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34 Derb l’Hotel
Bab Doukala
Marrakech – Médina, Morocco
+21 25 2 437 6942
Rate: Yakout Suite $455 per night (High Season)
Our Rate: $420 per night with extras
Booked Via: Direct
Reviews:
TripAdvisor
Frommers
NY Times
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Riad Kniza is one of the top rated places to stay in Marrakech. Once you open the front door, you will be amazed at what lies beyond the simple facade outside. The architecture and craftsmanship inside of this Riad is amazing. You’ll be transported back hundreds of years.
Location:
Located in the northwest corner of the medina, it’s just a short 5-10 minute walk from the Bab Doukala gate, on the exterior city wall. If you’ve never been to Marrakech, it’s good to have a person from the hotel meet you at your drop off point, so they can show you the way to the hotel. It’s located off of the main pathway, down a short alley, then around a corner. Not easy to find the first time without assistance.
Rooms:
With only 11 rooms, you’ll hardly ever see another guest. During our 5 nights here, we only saw other guests a couple of times, and that was primarily as they were checking in or checking out. The various rooms are scattered among three floors around the two open courtyards. We booked a hotel package that included a stay in the Yakout suite. It was on the second floor in the pool courtyard and was very private.
Rooms include very fine furnishings, many of which are antiques from Mohammed, the owner’s gallery. Bathrooms are modern, beds are very comfortable and there’s a TV in each room. Many rooms also have a fireplace, so it’s a great place to relax on those cool desert nights. Closets areas are large. They have many drawers and places for hanging clothes. A small safe is included in each room, however, they aren’t large enough for laptops or large cameras.
Facilities: The riad has a large roof top sun deck and dining area. It’s a great place to catch some sun and the breezes that blow above the alleyways and streets of Marrakech. The hotel has several salons on the main floor where you can relax or read a book, as well as a small library. There’s a reasonably sized indoor pool in an interior open air courtyard, plus a small spa, that includes a couple of treatment rooms and a hammam.
Food: We chose to have breakfast on the roof most days vs having them in several lounge areas located on the main floor. Breakfast is made to order and you can choose what you’d like. Each breakfast comes with fresh squeezed orange juice and an assortment of breads, moroccan pastries, cereal, yogurt, coffee and tea. Eggs are prepared to your liking.
Riad Kniza also offers dinner service, either in one of the lounges downstairs or the rooftop. There are great sunset views from the rooftop each evening, so that’s really the best spot. Traditional Moroccan meals are served and the food is equally as good or better than any fine dining restaurant in Marrakech.
Staff:
Service at Kniza was perfect. If you needed anything, they would arrange it. They arranged two tours for us, one orientation tour of the medina and another day trip to a Berber village in the Atlas mountains, about an hours drive away. Both guides were very knowledgeable, although one spoke better English than the other. Having read other reviews on TripAdvisor with this same issue, it’s important to reinforce that any guide the hotel hires, be fluent in your native language.
Pros:
One of the nicest boutique hotels in the area, that’s within the medina. Everything you want to see inside the old city is just minutes away.
Cons:
Difficult to find upon arrival, so make sure someone from the hotel is at the city wall to greet you.
[box type=”info” ]Make sure to check out the specials and packages listed on their website. You can find substantial savings from listed rack rates.[/box]
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You can see more photos and other videos from the hotel and Marrakech by clicking here.
africa hotel review marrakech morocco riad
Last modified: January 21, 2014
