Hotel Details
Riad Aya
| Region: | Marrakech and the Region |
| Location: | Marrakech |
| Season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accommodation Type | Low | Mid | High | |
| Sesame |
First floor double (or twin) bed, room opens over patio
|
n/a | 90 € | 110 € |
| Muscade |
Second floor, double bed
|
n/a | 100 € | 120 € |
| Safran/Jasmin |
First and second floor, double bed, lounge area
|
n/a | 115 € | 135 € |
| Anis/Girofle/Paprika/Canelle |
Second floor rooms (Cannelle on terrace) with double beds and lounge areas
|
n/a | 120 € | 140 € |
| Riad in exclusivity |
Rental of all rooms in Riad Aya
|
n/a | 900 € | 1060 € |
| Please note: All prices are per room per night | ||||
Check Availability
Facilities
Swimming pool
Air-conditioning
Spa on site
Sunbathing area
Internet connection
Disabled friendly
Vegetarian food
Smoking
Child-friendly
Bar and drinks
In-house restaurant
OtherLaundry service available on request.
A secure parking facility is available near to the riad.Description
Located north of the Jemaa El Fna main square in Marrakech, Riad Aya provides a choice of eight rooms for a comfortable and convenient place to stay. Fundamentally Moroccan in nature, the riad depicts a minimalist and stylish form of Eastern tradition with carved wooden doors, mosaic floors and plaster walls creating an authentic atmosphere. Furthermore, details such as the small fountain in the patio, copper basins in some of the en-suite bathrooms and hand-made lamps by local artisans enhance its tradition.
The names of the rooms too underline the Moroccan essence of Riad Aya. Situated on the first and second floors of the riad, eight rooms provide guests with a series of options. Differing in terms of space and style, the Sesame room is the smallest in size. However, the bed is prettily draped and the en-suite bathroom provides a simplistic shower, toilet and basin decorated in sesame and honey tones. The Girofle Room is quite a contrast with a cocoa-coloured bathroom and large, carved dark wooden doors to the room itself. A leather and wooden seating area is provided in the room and a large mosaic-styled headboard makes a striking feature. Fresh flowers and candles as well as interesting objects such as antique masks and vases combine to create both homely and exciting rooms for guests.
Beyond the bedrooms, Riad Aya provides two communal salons for guests. Open fireplaces in these salons make these spaces particularly cosy in winter. Hammam and massage facilities are available within the riad for guests who wish to be pampered and escape the bustling city for some relaxation. The patio central to the riad with its flowering plants, allows for a shady space to sit as well as dine if guests choose to do so. On the other hand, the terrace is a true sun-trap! This area also remains private and Riad Aya has made the most of it with a small pool and surrounding sun-beds.
Read MoreGuests may take breakfast, lunch and dinner in any of these areas set up for dining. An additional dining room is also available for guests in cooler weather. Breakfast combines Moroccan and continental options with crepes, breads, croissants and fresh orange juice. Lunches can either be salads, freshly prepared on request, or larger meals (similar to dinner). Dinner offers an optional three-course meal. Guests may choose from starters such as salads made with seven vegetables, kebabs and chicken pastilla (pastry-type dishes). Main courses are typically Moroccan with tagines and cous-cous dishes. Tagine with beef, lemon and onions might appeal, or perhaps the Royal Cous-Cous with chicken, onion and raisins. Desserts consist of the house tart made with apples and pears, or other fruit-based options. Guests may like to note that mint-tea and other sorts of beverages are available throughout the day, and pastry sweets can also be requested for a light snack.
With only a ten-minute walk from the main square, guests will find their way to the main attractions, restaurants and cafes of Marrakech easily. If necessary, staff at Riad Aya are on hand to organise activities in and around the area from restaurant bookings to excursions out of the city. Transport can also be arranged through the riad to ensure reliability.
Where is it?
A 15 minute drive from Marrakech airport, located near the eastern Bab Doukkala gate, 10 minutes walk to the Jemaa El Fna square.
