I booked this for a surprise for my 30th birthday, i arrange Transfers with Laila which on arrival there was a taxi waiting for us that took us straight to out hotel. We arrived at the hotel which was down a small road ( didnt look like a hotel at all from outside) we were greeting with tea. when then got took to our room which was nice.

Breakfast: was the same everyday, we didnt have dinner there, if you do require dinner you have to order in the morning after breakfast.

My partner and i was going into town and wanted a drink before heading out - wer were waiting around for 20 minute with noone about to ask for a drink - this happened alot not many staff around it was like help yourself....

Location: out the way about 15 - 20 minutes from town.

There is a pool which is inside with a open roof top - i recommend sunbathing there after 11 as it gets very hot on the roof top
Would not return..

Riad is 20 minutes walk from the main square. Whilst it's nice to look at inside, that's about it. Room was very dark with no windows which I suppose is the Morrocan style. Breakfast was terrible unless you like bread and butter and jam which is what you get every day. You also get a piece of cake or an overcooked scone. Not good. Staff not at all attentive, the one that was on overnight used to talk very loudly on his cellphone until very late so even in our room we couldn't get any peace. They were more interested in standing aroud chatting between themselves than seeing that their guests were happy. Not once were we asked if we wanted a drink and when we did have a couple of drinks on the terrace one evening the glasses were still there the next lunchtime.

So all in all, very disappointing so would recommend you choose a different place to stay.

We stayed here to celebrate my boyfriend's birthday. I had booked it as a surprise and he only knew we were going with a week to go. There are so many Riads to choose from but I picked the Riad Opale because it seemed intimate and slightly off the tourist area of Jemaa el Fna. I couldn't have chosen better. The pictures on their website don't do it justice. It is a beautiful Riad with just seven rooms. It is tucked away (but still easy to find your way back to!) and about a 15minute walk to Jemaa el Fna. I arranged for transfers from the airport which made life so much easier and all the e-mails I sent leading up to our trip were promptly replied to - nothing was too much trouble. The food was great - breakfast consisted of fruit juice, pastries, bread, jam, honey and endless cups of coffee. We celebrated my boyfriend's birthday by having dinner at the Riad - the food was wonderful and we dined poolside (it was pouring with rain so we could not eat on the rooftop unfortunately) surrounded by candles - it was a lovely atmosphere. Our room was very spacious and had all that you needed including a safe and hairdryer. The only slight problem was the lighting - it was so dark even with the lights on! All in all we had a fantastic three days and would like to thank all the staff for making our first trip to Marrakech so special. I will happily answer any questions anyone may have about this Riad.

I visited Marrakesh for 4 days, 3 nights and I stayed at The RIAD OPALE. I booked it direct with the Hotel and secured a very good price, and I was put in the TOPAZ suite which is one of the seven rooms, it consisted of a room with a king size bed, a 32" LCD TV, private bar, air conditioning and a very large shower room. The hotel is a very traditional Riad and it is built around a seven metre pool which is open to the sky and it is located within the Medina. All the staff are very helpful and Laila, the hotel PR was great, she was the person that I booked it through. The prices listed on the website, www.riadopale.com were very high, but as it was off season a deal was there to be done.
The email address on the website is incorrect, the correct one is: riadopale@gmail.com

I arranged for the hotel limo to pick me up at the airport and take me to the hotel, thank goodness I did as the 'so called Taxi Drivers' do not seem to understand English even when you show them the hotel business card, they are not sure where to go.

It was very hot in August when I went, the 2nd to the 6th, it got uo to over 53 degrees in the daytime and it was still very hot in the evenings. I eat out every night and I had the TAGINES which were very good, you can get all sorts including vegetarian ones, I liked the Chicken, with lemon and olives.

It is VERY expensive to use a mobile phone in Morocco, and if I go again I shall not be using mine.

I took a day trip to the VALLEE OURIKA and ASNI and CASCADE DE SETTI FATMA, we saw the small rivers and cascades, you need to be VERY FIT if you take the climb to the top, about 30 minutes each way, and then had lunch at a traditional Berber House.

Tony Ainsworth,
Coventry.
www.tonyainsworth.co.uk