Riad La Perle de Marrakech

Take journey back in time, while at the same time enjoying the best in hospitality when staying in Riad La Perle de Marrakech. My wife and had no idea what a Riad was, but most our friends urged us to stay in a riad oppose to a hotel. A Riad is defined by Wikipedia as is the Moroccan traditional house, normally with two or more floors around an Andalusian-style courtyard that contained a fountain. Riads were the stately city homes of the wealthiest citizens such as merchants and courtiers. The riads were inward focused, which allowed for family privacy and protection from the weather in Morocco. This inward focus was expressed with a centrally placed interior garden or courtyard, and the lack of large windows on the exterior walls of clay or mud brick. This design principle found support in Islamic notions of privacy, and hijab for women. Entrance to these houses encourages reflection because all of the rooms open into the central atrium space. In the central garden of traditional riads there are often four orange or lemon trees and often a fountain. The walls of the riads are adorned with tadelakt plaster and zellige tiles, usually with Arabic calligraphy of quotes from the Quran. Riad La Perle de Marrakech gives you all this and more. Madame Souila ( the owner) and her staff were extremely polite and hospitable. Madame Souila was willing to provide my wife and I with information about attractions and points of interest about the old city of Medina and of Marrakech. This was vital to making our trip great (as we did not do much planning for the trip before our arrival). The staff there also provided us with referrals for our driver during the trip, a camel riding excursion and a day trip to Essaouira. I really feel as if we were staying with a lost cousin I had never met before. The Riad La Perle de Marrakech owner and staff treated my wife and I as if we were family. The riad is located, in the heart of the old city Medina. This location put you right in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the old city Medina. It is very convenient to get to attractions such as Jemaa El-Fna square, Jardin Majororelle, YSL Museum and the Koutoubia Mosque from the riad. Madame Souila and staff each morning prepared a breakfast with fresh eggs and baked bread, freshly squeezed juices, and home jams and preserves and coffee. On our last evening, my wife and I was presented with authentic Moroccan meal with wine. I was wonderful. I give The Riad La Perle de Marrakech a 4-star rating, but the staff easily makes it a 5-star experience. I recommend that anyone who wishes to have an authentic Moroccan experience stay at the Riad La Perle de Marrakech.

Don't bother with this place. You have to pay someone to find it. I don't believe it is a legal riad because there is absolutely no signage, not even next to door. The place was in disordered and under maintenance (patching and painting). The owner was indifferent to concerns about finding the place and the harassment from local kids demanding money or possible safety concerns about a single woman returning on her own into the evening. I listened to my gut after checking in and found a much better place.