Mr & Mrs Smith

One of the most pleasant experiences my wife and I have had in a small boutique hotel. Staff excellent. Service excellent. Food excellent. Would recommend without hesitation.

Having never been to Morocco before, I chose Marrakesh and Riad 72 to take my husband for his birthday. Apart from being in the middle of everything and barely 5 mins walk to the Souks and the square, the Riad is in the heart of the everyday hubbub of the city.

More than anything Riad 72 gave us a wonderful experience due the people who work there and took care of us, namely Rasheed - a super lad who is attentive, kind and with excellent English - nothing was too much for him. The wonderful cook who created amazing tagines, Moroccan pancakes and the Moroccan 'salad' was just incredible. Alexandra who manages the Riad is lovely, as are the lovely ladies who serve breakfast, which we ate on the top of the Riad everyday listening to all the Mosques 'Call to Prayer' (BTW this starts at 4am).

On our first day it was like we had a great neon sign over our heads saying 'tourists' so beware the Monkey boys in the square. Before you know it you'll have monkeys placed all over you and then they try to charge you ridiculous amounts for pictures. Also get change... it is very handy to have change for the orange juice stalls because they over charge you and give you incorrect change and disappear so you cant argue the point.

I actually loved almost everything about Marrakesh, the food, the smells, the sounds and the people. Highlights were the Fresh Squeezed OJ everyday - it doesn't sound much but honestly it was the best OJ I have ever tasted. Also the trip into the mountains and having homemade mint tea in a Burber home. Finally, I got to ride a camel...

I would recommend two lovely restaurants: Le Comptoir which is in the new town of Marrakech and has belly dancing and sensational food. It also has a very trendy and cool bar upstairs, a room where you can smoke shisha on the ground floor, the terrace area at the front and the main restaurant. It is very hip and trendy and has that dark misty Moroccan feel. Another restaurant to recommend would be Le Fondouk which is in the Medina, the old town of Marrakech. You are met by a restaurant guide out in the street with a candle who guides you to the restaurant, at first you are slightly mistrusting of this individual as it is not the norm, but honestly he does work for the restaurant and guides you there and back for your departure taxi. The roof terrace is the place to eat and the menus are so funky, given to you like scripts – very cool and very trendy!

During our wanders around Marrakech, we wandered into Kosy Bar (+212 (0)24 380324) in Place des Ferblantiers near the ruins of El Badi Palace. They do great sushi for when you've had enough lamb and chicken tajines.

Don't miss out on Café de la Poste (+33 (0)1 4265 8810) – a great French restaurant which has a lovely bar upstairs, prices are not low but is well worth a drink before or after dinner.