Riad Ariha - Marrakech

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the Riad Ariha, Amina and Abdul couldn't have been more welcoming and helpful. You must try the Lamb Tagine at the Riad, the best in Marrakech. When we arrived at the Airport we were met by Mustaph and his taxi and from then on we were looked after like family by all at the Riad which was a lovely calm and peaceful retreat from the hustle and bustle of Marrakech. We can't praise all the staff enough, they really made our trip memorable.

The riad itself was superb the only major drawback was the location, well away from other tourist areas along a maze of dark twisting alleyways with groups of youths and young children pestering you, sometimes demanding money.

Getting to the Riad was no problem with the directions provided. The food was excellent - amongs the best we had in Morocco. The staff were very friendly and helpful and the guide they arranged for us truly excellent in terms of his knowledge and value for money. Would recommend to anyone.

We had a ground floor room which opened onto the central courtyard. As in all riads the room was dark but this adds to atmosphere rather than being a negative point. The mint tea and biscuits on arrival was a particular highlight and have the taxi from the airport, we would never have found it otherwise! The staff were friendly and helpful, the breakfasts were massive and tasty and the communal areas were lovely. Would recommend to friends. About 15 minute walk from the central square it was an oasis in the middle of Marrakech.

We stayed in 4 of the 5 rooms during our time in Marrakech, some are small but your not there to stay in the room! The staff were excellent and the Riad is such a calming place to return after a hectic day in Marrakech. Don't be put off by the location, there is an easyish route throught the soaks which is fun! Highly recommend!

The place was really nice and so was the staff, but my air-conditioner didn't work for 2 days and it was really hot. It was supposed to be fixed after the first night, but was not and there was not offer to move me to another room or any other compensation until I asked for a fan on the 2nd night which was given to me. I was the only guest as far as I know for the first night and only another couple the 2nd day

Epic spot for a stay in Marrakech, a great place to escape the hustle and bustle of the city and unwind in the courtyard.

Getting to the Riad from where the taxi drops you off can be a bit intimidating at first, but the Riad is a great place to get from all the noise and chaos of Marrakech.

We had a fantastic time at Riad Ariha. The area surrounding the riad feels like the "real" Marrakech but the riad itself is a haven and felt like a sanctuary from the hustle and bustle. The staff, particularly Abdul were absolutely fantastic, Abdul even walked us to the taxi stop at night and met us when we returned so we didn't have to walk alone. The cook, Kadija cooked us the best meal we ate in Morocco. Fantastic - we would love to go back !

Beautiful riad, nice people, good price, great food. The surroundings are a bit poor but this is what make the place so typical. The owner of the place is really friendly. We loved it! Ed & Marie from France

A fantastic place to stay while in Marrakech. Riad Ariha was a perfect base for exploring the city on foot, the staff were brilliant - both friendly and extremely helpful - nothing was too much trouble. Would recommend to couples or singles young or old.

Une chambre au rez-de-chaussée très bruyante, un personnel pas toujours aimable, des petits déjeuners plus ou moins copieux selon les tables... notre séjour au Riad Ariha ne restera pas dans les annales... ------ The room was very noisy (ground floor), the employees were not welcoming (we had the impression to "disturb them"), depending the clients the breakfast was more or less consistent. We didn't like our stay at the Riad Ariha

Beautiful Riad and great, accomodating welcoming staff. Only slight downside was running the gauntlet of local youths who congregated outside not that this bothered me too much as no worse than London... All in all though the value for money was superb and they even got up speacial to make us breakfast on the last night at 3AM.

The staffs are very friendly and helpful. The place is clean and quiet, but rather not easy to find.

Riad Ariha is a beautiful place to stay. the staff are friendly and kind. the rooms were contemporary & produced to a very high standard. however, be warned that there is limited hot water, not ideal during a cold January stay! sadly i wouldn't call Riad Ariha good value for money as breakfast was limited (cold coffee!!!) and other than the room very little else was offered during the stay. there were no facilities to make your own drinks. i also found it odd that payment HAD to made in cash and felt a little put out when a member of staff came to my room to request complete payment half way through the stay! what happened to paying when you check out? other than that the Riad was lovely and i can imagine it is a magical place to stay when the climate is a little hotter!

