccan salad, a chicken tagine and fruit salad and tea) but quite expensive at 20euros per person. The breakfast was very nice (pancakes and jams, bread, freshly squeezed orange juice) and the staff helped us with bus timetables to Essaouira. We also took a trip to Oualidia (about an hour away either by bus or taxi), which was really lovely and a safe place for the kids to play in the water.

Many of the previous positive reviews talk about how the welcoming presence of the owners made a big difference in their stay. After hearing so much about it, their lack of presence during our stay was a bit of a disappointment (especially to the French grandpa) and we were left wondering what we missed out on. Our experience was fine, but between the ratings average and very good, I have to opt for average.

My husband and I stayed here recently for 2 nights. We cannot believe that we stayed in the same riad as the other reviewers. The riad is neglected and cuold do with a good clean out.

Our room was large but seemed to be totally uncared for and needed a good scrub. The shower, while spacious, turned hot and cold constantly and we were left waiting for several minutes at a time till it got hot again.

We had organised dinner when we booked, and the dinner was acceptable but was not to the standard we get at other riads. The coffee served after the dinner was cold.

The woman who worked in the riad was part-time and untrained. She did offer us tea and coffee tea couple of times, but each time it was cold.

We have visited Morocco at least 6 times and stayed at many riads and hotels and I have to say this was the worst particulay as we paid 75 euros.

Stay somewhere else!

I stayed there only one night but I have to say that it was a fantastic riad. Jean-Michel and his wife were incredible and really welcoming. I felt like home and we really enjoyed to have a traditionnal tea in the terrasse. the riad is right in the medina and is perfectly located. Me and my partner felt really welcomed, relaxed and it was one of the best moments of our holidays.

Far from the crowds of Morrocos touristic centres, Riad Safi combines quiet peace, beautiful views and excellent service in the middle of Safis medina