More about Kenzi Farah Hotel Marrakech
Sports & Social Trip to Marrakech - great time at the Kenzi Farah
by TripAdvisor Member Billysmum
We took a party of 24 to the Kenzi Farah for four days in October. The hotel was great we all thought, rooms were fine (to be honest nobody was in the room much!), clean, well looked after. Breakfast was better than expected. The bar at the pool served a very good quality lunch. O.K. the service may have been a bit slow at times but what the heck, you are on holiday!....have a beer while you wait!.
Pool was lovely, very clean. Weather was great.
If there was one negative it would have to be the reception staff were quite abrupt. Could have been a language thing, they were not that fluent in English, but you only have to deal with them when checking in and out, so not a major problem!
Does what it says on the tin!
by TripAdvisor Member Hasski
We spent a couple of days in Marrakech and we chose the Kenzi farah based on my wife's stay there many years earlier
We very pleased with every aspect; good check-in, comfortable room, great bathroom, gorgeous gardens & pool, great restaurants and cafes, short ride from the town centre and a great price
The only gripe was the distance from the room to the pool was a good 5 minute walk.
The front desk booked us on the Chez Ali Experience which I highly recommend to anyone visiting Marrakech. Inclusive of dinner, private transport and all entertainemnt we paid ~ 800 MD for both (roughly £28 Sterling each)
Good value for money
by TripAdvisor Member Deb61
When we read some of the reports on Trip Adviser,after we had booked at the Kenzi Farah Hotel, we were quite worried about what to expect.
However, we went prepared with kettle and mugs and a bottle of duty free for the room and to be honest, we were very pleased with what we got for the money.
OK, it was not EU 5 star standards but our room and the rest of the hotel was clean (apart from needing a bit of decorating TLC), the food at breakfast was excellent with lots of choice and we ate in one night at the very romantic bedouin style tent resteraunt where the food was first class and the staff so eager to please.
The staff at the hotel, like everyone else in Marrakech, were keen to make a little money or tips at every opportunity but who can blame them, they have to live and there is a lot of poverty? It was no worse than other countries we have been to.
On the whole, we had a very good stay - the hotel is about a 20 minute walk from the Medina (watch the taxi drivers outside we did get a little cross with them on one occasion as it cost us 10 dirhams for the ride down to the Medina with a guide - Rashmina a very nice lady who works for the hotel - the one day and they tried to charge us 20 the following day which we refused to pay).
Service non compris
by TripAdvisor Member djemba
We got this hotel on a last minute deal and only read the reviews on this website after we had booked. We were a little bit nervous...!
I think that the mixed reviews are reflective of different peoples' expectations of this hotel. If you are looking for a holiday where you spend a lot of time in the hotel and want 5* facilities inclusive then Hotel Kenzi Farah is not the place for you. Almost all the facilities cost extra (indoor gym, indoor pool, spa), the food and drinks in the hotel are phenomenally over priced (a bottle of water is 5dh anywhere else but in the hotel it's 30dh!) The food in the restaurant is not particularly exciting and again far too expensive.
However, if you are looking for a cheapish hotel as a comfortable base (which we were) this place is great. It's 15 mins from the Djeema El Fna, the outdoor pool is clean and big and the gardens surrounding the hotels are charming. 10 dhirams tip to the pool attendent makes it hassle free getting a sun lounger. The rooms are great - we had a lovely view and good aircon and everything was in working order. You have to pay for a safe which is again a symptom of them trying to make more money off you, but we were prepared for that.
Speaking French is a bonus, as in all of Marrakech, and even rusty GCSE will gain you favour as at least you're trying to communicate in their language. I saw a few tourists speaking English VERY LOUDLY to Morrocons - it didn't seem to get them very far!
Bon Voyage!
It's a good 3-4 star hotel - but definitely Not 5 star
by TripAdvisor Member aussiein
I stayed at this hotel in April 2006. It's a good 3-4 star hotel. The rooms are quite nice (clean, big, air conditioned). The pool is nice (although not enough chairs). The location is good (10 mins walk to the Medina). But overall it is NOT 5 star. It caters better to families than couples or singles. The front desk service is average at best. The breakfast buffet is VERY average. The dinner is also relatively average (definitely eat out as there's plenty of better dining experiences in the Medina) --- Don't bother using the hotel spa. The treatments are very amateur (I had a pedicure and they weren't even going to paint my nails, I had to ask, and then got a choice of 3 colours). And don't go on any tours booked at the hotel, they are not worth the money.
5 star? Who came up with that one?
by A TripAdvisor Member
We booked 3 rooms in this hotel via the Internet for 4 nights stay that ended yesterday. All was well when we arrived at the five star hotel until we reached the reception to check in. After what seemed like 15minutes waiting to be served, we were handed those little forms that all hotels in Morocco require you to fill out.
Our first mistake was to forget to bring a pen to fill these forms. The hotel couldn’t offer a pen so there was more waiting until a pen was obtained.