Riad Ariha was everything we were looking for! The owners were warm and welcoming. We arrived late but they accomodated us with a delicious unscheduled tagine, and the owner and I succuessfully procured some wine from a near-by restaurant. Staff gave us excellent advice on getting the most out of our time in Marrakesh. I highly recommend this Riad!

The turn by turn direction given to the riad were excellent. Upon walking in we were amazed by how clean this place was. When we first arrived we were greeted by owner Barbara and her husband, and they spent over half an hour explaining to us the location and how to get around to different places (such as the supermarket) over tea and sweets. After they learned that we were interested in taking a cooking class but was not able to find a space, they managed to arranged one for us in the riad itself. Besides being quiet and clean, one big draw for us staying in a riad like this is the personal touch you get. The riad only has 6 rooms, so you really get to know the staff and other guests.

Although the riad ariha was very peaceful and calm, we found it to be too expensive for what it was. We stayed there for four nights and the employees were nice and all, but the breakfast wasn't all that great. After the riad ariha and travelling in marocco we went back to marrakech and stayed at an other riad we had booked, and it was 20€ cheaper, offering the same services with a better breakfast and a bigger "swimingpool". I do have to say that the beds are very comfortable at riad ariha. one other thing against it, though, is that they offered a taxi (we had to pay, obviously) telling us that it was norma price (150 DH) and on our way back we got it for 50DH and the lonely planet said between 50dh and 70dh. anyway, it was nice staying there, but we found it too expensive for what it is.

Our stay was superb.The riad was decorated taking care of all the little details and the result gave it magical atmosphere. The rooms were spotless. The family were very welcoming and made you feel like at home. However we considered the quality vs. price could be better. We stayed in a similar riad for only 40 euros which was closer to the medina.

Thank you very much! It was a pleasant journey.

Very warm and welcoming, very helpful in booking restaurants and organising trips. We enjoyed our stay there inspite of the location and finding the place was a bit of a nightmare at night. But it was a good break. This was our first visit and the Medina is the place to stay in Marrakesh.

No vale la pena. it is too small and loud for the price. the location is confusing, especially at night when it feels unsafe. the pictures on this page make the place seem much nicer than it really is. you can find something better for cheaper and in a more convenient location.

Good simple rooms, pleasant stay and a good price. The staff were very helpful and knowledgeable.

Riad managers and all staff were friendly and welcoming - lovely people. Our double room was the smallest I've experienced in Marrakech and overpriced. Chicken in tagine was rock hard and inedible. We were threatened by drug crazed youths on way back to riad and saved by riad porter who knocked said youth unconscious!

Staying at the Riad Ariha was an excellent choice as it is situated in the heart of the Medina among all the local people. We very quickly found it easy to pick up the route to and from the Riad down the alleyways and out to the amazing main square Place Jemaa al fna.

A lovely Riad with extremely good hosts for whom nothing was too much trouble. Everything as described, and the amount of advice especially in transport to/from Airport was fantastic. Indeed the lunch on arrival was the best food we ate in Marrakech! Shame about the rest of Marrakech - as fairly seasoned travelers we spent most of the time feeling vulnerable, ripped off and hassled! Wouldn't recommend the country, but if you do go and want to stay in the Medina, I'd highly recommend this Riad.

The dinner was the best meal we had in Morocco; highly recommended. Fantastic service!

Un rincón muy especial, tranquilo y acogedor donde disfrutar y descansar en una ciudad tan encantadora como marrakech. Lo mejor sin duda ha sido el trato familiar de los propietarios del riad que te hacen sentir como en casa. Y sólo a 15 min. a pie del centro histórico, la plaza Jemaa El Fna y los Zocos. ¡¡No os lo perdáis!!!

