Hôtel Central Palace — Hotel in Marrakesh Prefecture

Nothing wrong with the hotel itself. Friendly staff, sure a bit old maybe but for me it was all good.

However, do NOT book any of their tours, at least not the Ait Ben Haddou/Ouarzazate one...I am not sure what company they are doing it together with, and it's not really the fault of the hotel itself (probably...). Not sure about the others and it might be different on the destination and the guide, but this one was a scam. First in Ait Ben Haddou they made us walk across the river on somewhere where there was no bridge, just rocks and stuff they had placed our, and there were some people including kids there to help people walk over. And of course when we had finished crossing, they asked for money! And guess what we saw from inside the actual village? A REAL BRIDGE over the river! And that bridge we crossed on the way back! So basically we crossed somewhere without a bridge to start with and were taken money to do that, when there was an actual bridge we could have crossed both to and from the village for free. And the village on the inside is not even that worth seeing. It looks good and makes for good pictures from the other side of the river, but we were not even able to stay and take photos there.

After that they took us to some hotel restaurant where you could only order three dishes menus for 120-130 dirham per person. That might sound like a normal price for Europeans - but we are not in Europe! And the food was the same flavourless tourist food you get around the Jamaa el Fna square in Marrakesh. You could get the same dishes with much better quality for a much cheaper price in other locations. This is something that you might not think about if you are a tourist who is new to Moroccan food, and might just think this is what Moroccan food is like. But after eating some tajines and other foods that were completely delicious and filled with flavour, and with just excellent quality, in Fez and Chefchaouen, this food is just a scam and it's a shame that this is what they are serving to tourists. I don't know why they expect tourists to want flavourless food rather than the real authentic spices.

They also made us pay 50 dirham per person after lunch for the visit to the village. Not at the entrance to the village or anything - which would have been reasonable, if we had had the choice to enter or not enter if we wanted - but at the hotel where we had just eaten, together with the food. No way that money goes to keep the village in good condition or anything.

To be honest, I feel like Marrakech as well is filled with this sort of tourist scams, it's way too touristy and made up for tourists. It's a shame because we had really good experiences in Chefchaouen, Fez and Casablanca.

I am surprised that no one was complaining or anything, but I am guessing most of the people on this tour had only been to Marrakech and nowhere else in Morocco and don't know what they should get and to expect.

And lastly Ait Ben Haddou and the lunch took such long time that we had like no time left to explore Ouarzazate. So yeah, even if the tour prices are cheap; don't trust them. You will end up paying much more later on during the trip and get very little for it. Being able to book tours through the hotel is a great thing, but they should really look to change the company they are doing it together with. There must be at least some company that is serious in the city and not looking to scam...

The good:

The staff were extremely nice and helpful. They always made sure that we felt safe and comfortable. They helped us with bookings, bus, taxi and orientation. There was always someone around. We did not feel it unsafe to leave valuables inside our room. The riad looked very cute and felt like an authentic experience. The bed was comfortable and the room had what we needed (e.g. a sink, extra blankets and towels). There is also a cute rooftop with tables, seats and sun beds where you can see out over some of the city. In the same building with a separate entrance, there is a small cute place where we could get some local breakfast (we paid about €5 for two). We also had no issues communicating with the staff in English. Finally, the value for the price was unbeatable—we got what we payed for.

The less good:

As we traveled in January, nights got cold (about 5°C), but there was no heating in the rooms, although it said there would be. We ended up using about 4 blankets, and were still a bit cold. We booked a room with shared bathroom, and what we found was only 3 showers for all the (many) rooms, and a total of 5 toilets which had absolutely no proper ventilation or cleaning. Another thing to be aware of is the location: the riad is located right next to the Jemaa el-Fna square (which gets VERY crowded at night) on a busy street which has thousands of people passing through every hour (this is not an exaggeration), as well as many loud mopeds. This means that the noise in the rooms makes it impossible to sleep (for some) without proper noise cancellation headphones (I couldn’t sleep without my airpods, it was that bad). The last issue we had was with the safety issues once stepping foot outside the riad. As European travelers, we were targeted by all too many locals attempting to scam, extort and assault us for money. This resulted in us staying indoors after it got dark too often. This may, of course, not be an issue for all, but definitely something to be aware of before staying at a place in...

I stayed there for four nights, attracted by relatively good reviews. I had a double room, with a private bathroom. The room was small, spartan in appearance, but clean. Simple furniture, big signs of wear and tear everywhere. The doors to the toilet and shower didn't close properly, the light above the sink didn't work. In the shower you don't even have a towel rack. There was a TV in the room, but the remote control didn't work. Anyway, I didn't need it... There was also an air conditioner that seemed quite "tired". It wasn't needed, the temperature in the room was OK. You can't pay by card - another minus. The biggest minus, however, was the noise. The window of the room (old type, so it doesn't isolate well from any point of view) opens onto a narrow canyon-like street, where there are a few other similar hotels and a small shop. Scooters also pass by on the street. It's noisy until late, around 01:00. I stayed on the 1st floor, maybe the 2nd floor would be a little better, although I don't think so. On the positive side, we can mention the location, close to a shopping street and the Jema el Fna market. Also, the guys at the reception are great. Conclusion: The hotel looks better in the pictures than in reality, but it's an option to consider due to the location and the friendly staff. Avoid room 11- a lot of noise (probably all on that side are the same, at least the ones on...