Mr & Mrs Smith

I cannot praise Dar One, its owner and staff more highly. We had a lovely, well cared for, relaxing week in the sun. I decided which Moroccan restaurants we would go to in advance and Jean booked them up for me. I will say that the 2 romantic meals we had on Dar One's own terrace were highlights - I am missing the wonderful 'salads' or warm vegetable dishes that seem to be standard Moroccan starters. Also perhaps because of the heat, or simply the quantity of food served, we rarely did justice to the desserts.
Le Foundouk: Lovely food, husband had chicken, lemon and olive tagine and I had the berber (beef and veg) one.
Maison d’Arabe: Very attractive setting and good food – had the fabled pigeon pie, which was tasty. Don’t recommend the crepe suzette though. It was my first deviation from Moroccan food since I was hoping for a major French influence.
Al Fassia: Again, food great and we did try our best to eat the desserts, since they were so lovely.
Dar Yacout: A great experience. It is a set amount including drinks (700 MAD pp). You start with a few drinks on the terrace, listening to music and the calls to prayer, then down to the lovely dining room where the many courses begin to arrive: a table-full of the warm vegetable salads and bread, whole chicken tagine, beef tagine and huge mound of couscous with vegetables, lovely dessert of layers of thin pastry with sweet sauce and finishing with tea/coffee and a five tier dish of pastries. We would have paced ourselves better if we had known the quantities involved. I only ended up eating a small amount of the beef, a token spoonful of couscous and as much of the dessert as I could – which was not enough!

We visited during Ramadan so most of the bars weren't open between 6-8 when you'd like pre-dinner drinks, but the Riad did have a very drinkable Rose wine!
(PS. I would recommend that anyone visiting Dar One use their taxi facility on arrival because you’ll never find it by yourself. Once you know where it is, it is very easy to locate.)

Marrakech...
Well it's certainly an acquired taste.
And i'll be honest and say there was a point when i was reaching for the itouch looking for flights to the familiarity and comfort of Mallorca.

But after that initial wobble we found ourselves growing to like the place. And there were many plus points so please don't let me put you off. And especially don't let me put you off this Riad which is truly lovely in every department. It's as good as the photos and even better in the detail.  As others have said, the staff and owner are wonderful. The breakfast of breads and cake with jams and honey equally good. The Riad beers and wines always came with nibbles. And the beds were comfy, crisp and cool!

My girlfriend thought the jewelery for sale in the Riad was tremendous value (about £3-4 for a large bracelet) and after spending much of our trip looking at jewellery on every stall we passed (just a small dig there!), none came close to the quality of that at the Riad - they're only too happy to open the cabinets for you to look closer (my advice would be to look early on and if there's something you like they may be able to get more in/similar stuff in for you before you leave).

BARS/RESTAURANTS

Like you will read everywhere, the KOSYBAR terrace is good for pre-dinner drinks (it's very close by). The bar nibbles are nice too but pricey for what they are.
best to head next door for dinner at LE TANGIA which was our best meal out.
The Riad booked us a table upstairs overlooking the inner courtyard with all it's twinkling lights and lanterns no doubt acquired from the lantern makers workshops just outside. Live traditional music greeted us, followed by stunning belly dancers and a woman balancing candles on her head. They walk around the tables so everyone gets to feel part of it. Although this was a little intimidating when trying to tuck into an entire shoulder of lamb that we were sharing - which was sublime - it did nothing but add to the enjoyment of the evening. Very nice food, but not cheap.
Talking of cheap, the evening street food in DJEMAA EL-FNA SQUARE was generally good - it worked out about £25 for 2 and we were very full (take your bottled water from stall to stall if you please, or some people even bought food from another stall to eat at our table)
We found most of the cafes on the square of similar quality and price. i.e. pretty good, and pretty cheap - you won't go far wrong.
We went to CAFE ARABE one night. It's lovely inside but we weren't wild about the Italian food here and it is very dark and menacing when you come out as there didn't seem to be much else around it.

The general rule was lunch is cheap, dinner expensive.

