Le Meridien Marrakech Hotel Review is part of the Round The Atlantic Trip Report.
Getting There: The taxi to the hotel is supposed to be 15-20 dinar on meter. The Internet says if you get it for 50 you’re fine. I got it easily for 30 by walking to the exit (sortie) of the car park which leads me to believe I could’ve done better.
Getting Back: When you are headed back to the airport, head to the main street and hail a cab that is not officially endorsed by the hotel. That will save you money.
My trip to Morocco started off rocky. After one night I made the executive decision to leave for Madrid. The hotel had no WiFi and the AC didn’t work. As a cloud lawyer, I don’t have time for hot rooms. The second day, the hotel upgraded us to a suite and that made all the difference. With the ability to conduct business, I began to enjoy my Marrakech routine. Each day started off with skipping breakfast, heading to the pool for beer, and then the night market for food.
The Hotel Itself
Le Meridien is one of my favorite brands when I travel overseas. From Le Meridien Shanghai to the one in Chiang Rai, Bangkok, Kota Kinabalu, or my favorite, Le Meridien Pyramids, Le Meridiens do not disappoint. Unfortunately, I cannot say that of Le Meridien in Marrakech. The hotel is dated and lacks the level of comfort of the ones mentioned. If you’re going to go through the trouble of going to Morocco, you should stay at a local riad for a more authentic experience.
The Suite
If you end up in a standard room, demand a suite. The standard rooms are awful. The hotel will pretend that there are no upgrades but insist on moving.
The Suite View
The original room had a view of the mall. This one was much better.
The Bathroom
Compared to the terrible motel shower in the first room, the bathroom in the suite was much nicer.
The Pool
The pool made up for the deficiencies in the hotel. A few local brews and a nice sunset make everything better, as does a decent pizza.
The Breakfast
After overindulging in food at the night market, I never felt the need to eat breakfast. Still, blog readers get pretty upset when I skip it or when I complain about paying for it. So I went and I can say that it was not worth it. While the breakfast had a wide selection of food, it was not local food. Apart from the tea and juice bar, the food was bland. The quality of the photos are not representative of the quality of the food.
The Service
Everyday there was someone at the front desk complaining about their stay. I don’t blame them. This hotel is not up to the standard of SPG.
Overall
I wouldn’t stay here again.
There are multiple room types: Superior, Deluxe, Executive & Ambassador Suite. Which type were you in before being upgraded? Was the AC & internet not working in any of the non-suites? Also, aside from authenticity, what was lacking overall in the hotel? Thank you!
You paid 3 bucks for a cab ride and still felt you could have done better? How about spreading some western wealth in third world? Insufferable.
Why would I pay more than a local? If you have extra money you want to give, please send it to me.
Because you are way wealthier than a local. You should be embarrassed to justify being cheap when paying for services in the third world as a first world citizen. A dollar or two to you is nothing but to a cabbie, it can be a significant sum.
Disagree. And I won’t apologize for it.
Like I said…insufferable.
Thank you for the kind words. Have a good day.
Wait so because I’m from a different country I should allow myself to get ripped off? Seems like a weird argument to make. Won’t get you very far in Tirana!
Right!
LOL Ripped off? He paid THREE dollars and wanted it cheaper. Give me a break!
Let me be even more blunt. If you pay one penny more than the going rate, you got ripped off. That’s business.
Business? I thought you were on vacation as a first worlder in the third world? Come on…you can’t possibly need a dollar that badly.
I do. Ask aloe blacc.
I tend to agree with your perspective on this. When visiting a place that’s super cheap by our standards, I think a little less haggling at times is the way to go. That said, there are a couple of points that you might want to consider. First off, this is a deeply personal choice. If TPOL uses a service, then the cab driver (in this case) is not making any less money than he normally would for providing the service to a local. There simply are no losers in this situation, or an agreement would never have been struck. Secondly, throwing out insults just to be offensive isn’t doing yourself any favors. It just makes people less receptive to your point of view.
Point taken regarding being offensive and I agree.
I’m fine with this perspective. I’m not saying fight all the time but when you travel for weeks, you have to be on alert of tourist traps. Otherwise you’ll let your guard down and pay $30 for tacos. All this has been documented on my blog.