Travel Times
| Airport | 15 minute drive |
| City | 10 minute walk |
| Beach | 2.5 hour drive to Essaouira |
Other useful information
The Jasmin, Paprika and Cannelle rooms have the possibility of accomodating a third person.
Parties to celebrate weddings, birthdays, honeymoons can be organised by the riad. Dancers and local musicians can be brought in to the riad for live, Moroccan entertainment.
The hotel scores are aggregated individual user scores which have been audited as authentic and accurate through due enquiry by Morocco Gateway.
Morocco Gateway reserves the right to exclude any reviews submitted by users which cannot be validated as authentic and accurate. Equally we will resist any request from any hotel to delist any negative review.
| Condition of rooms and the hotel | 8.5 | Food and drink | 7.5 | |
| Overall cleanliness | 8.0 | Relaxation | 7.5 | |
| Pool and facilities | 6.5 | Value for money | 7.5 | |
| Quality of staff | 7.5 | Overall rating | 7.6 | |
| out of 10 | out of 10 | |||
User Reviews on Riad Aya
Below you'll find reviews written by our users, that have stayed in this hotel. The reviews are vetted and verified by us and may have been summarised by our editor to give you a meaningful summary.
The Editor's Summary
Riad Aya has received positive reviews from guests who have stayed in the last year. Reviewers have commented on the “tucked away” location of the riad, allowing it to be “very quiet” so that “you’d never believe you were in Marrakech!”. Guests have appreciated the “discreet staff” who “couldn’t have been friendlier”. Guests have felt comfortable asking advice and, in turn, staff have been “very helpful when recommending places to see” and “organizing” transport. The riad itself has received mixed observations. Guests have found their rooms “airy and light”, “surprisingly comfortable” and overall “very well designed”. However, guests have recommended a shorter stay than a week as the facilities “are fairly limited”, both the pool and the hammam are “small”, although “spotlessly clean”. Meals at the riad have generally been “good”. Although breakfast can be quite “samey”, lunches and dinners have been praised for being of better quality and “cheaper” than “other places in the city”. 
We enjoyed our week at Riad Aya. The riad is really tucked away, quite hard to find at first but once you’re there a day you get the hang of it. The riad is closer to the souks than the square so we spent quite a lot of time haggling with the market people on our way to other attractions! Very time consuming! Anyway, the riad is a good choice for those seeking a weekend away but we thought 7 days might have been a bit too much. The breakfast was the same each morning, and although it was fresh and tasty, it soon became quite samey. Additionally, the facilities (although spotlessly clean!) are fairly limited – the pool is not much more than a square plunge pool and the hammam (which we decided against) is similarly small. Our room, on the other hand, was very well designed. It was airy and light, and surprisingly comfortable (we’d heard Moroccan beds were generally very hard!). Despite our disillusionment at breakfast, we tried dinner here on our third night and then again on our last because it was so good and cheaper than other places in the city. Overall we though the riad was a good choice, but a shorter stay would have made us appreciate it more.
| Condition of rooms and the hotel | 8.0 | Food and drink | 7.0 | |
| Overall cleanliness | 8.0 | Relaxation | 7.0 | |
| Pool and facilities | 6.0 | Value for money | 7.0 | |
| Quality of staff | 7.0 | Overall rating | 7.1 | |
| out of 10 | out of 10 | |||
This small riad was a perfect hideaway for three nights with my husband. The place is very quiet once you enter the courtyard – you’d never believe you were in Marrakech! The discreet staff couldn’t have been friendlier and were very helpful when recommending places to see and organizing a taxi when we ventured off to the Majorelle Jardins. We’d love to come back here in the future – fingers crossed we will.
| Condition of rooms and the hotel | 9.0 | Food and drink | 8.0 | |
| Overall cleanliness | 8.0 | Relaxation | 8.0 | |
| Pool and facilities | 7.0 | Value for money | 8.0 | |
| Quality of staff | 8.0 | Overall rating | 8.0 | |
| out of 10 | out of 10 | |||
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