After everything was completed, we went on to find the rooms. The 5 star hotel looked increasing like a converted dormitory or even a nice looking prison. The décor is vulgar to be polite about the hotel.
We requested 3 non smoking rooms but one of the rooms had a very heavy smell of cigarettes. When I went to complain, the receptionist dismissed my concerns saying all our rooms are like this. After more complains the room was changed.
I asked to speak to the manager and the receptionist picked the phone up to call him. I waited around 20 minutes in the lobby waiting for him and then went to the desk again to ask her to call him again. When the manager came, he said he’d only received one call so what was the receptionist of this 5 star hotel doing the first time round?
Manager was understanding like all managers generally are. He said every concern would be taken care of and this was generally true. Even the hotel workers had a fake smile for us every time we walked passed.
A couple of days into the trip however, one of my friends had some money stolen from his room. It was funny how some money was taken and the rest left as if it wouldn’t be noticed. The room had a safe but you have to pay around 25 Dirhams per day to use the safe. Why? Beats me.
Breakfast was a dull affair, neatly presented and in a good setting but little on offer especially for us travelling from UK told to avoid anything washed with local water.
The hotel does merit some good words tough. Lunch outside near the pool was pleasant. The pool was a good size and there were sufficient chairs for the people wanting to use them. However we were there at a quiet time so when the busy period kicks in, this may be a problem.
The hotel did have a gym and indoor swimming pool but that costs en extra 100Dirham (£6+) per person per day to use so is not really worth using.
Replace the front desk staff
by A TripAdvisor Member
The hotel is five minutes from the airport. I was surprised that the front desk area was not air conditioned. The layout of the front desk means that the first person you talk to will tell you - not in a friendly fashion - that he is not reception and that you need to step around the corner; his job is checkout and the issuing of an expensive card that yoo need to make the safe work. To the side of the reception desk is what the hotel describes as a cyber lounge, a small room with 3 PCs running a very slow internet connection. They charge 100 dirhams - approx 7 pounds (UK) - per hour for extremely slow internet access.
The windows of our hotel room could not be locked and so we were forced to pay for the use of the safe in the room. The hotel charges top whack for every conceivable extra: use of the indoor pool, the room safe, even water with your meal comes at a high cost.
Most of the hotel staff are polite and friendly but this is not the case for the staff at the front desk; they were unhelpful to the point of being rude.
We had paid for the half board option and quickly became bored with the buffet. The salad selection was good but the main courses were not. The lunch, or evening meal, did not include water or tea/coffee. They charged 30 dirhams (approx 2 quid) for a bottle of water.
Most of the guests in the hotel appeared to be French with a few Spanish and English thrown in.
10 million tourist I don't think so
by TripAdvisor Member andalus
I would like to confirm that i love Morocco and i hope my criticism is constructive not just for the sake it .
I think the team running this hotel have no clues about the hotel industry : crumpy staff a front desck servise similliar to an office under the protectorat , the last think you expect is a smile or spantaneous wellcome i could not believe that i am in Morocco i know the country well and unfornately this hotel does not reflect the warmth and the spirit of wellcoming in Morocco.
I do not know what going on it seem like you have to corrupt you way if you are asking for towell by the swimming or even when you are buying a drink ; no witters to be seen and when you find one again the crumpy attitude.
The lobby seems like a public street no body asking what you looking for or try to help (wellcome to the hot hotel) when walking along the corrider its feels like a sonna (august) the room are air conditionned but you have to cope with a noisy air con probably instaled just after the independence and when we complain they just turn the blowing down but the noise stayed.
When we phone to confirm our reservation guess what ? they have lost it and the lady at the other end of the phone was busy with some think else and she just put the phone down on me may she was not in good mood that day never mind .
I phoned again asking for some sombody in charge ???? i have
been transfered to a french lady who sounded more like a sleepy head teacher than a hotel manager the first time she tought i am working in the hotel so i had to explain that i am a client who's reservation has been lost . I stayed on the phone for few minutes listening to her taliking to her self or maybe computer if she got one and guess what i struck lucky this time she found my resevation oh God good news at last.
10 million tourist by 2010 yes I hope so and I believe so because Morocco has the potentiel , the resources and the people (surely well under paid in this hotel case) to become the number one destination for holidays i hope so and i expect so. But unfornately with this frensh protectorat style hotel i think and i hate to say it the tourism will go no where . I hope this hotel will be striped of the 5 stars ?????? and believe me it all for the best aswell as a fresh start.
I am giong back to Morocco in new year and definitelly i will not be staying in Farah kenzi hotel. I do appoloze if i was harsh but my dreams for Morocco force to do so.
From someone who adore Morocco
Forum Posts
Distance ...
by mamb-00
hello all,
can someone tell me how far is hotel Kenzi Farah from Djemma el Fnaa on foot? i need to confirm since i'm getting mixed information re: distance. reviews on this hotel is not so inspiring so far :-( , has anyone got any positive feedback ?!
thanks!
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