A wonderful little oasis in the middle of the old medina. A place where you can close your eyes and start to dream about "Alf laila wa-laila" (Thousand and One Nights). The rooms (I was able to experience three of them) are all individually lovely decorated. The way to the hotel is part of the adventure of the "travel through time" as you need to pass some very narrow lanes through to the old medina, filled with many people, children playing around, the smell of the Maghreb, donkeys, bikes and mopeds. Once arriving in the Riad you know, you did the right thing to book it. We spent the late evening on the roof terrace where you could have a nice view over the medina and ebjoy the stars in the dark black sky. We have been allowed by the stuff to bring our Shiha (Waterpipe) with us, so we had the chance to enjoy to smoke the Shisha on the roof terrace. The stuff also is wonderful, they try to help in any kind of questions, and tried to fullfil all our wishes. Just wonderful.We would come back again every time, and enjoy this Oasis in the middle of Marrakesch !!

There are other riads as nice but cheaper and closer to the plaza

WE enjoyed our stay , very nice small riad , but a little far from Jema el fna Plazza... The service is done by very nice, sweet people ,very welcoming, quiet, and who does everything to help. Our room was a little bite small but very clean and quiet, we slept very well , breakfast is good as well as tajine and more ... Thank you for all the team .

Don't let the initial surroundings put you off too much; on first arrival (especially in the dark) it can be quite daunting - real backstreets of Marrakech. You will need someone to meet you and take you to hotel from the taxi drop off on first time (streets are too narrow to get a car down, so is only accesable on foot). After that, it's not as bad as it seems for getting to / from. And it's about 15 minute walk from main square (it looks further on the map). Our room was on the ground floor, and opended straight onto the courtyard area where meals are taken, and which then has the kitchen / lounge off it. Because of the layout, noise travelled very far. Fortuantly there were no late night revellers staying, but you can forget a lie in for the morning. We found the room disappointingly small - struggling to walk past the bottom of the bed / wall. I think first floor rooms might be better? However, although simple, it was clean. Bathroom was fine, but not exactly forthcoming with hot water. In General (for Marrakech) French is the main western language, but you should 'get by' with English for most of the time. But an understaning of French will help. This is very much a guest house, rather than hotel, and some of the services advertised on Venere seemed a little ambitious for what was actually there (swimming pool? / front desk? bar? etc). We had a couple of nights, and for what we were doing, the place was fine, although room size and noise (anything other than a whisper could be heard from anywhere) were the main drawbacks. And it was nice to stay in a genuine Riad in the backstreets to get a real flavour of what Marrakech is about. Overall, for the price, the place wasn't too bad. I'm sure there are better places (but at a price), but if you're spending most of the day out sightseeing, and only really using the Riad as a base to sleep in, then it was fine and serves it purpose well. In general, to get the most out of your visit to Marrakech, relax!

A fantastic accommodation in the sourrounding of the old Medina and the souks, but notice: the way to the accommodation is difficult to find, so, you need help to find this wonderful place! (The hotel will help you). The sourrounding of the hotel is "Marrakech live", so we have given only 5 points. Ein wunderschönes Quartier am Rande der Altstadt und der Souks von Marrakesch. Der Weg zur Unterkunft ist alleine jedoch kaum zu finden! (Das Hotelpersonal hilft aber auf Anfrage). Die Herberge befindet sich in einem klassischen Riad, welches wunderschön, geschmackvoll und für unser Gefühl auch absolut authentisch restauriert wurde. Wer sich für Architektur und Kunst interessiert, ist hier richtig. Das Personal ist unglaublih hilfsbereit und freundlich. Wenn es irgendwelche Probleme gibt, wird für die Gäste eine Lösung gesucht - und sofern möglich auch gefunden. Und wer Abends keine Lust mehr auf den Marrakesch-Trubel hat, kann für 100-150 Dirhams auch ausgesprochen lecker essen. Wir können das Haus in jeder Hinsicht wärmstens empfehlen.

Our room was little, but in perfect conditions, clean and pretty. The employees were fantastic! Breakfast great!!