Imperial Holiday Hotel

we stayed at the Imperial Holiday hotel this year and it was okay , but is quite dated and soulless. Did not enjoy the breakfast and the coffee was undrinkable it was so bad. The rooms were fine , they were clean and no complaints there, the pool area was mostly shaded and the sunloungers look like they need replacing, all in all it was fine as a base and we loved Marrakech, but I would not choose to stay here again.

We booked a double bedroom for three nights, 8-10 August. It takes 10 min by cap to go to the Medina (should pay 15 or 20 DH though drivers start offering 30 DH at least). As an alternative, it takes a 30 min walk but I would save energy to explore de Medina. The room was OK, with AC. I did not like all the noise coming from the pool, loud music starting around 10. Try to pick a room in upper floors. We had breakfast the three days. It was pretty good, fruit, eggs, cheese, bakery, and traditional cakes. I was disappointed with the service received at the reception. I had a couple of incidents. First, they delivered with a 1 day delay an important fax I was expecting from the airline co. Second, I had to argue with them because I was overcharged 20DH with the internet service. Anyway, if I go back to Marrakech I would probably pick a ryad in the Medina or a better hotel.

More like a top end 3 star hotel rather than 4 star as advertised on the website. If you are looking to explore Marrakesh and do not intend to spend much time at the hotel then Hotel Imperial Holiday is perfect. We spent 4 days exploring Marrakech and this hotel was more than adequate. It is clean and the staff are friendly, however be prepared to pay extra for things like the safe in your room, or requesting reception to make reservations for taxis and restaurants. The poolside is pleasant on a hot day but space is limited so get down there early. Alternatively there are sun beds on the roof terrace. The hotel is about 20min walk from the old city centre, or alternatively 20dr in a 'petit taxi'. If you require a taxi from the hotel, do NOT ask reception to book you one as they will agree an overpriced fare with the driver (assuming that they will get a share of it). You are better off flagging one down yourself and negotiating a reasonable price. We only ate breakfast at the hotel, but wouldn't consider having another meal there. Service in the restaurant was very poor and so was the selection. You will get much more for your money and a better atmosphere at the local restaurants. If you are looking for a holiday to relax in a hotel, I would suggest spending a bit more to stay in one of the more luxurious Riads. However this hotel is fine for short city visit.

After having stayed at low-star hotels or hostels from a month-long trek through Europe and North Africa, I was happy to find the Imperial Holiday. It's located very close to the train station, so much so that you could probably walk if you wanted to, or take a very cheap train. It's about 60-70 durhams to get to the airport (make sure to negotiate the fare in advance, though). The hotel rooms were very nice. I had a triple and we each paid about $40 a night per person -- certainly a steal! The pool looked nice, but I didn't go in, as it wasn't hot enough for pool season yet. Breakfast was rather generous - tea, juices, cheeses, meats, sausages, etc. The internet is very expensive (something like 8 euro an hour) but there's an internet cafe right down the road that charges 4 durham (about 50 cents!) an hour. You exit the hotel going left, and cross the road and take your first right - it should be a gas station. On that road you should see sign for internet, just follow it there - it's through a courtyard. They had TV, but very few English channels. Just BBC World and some movie channel. The concierge, "Nadia P. Relations" was helpful, but I kept feeling like she was hawking the hotel's products and offers a bit too much. My stay was marred, unfortunately, by one incident. They had accidentally overcharged my credit card in booking my room, so they called me down to cancel the charge. This procedure ended up taking about a half an hour, and it transpired that their credit card machine had stopped working in the hour I had swiped my card, so they gave me the difference in cash. Moroccan cash. I patiently explained to them that my credit card charges me a 3% fee to change US dollars into Moroccan durhams, so that was not reflected in the difference they gave me. In addition, since I was leaving the next morning (and it was quite late at night), the Moroccan money would be utterly useless. I would have to convert it to USD or British pounds, incurring another at least 3% commission (not to mention probably a minimum transaction fee of $10 at most places), so I was actually getting stiffed for a fair amount more due to their mistake. They, however, refused to compensate me with the difference - which was really only a paltry $10 or so, if not a bit more. I think that says something about their establishment that they were unwilling to give a bit more to satisfy a customer, especially because it was their own mistake that had caused it. Aside from that, I enjoyed the hotel. If I went back, I'd probably stay somewhere closer to the city center, but this was certainly not bad.

