Hotel Amalay

“ We have just returned from our stay in this hotel..........its definately basic! lol. The room was however clean and was cleaned everyday and fresh towels supplied.
The ensuite bathroom was dark as real small window and only an over the mirror light..........and the loo, sink and bath were stained...but this appears to be the water causing this rather than lack of cleaning......however our particular maid forgot to dust behind the bathroom door, and someone before us had written something in French in the dust...and it remained there all of our 5 days stay...lol.
There were no tea and coffee making facilities in the room......and we had a view of a 'wall' out of our window as we were at the back...which i was thankful for as the front rooms were real noisey.....the morroccians really like to hoot their horns...lol.
The breakfast was again basic...........tea/coffee, fresh orange with french baguette and a croissant with jam and butter..........even had the same flavoured jam everyday.........so hope you like Apricot! lol.We didnt have dinner in the hotel at any time so cant comment on this, but then i didnt see anyone else eat there either.....and it was open to the public aswell. But to be fair it was out of season and theres plenty of competition.
The hotel staff are mainly french speaking......and it pays to know a few phrases.......this is not a country were most locals speak english!.

Would I use this hotel again............yes I would it cost me £78 for 4 nites for two of us and that included your breakfast, (such as it was...lol) It was basic and clean and thats the only thing that mattered to us....

“ Top Tip: There are plenty of places to eat..........including Pizza Hut, KFC and MaccyD's so you wont starve if you dont like the local dishes.

The local chow was again basic.....lots of tangines......which is various veg steamed with a meat of somekind cooked in an earthen pot sometimes served with couscous........but always tasty and hot.

The market square is always a good place to visit................but remember to barter ......One shop holder asked for £70 for a wooden jewellery box.........I ended up paying £20 for it. The square is also a place for local entertainment if you into snake charming and having your pic took with a monkey..........not for me really, but its part of their culture .

Remember this is a poor country...lots of begging including mums and babes in arms sitting on road sides....shoe shiners by the hundreds trying to make a penny, lots of looky looky men, (and children) as I call them...........

The tourist bus tour is well worth doing..£14.50 each for an all day ticket and you can hop on and off at different points enroute. It also gives you a running commentary of the history and life in Marrakech etc etc on one route, One
route is the city route and the other route takes you out into the oasis with palm trees and camels.

There are various excursions you can take, we did the all day Ourika day trip which was £35.50 per person and includes a three course dinner. This was well worth the money for scenery and the local culture...including a Berber pottery factory.......a herb farm..........a Berber house.....never did see a loo lol........then a Berber village with a walk to a fantastic waterfall at the foot of the snowy Atlas mountains.

We also did the Chez Ali eveining trip this was £45.00 each...........the food, the company and the decor was good.the entertainment was rubbish............lots of drum banging and chanting after an hour or so head was pounding. The other thing to watch...they sold the local wine there for £17.50 a bottle......in the supermarket it was £5.00! Glad I dont drink....

I enjoyed the whole hoiliday I went there for the culture and the experience and thats what I got.....and with the equivalent of the British summer weather without the rain...it was 22c most days...a bit cooler in the evening....we were in Tshirts and sandals and the locals were in great big coats, gloves and scarves...ofcourse its there winter...lol.

One more tip..............nobody takes any notice of red lights, green lights or zebra crossings so crossing every road is like dicing with the M25....especially with the scooters.........and you really can get 5 family memebers on a scotter I saw it with my own eyes....lol!

Have a great Holiday................

“ hotel room was fine. it was clean and cleaners were unintrusive..
On half board, breakfast was the same every morning small glass of orange, 1chocolate croissant and a breadroll with apricot jam, tea or coffee...evening meal...
the food was very poor.... same frozen, soggy, vegtables every evening, wasn't offered a choice of menu,(till i asked and then it was only two things, this or that,) was actually told i couldnt have a menu, when i asked for one(which i did because i was willing to pay extra for something i would eat)
i asked for butter to go with the bread and was informed it was upstairs in the breakfast room and only for breakfast!
coffee wasnt included, it was extra..menu repeated itself after 3 days..they gave a yogurt, still in its plastic tub, as a dessert...

it was very disappointing, as part of a holiday is to enjoy food cooked for oneself and be looked after,unfortunately this was not the case. it was quite dictatorial and i found attitude poor....... i think i should be reimbursed.

“ Top Tip: the medina was very interesting

trips offered were good did two and enjoyed them.

having a personal taxi to and from the airport was excellent - no hanging about

“ This hotel is in a very good position, close to the bus stops and handy for the train station but it doesnt feel too friendly. The breakfast is only a croissant and a cob, where some hotels have a buffet with lots of choice, if you ask for anything else, you get a disapproving look and its not available. The evening meal is not very good. The bedrooms are small, but adequate, there is a tv, no fridge, no kettle, the key for the safe is extra.

“ The Hotel Amalay is a good value for money, clean hotel. It is very central and Number 1 buses stop a few feet down the road which take you down to the Medina. Otherwise it is about a half an hour walk. The buses are frequent though so not a problem.

We stayed two nights there and couldn't fault the staff or cleanliness standard. Breakfast consisted of French coffee or tea (tea was watery, I would say opt for the coffee!) french bread, chocolate croisant, jam, butter and cheese and a glass of orange juice which is good value for the price we paid.

“ Top Tip: The Number 1 bus stop to the Medina