Riad Les Oliviers & Spa

“The best Hammam experience”

A wonderful end of holiday treat, a Moroccon Hammam for myself and hubby, included the best head to toe massage ever and a facial. Great food and rooftop pool. The staff were amazing and very accommodating. Would definitely come back here again.

“Small room, good breakfast”

The location is good. It is quiet at night. The room is very small. We are 3 small size people and it is hard for us to manuver inside the room without bumping to each other. Breakfast is excellent with good varieties . Wifi signal is very inside the room

“The good and the bad”

This riad is not a luxury hotel with crisp white sheets and fluffy towels. However, it offers an authentic Moroccan experience, which is what we were looking for. It is located just 15 minutes from the madness of Jemaa El Fnaa square, and offers peace and tranquility away from the crowds, motorbike… more

This riad is not a luxury hotel with crisp white sheets and fluffy towels. However, it offers an authentic Moroccan experience, which is what we were looking for. It is located just 15 minutes from the madness of Jemaa El Fnaa square, and offers peace and tranquility away from the crowds, motorbike fumes and general craziness. Whilst we enjoyed all that, it was good to be able to get away. We were in the room called "Ifrane" on the ground floor. We didn't see any of the other rooms so can't compare, but this room was small and dark, with very little storage space. We were glad we weren't there for any more than four nights. However it was very pretty, very clean, the bathroom was sparkling (cleaned daily) and the bed was very comfortable. The central courtyard with the fountain is beautiful, especially at night when the fires are lit around it. The next courtyard is also pretty, but spoiled for us by smokers who sat there puffing. We loathe cigarette smoke, and it's a pity the whole riad is not non-smoking, as we were also bothered by them up on the roof when we were eating. Breakfast was lovely, especially the pancakes, which we spread with yogurt and jam. The fresh orange juice was so sweet, delicious. There was a hot and cold buffet, with plenty of choice. We had booked half board, and the meals on the first two nights were wonderful - beef tagine with prunes, and grilled meats with couscous and vegetables. However on the third night we were given "pasta carbonara" - there were precisely three pieces of bacon in mine and four in my husband's, and not much cheese sauce, it was like a poor macaroni cheese, and certainly not at all Moroccan. On the first night we had been told we could change anything we didn't like, so on our last night when we were told the meal was Pizza, we asked to change. The waiter didn't seem happy, got on his phone (presumably to the kitchen downstairs) and after a long conversation told us it was "No problem" - however, he made us feel as if we were being a nuiscance. If they offer half board, you should be able to choose anything from the menu without being made to feel uncomfortable for asking. We did not go to Morocco to eat pizza! We also had a problem on the only day we ordered lunch - a club sandwich. We were told there would be a wait of 45 minutes to an hour, which turned out to be an hour and 25 minutes. We even waited almost half an hour for drinks - a coke and a water! The one waiter seemed very stressed, even though there were only 3 other couples as well as ourselves having lunch. The drinks menu was limited - I asked for a Pina Colada, but was told it was not available. Also the prices were not the same on all the menus - we had a very embarrassing experience on our last night. Due to there being two tourist taxes (28 and 27 dirhams per night respectively which we had not been told about, only expecting one), we had not allowed enough cash, and after settling our bill were left with only a 50 dirham note. We didn't want to change any more money as we were leaving early next morning so just ordered a fruit juice (30 dirham) and coke (20 dirham). When we came to pay, the waiter said it was 55 dirham - he showed us a menu where 30 had been scribbled out and 35 handwritten on. What was even more annoying was that at lunch time the other waiter had not had any change, so I gave him 110 dirham instead of 105, so they had already had 5 dirham extra from us! Such a petty thing, but it was upsetting and the sort of thing we remember. We went down to reception and it was sorted, but left a bad taste. The swimming pool area is lovely, but there are only 8 sunbeds and some people selfishly spent the whole afternoon on them, so there was no room for anyone else. Overall the staff were lovely, apart from the two aforementioned waiters. There were a lot of things we did like, but these few incidents unfortunately soured our stay. I hope in time we will remember only the good things and can perhaps forget the bad. I would not say to anyone don't go here, as the location is excellent and the place is very pretty, but they need to sort out the food and drinks situation and perhaps have more staff in the restaurant.

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