Hostel Dar Ben Youssef — Hotel in Marrakesh Prefecture

Horrible experience. I made a reservation months before the trip for this hostel for me and some friends, through Booking. The night before flying to Marrakech (at 23:00) I get an email from Booking saying that my reservation was changed from the day we were going (January) to April. I call the hostal and they tell me to call the next day (scarce knowledge of English by the way). Obviously I don’t wait until the next morning and I call booking at the same moment, and they confirm to me that the modification wasn’t made by me (obviously) but by the hostel without my knowledge!||Booking tried to solve the situation by calling them (they didn’t answer, despite answering me two minutes before that) and then they tried sending them an email, meanwhile they called me saying this time that I made the modification (so they were basically lying) and that there was nothing more to do since the hostal was fully booked that day. ||When I told Booking this, I was told that after they sent the email we had to wait 30’ according to the website’s policies in order for me and my 6 friends to be relocated somewhere else. But suddenly, they answered that everything was OK and that they could have me and my friends as originally planned, which was quite shocking for me since they just told me minutes ago they were fully booked.||After this, since I was not quite confident, I called several times Booking (also the next morning, before catching the flight) to make sure everything was OK, and they told me so. ||Then, the worst happened, which unfortunately was not surprising. I get there and they tell me that there is no reservation with my name. I try to explain the situation to them, but because of their bad English and French, and their incapacity and unwillingness to help, I’m forced to call Booking and ask for relocation. The thing is that the whole process was too long (2 and a half hours waiting in the lobby) because when Booking was trying to get answers from the Hostal, they either got none, or got that we were not actually in the hostal and they were still waiting for us! We eventually were forced to send them photos of ourselves in the hostal. After the long waiting, we were finally relocated. 7 people lost almost an entire afternoon because of this shameful scam. ||Them changing our entry dates is wrong, we could have been relocated the same night, but they lied saying that they could have us! And then they tried to get away with it saying that we never arrived. Horrible experience. Also, it was quite confusing that the staff (there were only 2 men, one of whom was theoretically called Elyas, which was probably a lie since he was trying to evade my question when I asked for his name and it took like 20s for him to answer) didn’t seem to give a damn about the situation. They were the whole time sitting with their phone doing nothing, maybe it wasn’t their first time,...

Upon arrival, checking me in, the receptionist was not satisfied with a color photo of my passport (rather than the actual passport). I assured him I can provide the whole passport tomorrow. This seemed not satisfactory to him. Suddenly I was told there is no bed available. I told him I had called to ask/confirm (because I arrived a day before my reservation with them on Booking but there was a system error to pay on the app for the addition night) and was told yes, showed him text messages proving this. He made a phone call in Darija language, then said yes there is a dorm bed but stated a higher price than what showed on Booking. I plainly asked why the price difference. And the guy became aggressive.

Normally I would have simply left. But it was too late at night to find another place to stay. So I sought resolution and peace. I paid the higher priced, apologized for any misunderstanding, and went to take rest. Soon after laying down I received an email from Booking stating the remainder of my reservation at the property for the following days was changed to April (4 months from now🤔). I responded to Booking asking why this change, and their Customer Service said that the property said that I requested the change (!!)

Also in the dorm room there were 3 of 6 beds available. They remained unclaimed thru the night.

So… in various ways… It seems honesty and integrity are not among their values.

Also, the dorm room smelled somewhat like a...

I have spent many years (before Covid) to and from Marrakesh then on to the South and the Gorges and from there onto Merzouga, in other words the Red and Green Brick Road down to the desert||It was more luck than judgement I came upon this Hostel and the wonderful Samir and his team, including Hadisha, Yeunss and Mo hamed. They are all so helpful, great with their language skills, un intrusive and always so open. The hostel itself is immaculately clean , beautifully laid out yet retaining many original features and outstandingly good value for money. It is located, I would say, in an area of Marrakesh which is undergoing a huge amount of sympathetic restoration, and from this Hostel , you are within easy reach of one of the best Hammams in Marrakesh 'The Hammam de Rose'. The Museum of Moroccan women , and the old Quran school , which has been transformed into a beautiful Museum and Gallery and is a fine example of Moroccan Architecture. The Medina of Jam el Jefna is about a 10 minute easy walk from the Hostel , but far enough away to not be intrusive at this hostel. I can not recommend this Hostel enough , and I can assure you , I have tried many in Marrakesh. !!!!! Who ever you are and whatever age you are, this place will suit your needs and its a great place to make new friends. OR explore the sights and sounds of Marrakesh. I can not recommend this place enough. Thanks Samir ....