Riad Abaka by Ghali

To be honest, I’m a little mixed on our stay. I expected it to be hard to find but when we finally did, we were told the riad was under construction and were escorted to another riad. We did not get the room that was booked nor did this riad have the features I expected based on all the photos. Since booking I see the photos and descriptions have changed so new guests will not be mislead. The room was fine, however the bed was not as soft as I prefer. The location is easy once you get your bearings. The staff were great with us and very helpful. But other guests had issues that created a disturbance for all inside one evening. This riad is small and very noisy with people in/out. This also impacted sleep. Breakfast was okay but only served 8-10. And by 8, that’s when they start setting up so more like 8;30 before you get food. This caused us to miss one breakfast due to an early tour and we had to inhale our meal to make our other morning tours.

We expected a grand courtyard (pool, nice decor) and a room specified at 38sqm (which was also what I expected from a traditional riad when I stay in Marrakech 10 years ago). When we arrived, we were told that the hotel was "under renovation" (lies). So we were given the "largest" room with one double bed + 1 single bed. It was 12sqm (we brought a measuring tape cos we were trying to buy furniture). There was no place at all to place any suitcase. You can't close the bathroom door cos the single bed was too wide. You can't fully open the main bedroom door cos of the double bed. We demanded hotels.com transfer us to another riad. They couldn't cos we booked "non-refundable" but since I was a GOLD member, they offered a half price voucher. The hotel staff argued it was us who had too much expectations - "We are having renovation so why you don't understand". Their listing never stated they were under renovation. They charge full price. They refused to cancel. Anyway, most hotels used a EUR1=MAD10. These folks have the audacity to convert local taxes / airport pickup / tours at the full exchange. TOTAL CHEATS. The boss owns 2 riads. Riad Ghali's photos were used for this listing instead. For a lot less, you can go to Riad Dar One -- far bigger, grander, better service. This was supposed to be my honeymoon. I cried so hard. On the last she, she rubbed it in by going "Oh we could have transferred you to our other Riad with the big room but we didn't see you." -- ARE YOU SERIOUS??!

Riad Abaka was a wonderful place to stay. The staff are extremely friendly and helpful and were willing to go to great lengths to accommodate us. The room was comfortable and clean and it was very close to the main square and most of the sights. The only drawback was that the airport shuttle was not free as advertised on hotels.com and the wifi was a little slow but manageable.

Staffs are good, room is clean the signal of wifi is not good in the room due to the weather good location, cheap

Quiet and quaint hotel in the cut of old Marrakech. Great service and amazing tea. Definitely would come back.