Marrakech, Morocco

My stay at the Riad Barroko was great! The place is an oasis within the bustling life of Marrakech. As it is 8-10 walking minutes away of Place Jamaa el Fna, it is very quiet in the Riad. The Riad itself is very beautiful and charming. The atmosphere is perfect, you can sit on the terasse in the evenings with a glass of wine. The breakfast is nice too (even though it is not very big): coffee, orange juice, cake, bread and jam. I truly recommend this Riad and I would always come back to it.

I can't rate this place enough. The staff are amazing, the riad is beautiful and the food is the best I had in the whole of morocco. It's a very peaceful place about 10mins walk from the busy Jamaa Lafna Square. I wouldn't recommend it for large groups it's more of a couples/small family place but for me it was perfect place to relax as marrakech is a pretty hectic place which is why i rated it 60/100 on the fun factor if it was a chilled rating i'd give 100! The rooms are modest but traditional with nice touches like a brass basin and beautiful lamps. The riad is on 3 floors with a pool at the bottom and roof terrace so you can get sun all day long. The breakfast is continental style with bread and pancakes with jam and some super strong coffee. There is a choice for dinner which you can have at any time if you arrange it in the morning. Their tangines are excellent, the best I've ever had, I recommend the lemon chicken :) I was greeted by the hotel manager on arrival who showed me a map and gave me some tips on where to go and where not to go being a blonde english girl travelling alone. The rest of the staff are pure gold. So smiley, happy and attentive, they turn lamps on if you are reading in dim light, give you cushions if you are sat on the floor - all without prompting, i felt truly spoilt! They let me leave my bags there while I went away on a trek and gave me a card incase I needed to call them any time of day. When I returned from my trek i let them know i'd be back around 7pm i returned at 8 to find one of the staff had waiting in the street to escort me back - how amazing is that!? I loved it there. I was sad to just hear about the blast in the square today. Marrakech is a beautiful, lively place full of interesting and friendly people as long as it has been deemed safe please dont let it change your opinion on visiting. Jo x i'd recommend getting a taxi back to the riad if it is late at night, its only £4 from the square but worth it as western girls on their own will attract a lot of attention and like any city at night i'd respect the warnings and play it safe. Saying that i never felt intimidated it just gets annoying after a while... men never grab at you or invade your space but they will want to stop and talk or make comments as you walk by... just smile and walk on :)

The hostel is located really close to the central place, the heart of the city (so the name is appropriate). It's a little bit difficult to find without a map or some indications. It's situated next to a Mosque, so at 5 o'clock in the morning you will hear the call for the prayer, but that's also a part of the culture. The guy at the reception that take care of everything wasn't that nice and quite opportunist. Beds are nice and the bathroom are fine. Not that much fun inside the hostel, but fun is ment to be outside in the city. For the price, is great.

Upon arrival there was nobody to check us in and we had to find alternative accommodation. Sorry but cannot provide any feedback about this hostel.