Gem Riad — Hotel in Marrakesh Prefecture

I rarely write reviews, but I wanted to make an exception for Gem Riad as the sweetest people working there went above and beyond to make our first trip to Marroco memorable.

My husband and I arrived very late in Marakesh (around 1am local time), but that was no problem, as Ali (the manager) made sure we had a car waiting for us at the airport. Once we arrived near the riad (the cars can’t get through the narrow streets), Yusef (the assistant of the riad) kindly walked us to the riad where Ali was waiting to greet us. We were immediately offered tea and were told that our room would be upgraded as two people that were supposed to travel with us to Marrakesh got sick last minute and had to cancel their travel.

Grateful, we went to our room where Yusef showed us around, but as the room was a bit too hot (and we had just spent the entire day traveling), we asked if we could sleep in a colder room. That was no problem at all - Yusef helped us move. Two days later we were offered another upgrade, which we kindly accepted. Having stayed at two equally gorgeous rooms at Gem Riad, I can confidently say that they take cleanliness very seriously. The rooms are not only spacious, but the interior of each room will also make you feel like you’re living a fairytale.

As breakfast is included in the price, it’s usually served on the terrace on top of the riad where you can get the most amazing views of the city. On our first morning there, we went up to eat but realized there were quite a few bees flying around us, and as my husband is allergic to bee stings, we were, instead, offered to have breakfast in our room, which was incredibly kind - in fact, our breakfast was served in our room every day of our stay.

Moreover, as our flight back home was in the morning, that meant that we needed to leave the riad quite early, but that didn’t stop the staff to serve us breakfast at 6am - this kind of hospitality and kindness I am yet to see in other places of the world.

Needless to say, the city is breathtaking, and the location of the hotel is fantastic (with souks, restaurants, markets just around the corner), but it’s the people of Gem Riad that made our trip even more special.

Marrakesh is the city that will make you want to extend your trip, but it’s the people that will make you want to come back.

Needless to say, I was incredibly sad to leave, and I am sure I’ll be coming back.

Ali, Yusef (and the rest of Gem Riad staff), we miss you already and we look forward to...

Poor sanitation and hygiene standards. Although they might be ok for moroccans for us- europeans they are not acceptable.||||I and my partner we couldn’t force ourselves to have a shower in that filthy shower room with a plastic slimy shower door and left this place on 18th April staying less than a few hours in this riad. ||It was so disgusting that we couldn’t even think of having a breakfast there, although it is included into the price.||Out of toiletries, you get some cheap toilet paper and soap. You will not get a face or hand towel in this place. :) ||||The room was nothing like on the pictures. It was a tiny smelly dark outdated box nothing to do with a moroccan luxury. The floor in the room and bathroom was so filthy I couldn’t force myself to stand up on it barefoot. The floor in the room was covered by old filthy rugs and I am not sure when was the last time they undergone cleaning or sanitation. I don’t think it ever crossed the mind of their cleaner to hoover or sanitise the rugs.||||However, when i read the other reviews they give this place 9 or 10 star including cleanliness standards. And for this reason I question if the reviews are genuine.|||| Given what I’ve seen I believe the reviews either being bought or corrupted, or the sort of visitors who stay in this riad cannot afford a 4-star Hilton or Radisson and for them this riad is a top notch and they don’t mind walking on dirty rugs and staying in those conditions. As for me, a clean shower and clean floors is a fundamental condition for a decent accommodation. ||I wish I could give this place a 3 star but this would be unfair on good 3 star places with good hygiene standards. If you think you will get some luxury here forget about it. Even some 2-star hostels are cleaner and nicer. We paid something like 53 euro for the room and frankly speaking it is not worth even that. ||15 euro per night is all I would give for the room in this smelly, old and not...

The positives:||Location was great, walking distance to a lot of sights and Jamaa el Fna.||Breakfast was good (pancakes, bread, jams, eggs on request, etc.). Offered earlier breakfast when we had to leave at 7:30 am.||Room was nicely decorated and they offered an upgrade which was great!||Always welcomed us back to Riad with tea and cookies - very nice, kind man that checked us in in the evening.||Clean||||The negatives:||The hotel staff (young man on morning shift) was really pushy coercing me into giving them 10 rating on booking.com immediately, asking me to do it on the spot. I had to say several times with a smile that I do it when I have time and I will take my time to write what I think. He continued asking and giving arguments why I should do it immediately.||They repeated this in a few hours asking again to give 10 rating on the spot. It was very unpleasant.||Check-out: the same young man asked me to pay in cash a few times. Yes, he said that credit card or cash is no problem but certainly made sure I know he preferred cash!||There was no hot water in the morning (and we stayed one night): they heat water with solar energy and, as they said, “someone woke up earlier and used it all” and we would need to wait 3 hours for it to heat up again (I wonder how big the tank is as the Riad didn’t seem full). Impossible as we needed to check out. They gave a small discount of 10 Eur/ night which didn’t move the needle when the room price was 95 eur while we couldn’t even have a shower.||The room had some loose fixtures, scratches, dents, broken items, etc. Small things but they don’t make a good overall impression.||Overall there are better value for money options in Marrakech that I...