Oh and how could i forget the orange juice, freshly squeezed and chilled for 3dirhams a glass (about 25p) in the main square...almost makes not being able to have a beer with lunch palatable!

Make no mistake. You are certainly in another country in Marrakech. The culture is fascinating, but very different and at times intimidating when out on the streets - you have to keep your wits about you. And be warned if you pull out a map in a less-touristy area, you are likely to have company within seconds!

Happy haggling.

A few great places very close by:

1) Kosybar (+212 024 380324) about two minutes away has a fantastic, plush rooftop terrace overlooking a square, go for drinks, the food is OK.

2) La Sultana restaurant (+212 024 388008)... Just stunning, whether eating on the rooftop or in the beautiful garden.

3) Le Tangier – great at night, very close to the riad, even has belly dancers and live musicians.

Whilst we were in Marrakech I celebrated my 30th birthday and my husband took to me to a wonderful restaurant called Le Foundouk. Amazing food and lovely roof-terrace setting, we'd certainly recommend the Berber Tagine - delicious! It was so good we went back on our last day for lunch.

We'd also recommend the Kosy Bar just a short stroll from Dar One, which had a really relaxed vibe with great views from their roof terrace.

On our return we have heard lots of good things about El Fassia run by a women's co-operative which apparently serves amazing food at reasonable prices - so this is one for our next visit!

Shopping in the souks is a must and we weren't hassled nearly as much as we were expecting - it was fine and there are serious bargains to be had. I bought a leather pouffe. Graham & Green sell these for £115 and we only paid £20! We managed to fill a whole suitcase with our finds!

Dar One was an amazing haven hidden within the hustle and bustle of Marrakech. Jean and his team cannot do enough for you to make you feel welcome but also very discreet to make you feel as though you were at home. We discovered another new bar called Yellow Sub  – if you have had enough of tagine and couscous then its time to head here for a great 70s experience, French style! Great food, great vibe and great fun. Another 'must do' go for a hammam at Les Bains de Marrakech – so relaxing and the building and interior are simply stunning! All in all, an amazing trip to Marrakech.

A few cafe and restaurant tips:

Cafe des Epices is a cosy little daytime cafe in the heart of the souks. It's slap bang in the middle of the colourful action, but with a calm enough atmosphere in which to eat something tasty and catch your breath.

Their sister venue Terrasse des Epices has a cool, laid-back vibe, but was much too cold for a December night (even with the portable heaters and blankets). Better for daytimes or spring onwards.Our visit to Cafe Arabe tucked away down an alley in a beautifully decorated house made for a pleasant evening out. It serves quality Italian food - nice for when you're tagined out.

Just round the corner, Kosy Bar has great views at sunset of stalks and their nests, and the Koutoubia Mosque in the distance.

A more general review of our stay:

A beautiful riad/dar, kitted-out with impeccable attention to detail. Jean has made the most of locally made furnishings – picking out all the best stuff from the sea of throws, candles, lanterns etc on offer – to create an understated, but still very Moroccan-feeling, decorative scheme. You can't help taking photos of every detail, it all just looks so great. Also, maintaining the decorative details, but muting down the colours, helps the place stay feeling authentic, but gives your senses a bit of a break after the sensory assault of the city itself.

Our room was spacious and comfortable, with an enormous dramatic bathroom, and their monogrammed bedsheets were probably the softest I've ever come across.

The staff here are great, and it seems like a very happy place to work - everyone has a smile for you. Abdel was especially lovely, and seemed overjoyed when we asked him to make us a fire in our bedroom. The lounge was a great place to relax with a drink, by the fire (it was cold in the evenings in December).

Food here was tasty - breakfasts were a little different every day, which was a welcome surprise, but always with great coffee & fresh orange juice.

We ate dinner at Dar One on our first night, which was delicious. It wasn't cheap, but we think it was our best meal of our month-long stay in Morocco, so definitely worth it.

Souk Cuisine, a Moroccan cookery course, is perfect for food lovers!

Love to spa, try the Bains de Marrakech....