Dar Ayniwen

( 5 stars , Marrakech , Morocco )

A true oasis of peace, tranquility, luxury and service of the highest order. A magnificent mansion filled with interesting furnishings and artifacts, stunning in design and decor. This is the way to enjoy Marrakech, the complimentary car delivers you to and collects you from the Medina at your convenience. Enjoy a few hours of the hustle and bustle and return to your oasis for a relaxing lunch in the garden. Repeat again in the evening for the unforgettable experience of Jemma El Fna. Nothing is too much trouble for the Dar Ayniwen team.

Dar Ayniwen deserves every one of its 5 stars. We stayed at Dar Ayniwen for three nights after staying in the Marrakech Medina first. The service that they provided was perfect from the pre-arrival email communication, to being picked up from our Riad in the back alleys of Marrakech, to the candlelit private dinners by the pool, to the stunning massage. We couldn't fault them on any point. The food was wonderful. The staff attentive but just the right level. The room (Sheherazade Suite) was enormous and had the largest bath I've ever experienced! Dar Ayniwen is the perfect getaway.

Staying at the Dar Ayniwen is like living in a museum full of wonderful pictures and ornate furniture, where time seems to have stood still for a few moments; and where the owner and staff have assumed the role of curator. In my opinion the best words are, elegance charisma and indulgance. Each room similar to the other but then remarkably different from the next, the attention to detail incredible. If I gave this property six stars I would be doing it an injustice. In fact there is not a single word that would sum up the Dar Ayniwen. I daren’t do this property a second injustice by trying to explain its uniqueness’ to you either, as I’m sure most of you will only think of a grand hotel or a polished Riad. The Dar Ayniwen is more than this. My wife and I decided to get married at the Dar Ayniwen. As soon as we stepped foot in the grounds, we knew it was special. We stumbled across it quite by accident whilst trying to choose an appropriate wedding venue to host our Indian wedding in Marrakech. Oh don’t get me wrong, there are plenty Riads and villas out there but there is only one Dar Ayniwen and defiantly only one Stephane and Aziz, they come as double act you see, kind of like Batman and Robin or if you want to be comedic about it, Laurel and Hardy, both extremely professional and excellent wedding planners, and you can tell both have worked with each other for some time. First impressions? Simply breath taking. We were greeted by a friendly face, Stephane (the manager). A very nice chap might I add, he sat down with us and discussed the wedding, the service and entertainment in detail. He shouldered most of the stress out of planning our wedding, OK - OK who says planning a wedding isn’t stressful? we had clothes to buy after all! The wedding day was perfect, the grounds beautiful and my bride stunning. The attention to detail - commendable. We hired the whole house for two days, with the wedding on the second day, 7/7/7. After which we stayed in the Galaxy suite for the remainder of our stay. The service by all staff was outstanding - silver service all the way for sure, the food served was first class. They even surprised us by preparing dinner on our balcony. I will never loose my memories of our wedding. It was perfect, the best day of my life so far, thanks Natalie for agreeing to be my wife and thanks to all the staff at the Dar Ayniwen for such a memorable day.

We were still searching for a hotel when we arrived at Dar Ayniwen. The staff welcome us with tea and biscuits and showed us around. We knew from the very start that we will have a very nice stay and selected Dar Ayniwen without too much hesitation. Great swimming pool, beautifull rooms, teriffic garden and excellent food. Marocco has a lot of great hotels and this is one of the best.

Spent a wonderful week at this Oasis on the outskirts of Marrakech.The staff were helpful and friendly. The ethos is to think of it as your home and this is how I felt, very much at home in this beautiful house and gardens.Stefan is an excellent host and Aziz the perfect manager,every little detail has been thought through with great care.I stayed in the Galaxy suite, just perfect. if you are looking for somewhere to relax and recover from the stresses of life this is the place.A house car is always available to take you wherever you wish to visit in and around Marrakech. Just fantastic.

We stayed at this exclusive hotel/country residence in early September and it really was quite special. Our bedroom had a glorious outlook onto the gardens, where a couple of tortoises wandered about together with the 3 resident guinea fowl - the three musketeers! The staff where truly wonderful; discrete but friendly. Invaluable was the daily inclusive air conditioned transport to and from Marrakech. The food was consistently of a high standard, bought and cooked fresh each day. There were lovely individual touches such as rose petals on the beds and fruit bowls in the rooms. Asked if I would visit again - I would not hesitate in recommending this beautiful hotel and I hope to visit again next year. Dar Ayniwen was truly a Moroccan experience.

I have stayed a couple additional times since my last review in 2006, and most recently a few weeks ago, and Dar Ayniwen still remains on top of my list in Marrakesh. As a matter of fact, since I have discovered this hotel, I would not stay anywhere else in Marrakesh! Thank you again Stephane, Aziz, and the whole team to make each of my stays wonderful and unique! You absolutely all deserve one more of my best review! On a final note, I must say I am surprised to read about this client who, apparently, had money stolen in his room, as I understand it. I can only speak for myself, but on my last short stay, I mistakenly left a small organizer that included various business documents, checks, and some money, in the room, and Aziz drove to the airport to bring it to me on time before my flight left, with nothing at all missing in it!

We spent the weekend at the Dar Ayniwen for my wifes birthday in December. The weekend was ruined when £160 in cash was stolen from my wallet in the room. There are no locks on the doors and it is our feeling is that the money was taken while we were being served breafast on our balcony. I'm sorry about having to post this bad review about what would have been a very nice place to stay.

How could any Hotel be so consistently awarded a score of 5. We were about to find out. Upon arrival at Marrakech Airport we were greeted by the Hotel Driver and driven through what can only be described as the chaotic streets of the City. After about 20 minutes we arrived at the closed gates of Dar Ayniwen. A toot of the horn and we entered the beautiful grounds of the Hotel. We were met by Aziz who took us on a brief tour of the hotel and gardens and then on to our first room Tiwaaline 2 where our luggage was waiting for us. We changed the next day to the Colonnades suite which we found to be more of a conventional suite with a regular bath and more to our liking. We have traveled to many places but have never received such wonderful personal service as here. The Riad is run by Stephane ably assisted by Aziz his Deputy and the most wonderful and willing staff, two of whom we would say were extra special….Lamya and Zach who always seemed to be on hand to help. The Management seem to pick the best Students from the University and train them in the DA way. Breakfast was a never ending feast and you could always order anything else for the next day. Lunch and Dinner were ordered at Breakfast if you were staying in the hotel during that day. Travel into the City was available free of charge 24 hours a day and you were given Aziz’ phone number to request a return pickup. Not everything was 100% perfect but quite honestly it would harsh to make a deduction from the score of 5 as the good hugely outweighed the small mistakes. Relaxing by the Pool was equally as pleasant, you just pointed to where you wanted your sun loungers and within 10 minutes you were set up with chairs and a table surrounded by magnificent gardens and orchards. Nothing was too much trouble and we would certainly recommend this hotel to anybody. Thank you again Stephane and Aziz who both went that extra mile to make our stay unforgettable.

My wife and I had only three days in Marrakech but loved the hotel so much we had to force ourselves to go into town. The room (we were upgraded to the Galaxy Suite), the staff (Stephane, Aziz, Zac and the ever-willing and patient driver), the food -- all absolutely top notch. We are hoping to return soon with friends.