Riad Hadika Maria

Riad Hadika Maria is a little oasis of calm and peace next to the intensity of sounds, people and hubbub of the moukef (which is not the medina!) and the souks beyond. It has only 5 rooms and each are beautifully appointed such that it feels like a home from home. The location is good and convenient to visiting key sites of Marrakech as well as getting picked up by tours heading out of the city, once you've figured these things out. It is worth noting that the riad is a short walk away from the nearest taxi drop-off points, which I understand is common for riads. For first arrival there are men with trolleys in the smallish market square, which is a decent drop off point, who can then cart suitcases to the riad for 20 MAD. Our two main hosts during our stay, the two Mohameds, both exuded peace and calm in their own way that contributed to the feel of the place. They were both courteous and kind and generous with their efforts to make our stay as comfortable as possible and facilitate the excursions and activities that we were interested in, like booking sunbeds, taxis and helping us get breakfast when we had to leave for early morning excursions. The breakfasts and dinner that we had at the riad was our best meals in our whole stay. The only risk of being so good is that you don't leave! ;) Shout out also to the lovely domestic staff were also very kindly, smiley and helpful.

Not a criticism but an observation that might be helpful for lone travellers, the riad is down a few turns of quiet back streets which appear mainly inhabited by local families. Still, we were three women travelling together and agreed that we would not be keen to walk these streets alone. Although, objectively it appeared safe - we were never approached or threatened by anybody and shared only friendly 'Bonjour's and 'Bon soir's with the residents and passers by that we did see, which were women and children as often as men. Also worth noting, living in the middle of a Muslim city, you are surrounded by mosques and will hear the calls to prayer at around 9pm and 5am! It was perhaps a slight shame for us that the higher terrace was being developed whilst we were staying, and so was not useable during our stay. I've no doubt that it will be a further delight and asset to the property when it is completed. We also found that the hot water tank for showers did not appear to have capacity to serve all the rooms each in one day. When hot water is most reliably available will, I assume, vary based on number of guests and use. For us, a warm shower appeared more reliably available in the morning rather than for pre-dinner freshening up, when we did experienced some unanticipated cold showers a few times - not great when your hair is full of shampoo! If there were some way of helping guests understand the set up early on so that they can predict hot water availability to help them avoid cold showers, be perhaps mindful of the limited capacity, and understand the lag between boosting the tank and a warm shower being available, or if maybe it could be possible to increase the capacity and therefore availability for all. I think any or all of these things could be helpful and would contribute to the level of comfort otherwise created in all other aspects of the property.

The property is absolutely beautiful

La tranquillité et la beauté du Riad qui n’était pas surchargé comme d’autres.

Rien

Staff were amazingly friendly and accommodating. It's a little oasis with lovely, calm interior and courtyard with small plunge pool and beautiful rooftop terrace. Breakfasts were delicious. Though a little bit further away from Jemaa el-Fnaa and other tourist sites, it's just a short walk through the souk and easy to find, quite nice to be slightly removed from the bustle at the heart of the medina. Near one of the main taxi drop-off/pickup points too. It's down the end of a stretch of alleyway which looks a bit dodgy, but it's safe and the neighbourhood/locals are friendly.

Alleyway to get there is a little sketchy looking - but actually not that bad. Given the tap water is not potable, would have expected there to be a bottled water refresh every day instead of having to order/pay for them. Maybe needs some privacy curtains on the windows as the only way to avoid people looking into bathroom/bedroom is to use the shutters, closing out all the natural light.

Leuke architectuur en design

Ligging met steegjes er naar toe

The place was super clean and the service was 100%. Mohamed Es-daoui was very friendly and service minded and was always there to help out with everything. The breakfast was very good and was served on the most beautiful top terrace every morning. On clear days we had a clear view of the snow covered Atlas mountains. The riad is situated close to many must-sees in Marrakech, such as the main souk, Ben Youssuf Madrasa, the museum of photography (highly recommendable!), the Secret Garden and and less than 2 km from Jemma el-Fna. The neighbourhood is exotic, quiet and feels very safe. We stayed there for 10 days.

Riad Hadika Maria is genuinely one of the loveliest hotels we have stayed at! The room was spacious, comfortable and clean. The hotel was beautiful with lovely design features and clean throughout. It's just a 10 minute walk to the Souk but in a quiet area so you really got to relax in a peaceful space. Mohammed, who was running the Riad is a delight. Polite and attentive he made us feel so well looked after. He responded to WhatsApp messages instantly, helped us with afternoon drinks on the roof terrace and got us an umbrella when the weather took a turn for the worse one night. He presented a delicious breakfast every morning too. Recommend booking an airport transfer with the hotel as it makes the journey so much easier and is value for money at 20 euros. I really can't fault our stay at all :)

Nothing at all it was great.