The Oberoi, Marrakech

Hotel feels very inauthentic, has no atmosphere or soul. It is dropped in no man's land far from Marrakech and far from the mountains. It is surrounded by high walls with guards and warning signs not to leave the hotel. The building is huge, built of marble but feels fake - like a set or in disneyland. There is nothing to do. They advertising yoga, fitness etc and while there is a gym there are only yoga classes once a week and there is no where to run. The rooms while opulent do not have any nods to Morocco and have zero character. The food is average at best. They have an Indian section in the restaurant and you would get much, much better from your local takeaway. The morocco food is not great, you get much better in a roadside cafe for 3 euro. We had burger and chips and an orange juice for lunch by the pool and it was 70 euro - crazy prices for only very average food. Bar closes at 12 and there's zero atmosphere there anyway. I felt confined, bored and unimpressed the whole time I was there. Certainly did not feel that I was in the beautiful, interesting Morocco that is so famous for culture, food and hospitality.

The hotel is truly amazing ! The grounds are gorgeous, the Villas private and spacious and the staff can not do enough to help you. Special mention must go to Rohan who made us feel that our happiness was very important. A truly first class manager. I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending this hotel and although I rarely like to visit the same place twice, I would go back to the Oberoi in a heartbeat. Plenty for kids to do - we used the hotel bikes and our son attended a kids cooking class, got to meet a hawk close up and went to see the rescue Donkeys daily. We stayed for 4 nights and felt this was a perfect amount of time to stay.

This was our third stay at the Oberoi Marrakesh. Our 7-year-old grandson had been looking forward to it for weeks (and so had we!) The setting, in acres of shady olive trees with a central water rill that runs right across the estate edged by white roses, is breathtaking. The villas are all very special. We had the Royal Villa with has two large bedrooms and bathrooms, a huge well-furnished living room set around an internal courtyard, and its own large pool. Perfect for three generations to share. Our grandson had a booster seat in the car, his own bed and miniature robe and slippers in his parents’ room. But it is the level of service and the amazing staff that make this hotel exceptional. We were greeted like long lost friends, not just on arrival but at breakfast the next day as well. The serving staff remembered us and greeted our grandson by name! His first stop was to visit the donkeys Brownie and Sugar who he made friends with last year. Not sure if they remembered him but they appreciated the polo mints he brought with him. When all the staff are so good it is hard to pick out just one or two but… Hassan in the bar allowed our grandson to make his own ‘mocktails’ each evening which was great fun. All the restaurant staff were brilliant: they remembered where we liked to sit, automatically brought our daughter gluten free croissants and bread each morning and let us taste wines to find those we liked. Mamdouh was always on alert, noticing what we needed. He kindly organised a staff member to take us to a local pharmacy and help with translations, and organised extra help to take us to the airport as I was limping and using a walking stick after an operation. On the way to the airport (while counting camels) our grandson asked…when are we coming back? The answer was…soon!

The hotel and grounds are immaculate and spectacular, but the service is over the top! In addition, they discourage tipping individuals (that's classy). Instead they suggest that you give the name of people that served you well - and presumably the management will recognize them. Or, to leave a tip at the end that will be distributed amongst the whole staff (including those that you don't see or interact with personally) who help to make the stay AMAZING. It seems like its a bit far from the Medina, but they have cars that will take you whereever you need to get in 20 minutes or less. Truly one of the BEST hotel stays that I've ever had anywhere in the world.

The Oberoi is lovely. The gardens are perfection, the architeture and design is spot on for Marrakech and the service was perfect. It's the perfect oasis to return to after a long day of touring in the city. The restaurants are very nice as well and some of the be food we had while in Marrakech.