Riad Catalina

This is a lovely little Riad hidden down an alleyway - so secret that you could easily walk past the big wooden door. Inside is a tranquil little courtyard inhabited by cheeky sparrows, the odd bulbul and several fantailed doves. You are greeted by a tray of sweet mint tea and your first impression of Morocco. I had a tiny room for the first night and was then upgraded to a bigger room. For maximum enjoyment, I would recommend paying the extra for a room with a terrace but then you hardly spend time in your room in a city as exciting and exotic as Marrakech. I would certainly stay here again. The neighbourhood is local but not too far away is the chaos of the Souks - the best of both worlds.

This delightful hotel was located within the Old City walls and the Souks were a few steps away.

We booked an Expedia deal to Marrakech to stay at the Hotel Catalina in the Medina..From the start, we were looked after so well. I had paid for a better room,which I do not think was ready but Nadia 'upgraded' us to a suite, so that we could leave our luggage and change to be able to get out into the thick of it. What an exciting vibrant exotic city full of buzz and yet very kind people. The (though you can haggle there too, we discovered) We got out of our depth on the first but we had booked an Expedia half day monuments tour and ended up extending it to the full day.Well worth it. We enjoyed every bit. Suggest you book a tour after the first day when you have a guide to explain some of the history and take you into buildings you might miss. Places we recommed: Cafe de Spices in the Northern Souk and Al Fassia for an expensive but really top class eating experience. Tagines everywhere you go, but better to get a better class of lamb!!! The hotel had a small pool on a top floor terrace, which was heaven for cooling one's feet (not much more) and relaxing. It was quiet, well situated (though you have to walk through a rather grubby labyrinth to get there) and the staff were utterly lovely..making phone calls for us and giving us advice and being hospitable right to the end. Highly recommend it. Though we would say that 3 nights in Marrakech is enough!

My husband and I stayed in Marrakesh for 7 days, the hotel was fab a safe, secure haven. Lovely friendly staff. 7 days is just right any longer would have spoilt it.

I stayed here in August of 2010 when it was about 130 degrees outside. The best thing about this hotel is that it is only about 5 minute walk to Jemma El Fna, which is the biggest attraction in Marrakech. The only downturn is that it is impossible to find this Riad without asking about 100 people. But then that is the same for everything else inside the Medina. Be prepare to call the hotel and ask for assistance, or ask everyone on the street... Once you find it, you are OK. This is a 5 star Riad, not a 5 star modern hotel. I wanted to experience the Riad, so I booked here. Well, based on my experience, 5 star riad is about 3 star motel... But then you have to consider the fact that you are in Morocco, not Hawaii.... It was definitely a different experience than staying at a regular hotel. The service was great, people were friendly, and the manager was very helpful and nice. I had a 7 AM flight to catch, and the staff actually prepared breakfast at 4:30 in the morning. Now, this is what I call a personalized service!!! Then he escorted me to the taxi at 5 AM. Great service. AC works great here, so that is another plus.

Having picked Riad Catalina from other reviews, it was a pleasure and a surprise for the reviews to have been correct. We got a lift from the airport that the riad had organised - just email them and they will sort out - am sure that we could have done it ourselves, but lovely to be treated for a change! Beautiful room, in the middle of Marrakech, but NO city noise despite location - it must be the design of the city. The riad and its staff were superb, could not have asked for more. Everything that we asked about/asked for, we got, from restaurant recommendations, suggestions on trips in their city, to a lovely local bottle of wine with olives/nuts etc to enjoy on the terrace by our room. The pool is really a plunge pool, but if you are expecting olympic sized pool on a roof top, then... We didn't eat an evening meal at the riad, but the breakfasts were lovely, with little changes everyday, so it was never the same. Really can't find enough praise for the riad, the staff and Marrakech itself, just fantastic.

Excellent Riad: - quite and beautifull - excellent personnel - near the heart of Marrakech (Jema el Fna)

Central part of the Riad was lovely, built round a courtyard and all the staff were very friendly and helpful. We had 2 rooms in a separate building, which were slightly gloomy and dark. The Expedia rep - Omar - was really excellent, he provided lots of help and organised a hire car for us. He definitely made the stay in Marrakesh a lot easier.

It's a bit hard to find at first and most probably you will need to ask someone to direct you--but that's not a big exception in Marrakech. The hotel is a beauty and it's not on a main road, so it's very quiet at night even though it's very close from the plaza. Good thing it has a swimming pool, because there will be a time that you will want to use one. Mostly guests were French or Belgian and most came as couples. You can really enjoy this beautiful riad and make it an unforgettable experience.

We stayed 4 nights at the Riad Catalina and it was a perfect base from which to explore Marrakech. The courtyard is shady and full of trees and the sounds of birds and water. Our room was very small with no windows, but we were assured this was usual in a riad and to be honest we found it nice and cool in the day time so it was no problem. The food was only okay. Breakfast was mainly bread and there was no fresh fruit to speak of which was disappointing. Dinner which we had once was very expensive and we would have eaten out had we checked the price - there are so many amazing restaurants and open air places to eat nearby. We went to Villa Flora which is about 10 mins walk through the alleyways and very atmospheric. On check out we had booked a taxi to the airport (about a 10 min journey). Another couple were leaving and so we offered to share but the receptionist said 2 cars were already waiting. This turned out to be untrue and almost soured our view of the hotel. Fortunately this was the only bad thing that happened and we got a full refund for the £20 fare. A bit of a let down from an otherwise perfect hotel. My advice: Just walk out the front door and hail a taxi to the airport - it was £6!! The waiter/porter Yousef was a star and made up for the receptionist though!