Marrakech is the number one destination in Morocco and one of the most fascinating cities in the world. It has a unique charm, with its winding alleys in the city’s ancient medina, its impressive landscapes, its famous palm grove and countless attractions in and around the city. Places like the El Bahia or the El Badi palaces, the Saadian tombs, the Dar El Bacha museum, the Koutoubia mosque, and many others make this an extraordinary city, besides the fact that it has North Africa’s largest souk and is quite close to the Atlas Mountains or the Sahara desert.
Once in Marrakech, you may wonder what may be the best choice in accommodation, since the Ochre city offers all sorts of different places to stay. There are hotels, traditional riads, guesthouses, B&Bs, villas, apartments for rent, hostels, Berber tents, etc., each of which offers different kinds of services at different prices for completely different types of holidays. But, to many tourists coming to Marrakech, riads are by far the favorite choice.
Here is a list of 3 reasons for choosing a riad during your holidays in Marrakech.
1. Location: riads are more often than not located inside the city walls, in the city’s ancient medina. This simple fact has countless advantages and is possibly the number one reason for staying in a riad. The medina is definitely the most charming, fascinating and vibrating part of the city, with its winding alleys, its medieval souks and its never-ending street life. Moreover, in a riad in the medina, you will be close to most of the city’s historic monuments and palaces and just a stone’s throw away from the extraordinary Djemaa El Fna square, possibly the most amazing place in the country.
2. Services: you may think that riads have limited services just because they are smallish traditional houses in the city’s old quarters. Nothing is further from the truth. To begin with, there are all types of riads, from charming little family homes with just three or four rooms to huge, imposing regal residencies which consists of two or more riads put together and turned into riads the size of a hotel. Moreover, most riads offer the same services as any 3 or 4-star hotel -room service, TV/DVD/stereo system, Wi-Fi internet access, swimming pool, hammam, restaurant, etc. – but just on a smaller scale. Another fantastic service quite unique to riads is the possibility of organising excursions and day trips to the desert, the mountains, the sea, etc.
3. Price: riads are usually the same price as hotels, although they have the unbeatable advantage of their location and equal hotels in their offer of services. Since there are plenty of them in the medina of Marrakech, the competition is fierce, which means it is quite common to find excellent promotions and discounts. But this does not mean that riads are “cheap”, second-rate accommodation. In fact, some of the most sumptuous, luxurious places to stay in Marrakech are riads which have been equipped and decorated to nest magnificent lodgings.
So, if you decide to visit the Ochre City, now you have 3 excellent reasons to rent a riad in this extraordinary city.