Riad Ksar Saad & Spa

We spent 3 nights in this riad. We were perfectly welcomed by very caring staff who care about you. The riad is very clean and beautifully decorated and the perfect location for visiting (5 min walk from Jamaâ El fn square) You can go there with your eyes closed! I would go back with pleasure...

FOR SAFETY PLEASE READ - DO NOT SKIP!!! To say that anyone should avoid this place is the understatement of the year. We landed at 11 am and made our way to the Riad immediately. The taxis top in front of the mosque a few blocks away because the streets are so bad that not even a small vehicle can drive into it. You have to walk dragging luggage through mud, twists and turns for a bit before reaching the door of the Riad. You will have to walk through a long, foul smelling and unsanitary market that takes you steps away from the door. At any moment, any man might come up and either shout things in your face or grab you. This is already off putting as is, to reach any restaurant destination, or mode of transportation, you will also have to cross unsanitary and dangerous streets. South Medina is to avoid at all costs for safety reasons, ESPECIALLY if you are a woman traveling either alone or with other women. We were expecting to have some safety measures to implement upon traveling to Morocco, because of the culture and climate. But never did we think it would be this bad. We were cornered in a street of north Medina that same day by two men who were after money. We were extremely lucky to make it out unscathed, and informed the hotel we wanted to move to Hivernage, which is a newer more touristy part of town. On our way out some children (between ages 8-12) came up to us and followed us down the street yelling inappropriate things. When we asked them politely to stop multiple times, they cursed us out and laughed it off. Their mothers were watching and said nothing. Please note we were wearing long dresses with scarves over our shoulders to be respectful of the culture. We had nothing exposed and were not drawing attention in any way. This behavior just seems to be the norm in Morocco. The pictures of the Riad are also false advertisement. Though pleasant on the inside, it lacks cleanliness in the rooms and they are MUCH smaller than advertised. There is also no pool, just a small basin, and no fitness center. The staff of this Riad is very nice, very accommodating and welcoming. Specifically, Abdou who helped us terminate our reservation. He is a very nice man and was really concerned for us after we explained what happened and told him that we wanted to leave. However ownership is terrible. We didn’t even sleep in our beds, we simply dropped our luggage off before all these incidents happened, and they wouldn’t even refund us half of our stay. We are currently fighting to have a refund on our stay because of all this. A little compassion and comprehension shouldn’t be this hard to find in people. We owe a big thank you to Abdou from the Riad, who was understanding and tried his best to help us in this situation. If you are traveling to Morocco, avoid south Medina. If you are a woman, do not travel alone. Do not travel without a man in your group at least. It’s really sad that it has to come to this but I would rather be honest with everyo

We arrived in the evening and felt quite unsafe in this area. The streets are deserted and full of rubbish everywhere, including outside the Riad. We later learnt this is not the best area of town to stay in and we have relocated to a different location in Marrakesh. The room immediately shocked us as the bed had an under sheet but no cover on the duvet. The shower didn’t work and flooded the room. Some of the light switches and sockets weren’t right and were falling off the wall. The bed was so incredibly hard we couldn’t sleep. There was glass smashed on the doors and the internal decoration was atrocious. The card machine then didn’t work and so we couldn’t pay and had to go walking for 30 mins to find a working ATM to get cash. The staff were helpful and the breakfast was nice. I can’t fault the staff but the quality of the accommodation is closer to 1 star and not a 4 star. Apart from the private bathroom it was pretty much what you would expect of a hostel. Would be better to advertise as what toy really are as a Riad than to advertise as 4 star and have people expect this and leave disappointed

