Riad Lena and Spa

The Riad is off the main road through the medina and the local builder wander past in their Donkey carts which is not what we Northern Europeans are used to. The Riad itself needs a bit of work, but that is total made up for and surpassed by the wonderful friendly service that the manager, Latif, and the staff provide. So all the rooms have things that need fixing, e.g. showers you have to hold because the wall holders are broken, toilet doors with no handles and towels which are obviously well worn but always clean. These things added to the authentic character of the place. The roof terrace is wonderful. However, Latif, Karin, etc could not do enough for us. They really know how to make people feel special and welcomed. Latif organised a trip to the Atlas Mountains for us with Manir and for six of us it cost a total 120€ for the whole day, that included a guide,Obama, who walked us up to the waterfall making sure that we were safe when clambering up and down rocks. Latif also recommended and booked superb restaurants for us, plus taxis to and from when appropriate. In fact, the only poor meal we had during our 6 day stay was when we didn’t ask for a recommendation. Like most places within the old city the Riad doesn’t sell alcohol, but they were happy for us to bring wine in to drink on the roof terrace. To try to respect the local customs we didn’t ask the staff to serve the wine but they did provide the glasses for us. If you want a stay that feels authentic Marrakech this is a great place to stay. We would go back.

The room was so dirty that we could not stay more than one night. We changed and went to another place despite the payment was done. There was so much humidity that parts of the walls were coming down. Everything was so dirty! Impossible to make a shower, water was not hot.