RIAD FARNATCHI

Beautiful hotel in the heart if the medina. Lovely staff were very welcoming. Would certainly recommend!

This was our second visit in 6 months to Le Farnatchi---we loved it so much the first time that we brought our family back, and, once again, Le Farnatchi was beyond exceptional. Owner James Wix and his team have a knack for making one feel more like an old friend visiting a much loved and well cared for private home rather than a hotel guest. Saida, Morad and Mahfoud are just a few of the staff at Le Farnatchi who went above and beyond in making our family feel welcome and relaxed---any question or request was accommodated with ease. The Riad itself is meticulously designed and maintained---no detail has been left untouched. The overall vibe is not decorated---but curated. Each day (even on my second visit there!), I discovered a new discreet little detail within the space. On our visit in January 2023 we were welcomed with hot mint tea and a cosy fire in our room. This time, we had iced-tea, air conditioning, and use of the lovely refreshing pool in the center.
Our boys were just as mesmerized by the place as my husband and I were earlier this year. We look forward to many returns.

Short take:
Their cancellation policies are misleading. We disputed the charge and our bank agreed that their cancellation policy was misleading but we just ended up being losers anyway. Please be careful when you book on their website if you feel that you feel that you might need cancellation security. THIS IS NOT A REVIEW OF THE RIAD, THE STAFF, OR SERVICES OFFERED.

Long take:
We were very excited to visit Le Farnatchi for our honeymoon but ended up getting sick right after our wedding and were not able to travel. We had booked our room on the "flexible cancellation policy". When we decided to cancel, we found out that there are two policies "Fully Flexible" and "Semi-Flexible." The reservation page makes no distinction or present that there are two options. The fully flexible policy hasn’t been offered in months but it’s there to throw people off.

This policy has been rephrased slightly since we originally booked but they intentionally haven't taken this information out months after it is completely invalid.

Honestly, had they worked and even offered us credit and helped us reschedule, we would have done it because the Riad and the services looked absolutely incredible. After trying to work with them, we decided to open a dispute with our bank.

We opened a dispute with our bank. It was extremely easy to point out the inconsistencies within their dispute response and how poorly the policies were enforced. Their own screenshots and documentation was obvious proof of the misleading policy. We still had to draw up a long response to our bank pointing these out. Our bank agreed with us and requested them to transfer the funds back but they refused to offer a refund. This took months and hours of time and effort. It feels worse because this Riad is very expensive and we wanted to do something nice for our honeymoon.

When we asked our bank on next options, they said that we could take legal action but that's a whole other mess. We were also recommended to talk to the Better Business Bureau but that is mostly applicable for the United States and felt like the best thing to do was to leave a review warning others and hopefully the cancellation policy as stated can be rectified and not ruin other travelers' vacations.

We stayed for 4 nights in May 2023. It was our first time in Morocco (and the first time abroad since COVID), and we were so glad that we chose Le Farnatchi. It's an absolutely beautiful building, the rooms are immaculate, huge and amazingly decorated, and the staff are fantastic - nothing is too much trouble for them, and they really went beyond what they needed to do.

When you're going to a new city or country you can spend a lot of time trying to decide where to stay - if you're wondering where to stay in Marrakech I would recommend Le Farnatchi without any reservations whatsoever.

Le Farnatchi is an amazing Riad run by James and his wonderful team. Nothing is too much trouble for them. They will organise your holiday if you want them to.