Riad Hotel Marrakech

We had a beautiful lunch on the roof terrace at L'Hotel Marrakech that felt like a private escape. The setting was absolutely stunning—crisp white linen, a gentle breeze through lush greenery, and the air fragrant with blooming flowers. The set menu was delicious and generous; I couldn’t get enough of the goat cheese and date salad, and the lamb chops were to die for. The service was warm and attentive—our waiter made us feel truly looked after, even if I didn’t catch his name. A calm, elegant experience I’d return to in a heartbeat for a special treat.

The worst luxury hotel experience I have ever had. We arrived at the riad and were shown to our room which smelled of mildew. We were visiting during Ramadan and had taken the time to email the hotel ahead of time and ask if there were any particular restrictions we should be aware of while staying with them, asking specifically if they would be able to serve cocktails or wine, to which the hotel indicated that some other establishments may refuse to serve locals but for a foreigner visiting with them there would be no such restrictions. Upon arrival, I had to attend to a few emails after a day of travel and called to the front desk and asked if we could have two beers sent to our room. We were informed that the hotel does not serve alcohol. Naturally this was confusing to us given the email correspondence. Naturally we wish to be respectful of the local culture, but at the same time we are wine enthusiasts and at this point it felt like a bit of deception on the hotels part. When we spoke to the manager he indicated that all guests are supposed to be informed of this upon booking but acknowledged there was an oversight on their part and we were not told of this, and couldn't explain why it again was not brought up when we emailed asking about this very topic despite acknowledging the hotel does not have a liquor license. One of the part bizarre moments was when the manager then offered to go out and bring the next day and bring back wine for us. Needless to say this made us quite uncomfortable as we were certainly not asking the hotel to break local laws. We just wish they had not been so deceptive.