Palais Tinmel — Hotel in Marrakesh Prefecture

A friend and I stayed at the Palais Tinmel. We have booked elsewhere but were informed due to the earthquake the accommodation was not available which was fine as the tour operator informed us they would find us an equivalent. |I had contacted the Riad prior to arrival as one of the reviews had indicated it is difficult to find and it was so thank you for that. The receptionist organised a taxi from airport to the Riad and collected us from the drop off point. Their transfer service is a pricey however we would never had found the Riad so it was worth.|The Riad is beautiful and different staff each give you a different service. ||The first day we set off and walked it to the square which was easy. On the way back we found it to be a nightmare to get back. The following morning we spoke about our eventful journey back to the Riad the evening before. A different member of staff was incredibly helpful and guided us how to return to the Riad. As we did not want to experience the return we decided to get a taxi back from the square every evening and walk back to the Riad through the medina walls which was safe. You are met by eager children and some adults who live in the local surroundings near the Palais Tinmel :-)||Do not expect anything to do at the Tinmel. It is very quiet. There are only 3 sunbeds. The breakfast is 5/10 and repetitive. The rooms are dated. The surrounding beautiful.||The worst aspect of the trip was on the day we left. We agreed the night time before leaving the receptionist would assist with our luggage (beware lots of steps) and take us to the transfer point again arranged by the Riad. We had an early flight what can go wrong? Early hours of the morning the member of staff we had arranged it with was nowhere to be found. We waited, we called, we messaged via whatsapp, we range bells we knocked on office doors. No one, which was concerning.||After some time we got our luggage down huffing and puffing and wheeled them to where the transfer car was waiting. The driver said he had called but there was no answer. We were extremely lucky. What a let down.||We later found out that the member of staff was attending to another guest. Lucky guest but not lucky for us.||My suggestion would be Palais Tinmel if you are aware 2 guests are leaving on the same day, the same time would it not be possible to have 2 members of staff working? And if that member of staff knew he was supposed to help us in the morning should he not have informed someone of the other urgency?||Please feel free to ask any...

Beautiful building, and loads of space, but it could be better if they improved and run the Riad with logic, common sense and practical solutions for guests I didn't like Ghizlane, I am sure many will meet her and be amazed by some of the stuff she says. (Personally, I have nothing against her but her attitude was very bad and poor, she was not hospitable and attentive to guests' needs, ) Firstly, you are NOT allowed to bring any FOOD or DRINK into the accommodation. Temperatures are reaching nearly 40'C in Marrakech and you are NOT allowed to bring any drinks or water to the accommodation, this did not make sense at all. I did bring it sometimes unnoticed and she realized afterward and she let it slip, but she mentioned to me "strictly speaking you are not allowed, you are lucky I am allowing it" You are not allowed to bring food and not allowed to get food DELIVERED either! There's no outside food allowed in the Riad they charge 20 euros per meal, the food you may not like, and with no set menu too. Plus every time you need to leave the premises a staff will have to get the key to open the door and let you leave when you arrive you have to knock on the door and wait in heat until someone hears you then come to open the door. Total abysmal, Ghizlane could not even make sense of the rules herself she kept on saying there is CCTV and the manager will see, I asked 1 staff have you met the manager they said never met them in person even though they'd been on the job for a while. Anas (a male staff, with glasses) was amazing and helpful and nice to talk to. But of course, he can not do anything about these dictatorship-style rules which were being enforced by the great Ghizlane. Apart from that, the building and the room were fine. The shower was definitely an issue, there was hardly any pressure at times. The breakfast was pretty simple to be fair nothing to drool over.

Ghizlane at the start gave me her number to contact her as when needed, every time I sent a message or called there was never a response, when I approached her about this she says she was busy or her phone...

The riad was very lovely and traditional and the staff were very welcoming. You really feel you have stepped back in time to a very tranquil environment surrounded by palms and flowers. The riad is on the edge of the old town and many tuc tuc drivers don't know how to find it and taxis can't take you closer than a 4 minute walk. If you take a tuc tuc look for a narrow one as they will drop you at the door. You need to get the consierge to download the offline map to help you navigate your way around and also write the directions down for both the taxi drivers and separately for the tuc tuc drivers. We were a group of 4 friends and had two rooms. The twin room had limited storage space and the bathroom while fully functional had plaster walls which looked a bit tired. The rooms were cleaned every day and the riad was well kept. There is a plunge pool which has quite steep steps into it, but was very refreshing and allowed us to cool down. There are a few nice seating areas downstairs but we preferred the ones upstairs to sit at night and relax and there are also a few sunbeds to catch the sun. Breakfast consisted of fresh orange juice, tea and coffee and a variety of bread, pancakes and various savoury rolls. We also asked for omelettes and boiled eggs as I am gluten intolerant. We ate out most nights and our meals in the nearby Limoni italian were good, 61+ a french restaurant in the new town was good. We spent our last night at Comptoir which was a bit pricier but was a lovely busy place with live music and entertainment. If you look lost people will materialise and offer to help, they then demand large amounts of money. Give them a small amount if they have been helpful but chase them if you don't want help. The beauty of the Palais Tinmel is its a wonderful old authentic riad and very romantic and the staff made you feel very welcome. My friend loved how they welcomed you back at night and asked about your day, its a lovely antidote to the hustle and bustle...