We decided to stay in Aït Benhaddou for two nights and had not booked anything in advance. We drove though the town (which is a two minute-drive because it is really small) and decided Riad Maktoub looked fabulous. We went in and asked the very friendly man in reception if he had a room for us. Yes, he did and he took us upstairs, to one of the biggest rooms we had ever seen. Beautifully decorated, balcony, sitting area, nice bathroom, amazing. When we asked for the prices however, he said it was 900 DH. We almost fell over. After travelling in Morocco for a while we knew this was too much. So we asked for a cheaper room, which he claimed he didn’t have. So the haggling begun. We ended up paying 600 DH for the room, including breakfast. Not a bad price for the amazing room, but when we came downstairs again to enjoy the encredible swimmingpool, we found out that the downstairs rooms around the pool (smaller and cheaper) where all not occupied!! Having said all this, it seems to be a bad year for Moroccon tourism with all that is happening in the Arab world and the bomb in marrakech, so we kind of understood that he was trying to make the most of it. The hotel is really nice. The staff is very friendly, the room is amazing, the pool is excellent after a hot day and the breakfast was also very very good. Jams, honey, eggs, pancakes, yoghurt, fresh juice …. Tip: have dinner at the neighbour’s restaurant. The food is really nice and it is a good place to sit and look at the world going by at night in Aït Benhaddou … it’s a relaxing place!
