Riad Basma Marrakech

Greedy Tax Evader Owner, only wants cash and doesn't want to use her card payment machine so that she doesn't pay her local Tax that she even charged us on our original booking. Com, no posted signs on the door, so that she doesn't get calls by the Tax Officers, so we had to find it by asking people and knocking on various doors in the neighborhood. Very dark narrow spooky road outside at nights you couldn't even see the keyhole to the main entrance door to get in at nights unless you use flash lights on your mobile which could be risky to get snatched from your hands, we were attacked by their door by some nasty young local boys. And they stole our shopping bags from my girlfriend's hand while I was trying to open the door to get in one night. The service was bad and the rooms and towels were smelly and dirty, breakfast was very basic. We had very bad experience there and we would note advise anyone to stay there.

From the moment I arrived until the moment I departed the staff at Riad Basma Marrakech were superb.
They welcomed me, and helped carry my luggage to my room. They demonstrated how the air conditioning and the security safe worked, showed me the Wi-Fi username and passwords and gave me information and times regarding breakfast.
The room was atmospheric which of course looked onto the highly decorative courtyard. The Wi-Fi was excellent and worked faultlessly.
The breakfast which was quickly served on the roof terrace was simple and delightful.
When making enquiries Fatima was incredibly helpful and informative and spoke and wrote very good English. Upon arrival Yassin welcomed me and showed me and familiarised me with the amenities. Latifa was a very pleasant and helpful lady who was flexible with her cleaning times.
The team even helped me book a porter and a taxi to and from the premises. Everyone was pleasant, helpful and professional and I can only say a huge thank you to them all.

We were warmly welcomed by Hasna, Fatima and Youssuf, who not only provided us with excellent breakfasts in the morning but also their invaluable assistance and availability when needed. The Riad is in an excellent location (just a 10-minute walk from Jemaa el-Fna, the nearest taxi drop-off point) and is well-maintained. A recommended experience for everyone!

Maybe we just had bad luck but we found the riad cold and unwelcoming. A warm welcome or some friendliness might have made us overlook some of the poorer aspects. The riad booked a taxi for us from the airport which is a good idea as it is hard to find initially. We were met from the taxi and we scurried after our greeter with no words. He showed us to our rooms. Sadly there were things broken in both rooms. In my room there were no batteries in the safe. Even after finding batteries it still didn't work. My window shutters were also broken and couldn't be properly closed. My friend's room had more than one light bulb out and the shower didn't work properly. The guy didn't appear to speak French or English so he telephoned the owner who did her welcome on the phone. We felt completely lost. She just told us it was perfectly safe to walk around and when we asked for a restaurant recommendation she gave us a name which we tried to find ourselves but didn't unsurprisinly! It was perfectly safe but as first-time visitors and 2 single ladies we were hoping for a bit more warmth. We wanted someone to greet us, get a map out and show us where things were, where we were, recommend places to go etc. There is no doubt that the riad is great value. We slept soundly however one family checked out at 4.30am so that woke us up and another couple checked in late and that woke us up! That's just unfortunate I guess. Breakfast on day one was omelette and then 3 types of bread.