Stayed at the Imperial Holiday between 12th and 17th April 2007. We changed to this place after reading awful reviews of our initial hotel. Can only really say good things; the staff were friendly, helpful, polite and service was excellent. Breakfasts yummy and plentiful, and dinners were ok but a little tricky with 2 vegetarians and 2 fussy children but we kind of expected this as is always the case when travelling. There is a fabulous restaurant round the corner, Rotisserie de la Paix, on Rue de Yugoslavie opposite the Bagatelle restaurant (believe this is also great but the menu is very French and lots of offal). Anyway it caters for all with pizzas for the kids and a wonderful creme brulee for me. It is set in beautiful gardens, with water features, exotic plants etc all tastefully lit. I really recommend trying it and the bill for 4, 2 courses with wine came to approx £40. Back to the Imperial Holiday; the rooms were fine and everything kept very clean. It felt safe; the chamber maid asked me to change a pound coin into dirhams (obviously an incredibly generous tip from a British tourist!) and was quick to point out that I had given her too much. I was impressed with her honesty.... A grand taxi to Jemma El Fina costs 30 DH and to the airport is supposed to be 60 DH but we ended up paying 100, in our terms its still very reasonable. The hotel holds themed nights with music, acrobats and belly dancers. It costs 250DH per person and we found it went on a bit too long, the food a little disappointing and the acts want tips on top of what you've already paid. I went on camel ride with my son which we both enjoyed; about an hour on a camel and the obligatory rest with music and mint tea with the 'locals'. Cost about 280DH for me and 140DH for my son. We also tried to do a hot air balloon ride but the wind was too strong and had to be abandoned. The hotel has a good sized (if freezing) pool and a wonderful but underutilised roof terrace - would be great to have a plunge pool up there as its a real sun trap. All in all a good hotel with lovely people...

Our hotel was in the French quarter on a quiet street a little way from the central post office - a useful landmark. The street was rather dusty and home to a series of garages and small fruit shops where kittens could be seen crawling over the oranges!. Locals ate in the small cafes and there were good restaurants in easy reach. The hotel was of a good standard with pool and gardens. The restaurant where we ate breakfast each day served a variety of items including omlettes freshly made to order. It was surprising that there was not a greater variety of fresh fruit although there was always plenty of dates, figs and apricots and oranges.The staff were very friendly and helpful with a good command of English as well as other european languages. The roof top terrace was pleasant with views over the city and beyond to the Atlas mountains. The "trees" on the terrace proved to be a very useful landmark when walking back to the hotel before sunset. Perhaps the table cloths looked a little tired and some rugs in the room needed to be replaced although in the main areas the hotel always looked good. Bed linen and towels were changed every day which was a real treat. Overall we would recommend it as a good place to stay.

I dont appreciate reading some of these other reviews, about dirty run down old streets, you have to understand Morocco is not as financially well off as other countries. The hotel was fine, very helpful staff, clean rooms, great breakfast menu. The district had some lovely quaint french restaurants, the concierge directed us to a fabulous authentic Moroccan restaurant in the medina in a gorgeous riad. There are Moroccan musicians in the bar in the hotel who are very talented. Where the hotel is situated is real Marrakech so some people chose to be picky, but for those who prefer to see what it is like then interact with the people who live there, I was chatting to the maids and store owners every day despite the language barrier. The location is great, close to the Medina and close to the new town as they call it, where all the shops are. My only suggestion is that you don't book tours with the hotel administrator, as they charge 3 times as much, book it with a local Tourist office from the Souks.

We booked to stay in the hotel in February. Before we booked we read the reviews and saw photos on here and were impressed, but when we arrived it was located in a area which was run down and locals urinating in the street. We were then shown to our room which was not made up and the mattress and pillows were stained and dirty. Then passed the maid and the cleaning cloths she was cleaning with were nearly black with dirt. There was no way we could even spend one night there so spent our first day of our holiday searching for a hotel. We stayed in Asni hotel which was what you expect for a 4* hotel. The hotel replied to our compliant saying we were not happy with the pool, funny that seeing as we never got round to seeing the pool. This hotel is definately not a 4* and should reconsider it cleanliness. I advise not to book this hotel as the photos are deceiving.

We stayed here for a week in January and found the hotel to be good value for money. Although on a rather run down street, we did not at any time feel intimidated by any of the local people. In fact any Islamaphobe should visit Marrakech to discover the friendliness and helfulness of the Morrocan people. The bedrooms were rather tired and in need of decoration, similarly the linen was a little frayed at the edges. But everywhere was spotlessly clean and towels were replaced daily. Ask for a room at the back overlooking the pretty pool area. BEWARE, however, as the pool is in total shade during the winter so is no good for swimming as it's too cold. The lovely sun roof area provides good sunbathing space. Food was plentiful and beautifully presented. Buffet style got a little boring but there were plenty of great restaurants in the area and SO cheap! Try the Rotisserie de la Paix in the next street for a wonderful open air lunch. Perfect! The main problem we found in the dining room was that most of the tables were round and for 8 people - not so good for couples. Overall, friendly staff, clean accommodation, well situated and good value for money. NOT 4 star but a good 2 to 3.

We booked this hotel as it was 4 stars and the hotel looked nice, but we were disappointed by the standard of the rooms, they were a bit run down and the bathroom very very average. The area the hotel was in was fine, close to everywhere and we can recommend the little cafe next door for the most delicious fresh juices. The pool area was lovely and the food good. For the price we paid we were overall happy. just don't go expecting 4 stars.