We enjoyed our stay at Riad Ksar Saad. In fact we didn't choose this place. we arrived very tired after being shunted over by our nominated Riad. Be warned, the approach through the Kasbah is very off putting, lots of noise and dirt that makes you wonder what you're letting yourself in for. The instant reaction is to feel threatened, however our experience over the week was a feeling of safety despite the chaos and dirt. Once you're familiar with the area you can avoid this by walking through the Jewish quarter which is much cleaner. Don't worry though, once in the Riad things get a lot better. Our room was clean and the bed comfortable. Furnishing is simple and windows fan the court yard rather than the outside (you would't want an outside view, the Riad, like most is surrounded by other buildings across narrow alleys so you'd just be seeing a wall) The bathroom was cavernous and unlike other reports we had no problems with hot water. The roof terrace is great and breakfast there is a treat. The only problem is you won't be able to eat it all without exploding. The position of the Riad is great for exploring the old city with the Saadian Tombs, El Baadi palace and the main square Jemaa El Fnaa nearby. Do be aware that there are several mosques in the area, all equipped with powerful PA systems. You will be called to prayer at 4am and 6am by competing muezzin. Strangely we didn't find this a problem. Also if you stay anywhere else in the old city you will have the same experience anyway. Can't comment on the Spa as we didn't have time during our visit to try it. The wi-fi is provided by a domestic router on the ground floor. Unless your room adjoins the reception area you'll have to wander downstairs to get on line. Finally we must mention Jamal and Abdrahmane who made us very comfortable and ran up and down stairs (2 floors) every morning bringing us breakfast and checking we had everything we needed. Also, on two days we had early starts and they were up, providing us with a great carry out breakfast. They also had to let us in one morning at 3am after our trip to the Atlas mountains ran into a collapsed bridge and the road was impassable. Overall a great stay.

I stayed here for a 4 day holiday with my friend in Dec 2019. The riad looked amazing and the reviews at the time were good. But I’m so disappointed that the people working there chose to take advantage of two girls travelling, one of Muslim background but neither of us spoke Arabic. Few good points- the people who served us breakfast were so nice and Mohammed who took us and drove us to our trips around Marrakech. He was very lovely. However, I cannot forget how the main owners and workers cheated us twice! The first time was when we ordered lunch at the hotel and they over-charged us. I spoke to Jamal about this and showed him that the offer on our emails with the prices for lunch and dinner is much less than what we were charged by Zack. He apologised and said we can have a hammam service free of charge. So we said ok but then when it came to the hammam, they said we can just use the room and no-one would actually be there for the hammam as that would be an additional cost. What the hell??? It was agreed and then Zack said no. Jamal messaged me after to ask if everything was ok and I said what happened and he ignored it completely. The biggest disappointment was on our last day. It costs 50 riyal to go from the hotel to the airport which we didn’t know. Despite the fact that we booked all our trips with them to Atlas Mountains etc, they decided to cheat us!! They were planning to charge us 150 riyals and thankfully because a taxi guy stopped us on route to the car and asked where we were going and I said airport, he gestured me to his car and said 50. This I understood in Arabic. The taxi man even had a go at Zack (one of the hotel staff) and so we went in the taxi instead. Obviously the hotel staff were annoyed by this. Jamal then had the audacity to message me later wishing me a safe trip onwards from Marrakech to which I never bothered to reply. It’s unbelievable that they decided to cheat us like this. It makes me question all the other prices they ever listed for their trips. I would NEVER stay here again and have never recommended it since then. It’s disappointing because the location is brilliant and you could walk everywhere and the decor is amazing. So authentic but there can never be any blessing in a place that chooses to cheat it’s customers but thinks you can just be nice and polite because I’m a Muslim girl but take advantage because I can’t speak Arabic? Shocking! Remember you guys are Muslim first and foremost and honesty is where blessings come from.

This riad is a 3 to 4 star at best, not a 5 star riad as it advertises. I recently stayed in this Riad Oct 2021, shortly after things in Morocco opened up after the pandemic, so perhaps this hotel was not yet fully prepared to take on guests when I stayed here. However, I stayed here with a group tour and we filled up the whole Riad, so you would think they would have prepared for our stay. First, rooms were clean and rooms and bathroom are decently modern. The Riad is located a 10-15 minute walk from the center of the Medina. My shower and bathroom had NO hot water and the hotel was not able to fix this during my stay, so they offered me to change rooms after 2 nights or to shower in another room. There was also a window that faced the inside of the Riad with no curtain, which meant there was no privacy, but the staff was able to put a curtain up. There were no blankets on the bed, but the staff was able to provide after requesting. The room door does not lock from the inside, but the Riad is secured. This would be bothersome if there were other guests in the Riad who I did not know as I am a solo female traveler. Wifi worked in the lobby, but did not work in half of the Riad rooms. Breakfast is fair compared to other Marrakech hotels and the service was VERY slow. I think for the price point, there are other better hotels and Riads to stay in within Marrakech. If I had to stay here again, that would be fine, but I would look elsewhere first.