Jaal Riad Resort

I really enjoyed everything about the hotel, it's a beautiful setting and has so much potential, except the food wasn't good, don't get me wrong I always found something but it was more an effort to go to meals as you knew it would basically be the same as before, I had a burger from the snack bar which cost 120 mad as not part of AI and was raw inside so on the last day a number of us had Burger King delivered to eat by the pool for half the price! I didn't bother with either of the a la carte restaurants, people got sick from the Moroccan one and there were supplement charges at the Italian, though there was ice cream there! Salim and all the bar staff were great, very friendly and knew your drinks. On the whole what made it for me was the company of other guests either by the pool or after dinner outside the bar, as a solo traveler I was rarely alone and was so happy to chat into the night. I wanted to get my hair cut but the salon is currently closed. If you fly Jet2 (purple band) you automatically get AI plus which includes premium spirits but with Easyjet (yellow band) you don't. I always got a sunbed, though easier when it's just one, I would say it's more to get up early if you want to be near an umbrella for shade.

We have just returned from the Jaal Riad and we couldn't be happier. We only booked in for bed and breakfast as we like to be out exploring. The hotel is gorgeous, yes if you look closely enough there are problems here and there. I would say the main area is outside the dining area beneath the olive trees a lot of floor tiles are loose or sunken and need resetting. The breakfast was varied enough as to not be repetitive. We did have a drink from the pool bar which we found very expensive £16 or 200 Dirham for a cocktail and an alcohol free beer. Our room was a ground floor garden room and was gorgeous. A great outdoor seating area. Point to note you will only get the sun up to about 2pm on this side of the hotel. The room was kept spotlessly clean. What makes the hotel is what makes Marrakesh 'THE PEOPLE.' The Morrocan people are lovely and very genuine. The team at the hotel could not do enough for us from our arrival to our departure they were attentive knowledge and genuinely helpful. There is a shopping centre a short stroll away from the hotel if you need any essentials, turn left out of the main gates turn left again at the Oasis and keep going. There are all the Western eateries in here KFC, Domino's and Burger King etc. On floor - 1 is a Supermarket on the far left as you enter is an offlicense. P. S if travelling to and from the square in Marrakesh the cab fare is 50 Dirham, cabbies will try and charge you double. Stick to your guns say 50, they will take you anyway. Tip as you would at home. Enjoy your holiday.

Definite not a 5* hotel, at best it’s 3* plus. Hotel is nice and authentic and very pretty, rooms are large. The pool is the best thing about this place but if you haven’t got a sunbed by 7am forget it, we paid to use the indoor pool our first day as we couldn’t get a bed around the main pool, however it’s expensive as is everything that they charge extra for £32 for the 2 of us. Very limited drinks included in the AI package and between £8 and £10 per single shot of anything decent that they consider top shelf. AI yellow bands are definitely looked at as 2nd class citizens, the fact that we have paid extra already seems to be forgotten. The mini fridge in the room contains absolutely nothing, you get 2 small bottles of warm water left on the table each day. A kettle in the room but no coffee, Staff in general are disinterested and some especially in the buffet restaurant make you feel like an inconvenience if you ask for something like a coffee cup. The buffet restaurant serves the same repetitive food for lunch and dinner every day. Tables are often not cleared and if they are they are only partially set up again, hence why cutlery and cups glasses are missing. Staff don’t welcome you or offer to sit you at a table, no one offers you a drink when you sit down, you have to try and get their attention. Things improved when the big boss was around, you could tell the difference in the service level. I actually got sick after my first meal in the hotel so spent my first night vomiting. Only one bar is open at a time so after breakfast you can’t get anything to drink not even a coffee until the pool bar opens at 11am. That is the only bar until 6pm when the pool bar closes and the main bar opens. This hotel has the potential to be so much better with a few changes to the things above. I’ve stayed in lots of hotels around the world not all AI but I have received better service and standards from some rated much lower than this one. I take reviews with a pinch of salt and always try to be fair and make up my own mind but in this case I genuinely can’t understand how this hotel has so many 5* reviews. With all that said I still enjoyed my stay and would go back to Marrakesh just not this hotel.