There are lots of young men who will accost you as you walk around Marrakech and try to act as your guide to take you to wherever you are going and then demand a fee. This is particularly so once you leave the main square and are heading out to somewhere less easy to find - for example the Bahia Palace, or the Dar Zellij restaurant. Be aware too that some of them will pretend that somewhere is closed when it is not, or will send you off on the wrong direction in order then to get one of their friends to set you right. This is a great shame because it means that, rather than interacting with people, you sometimes have to blank them or even pretend to speak a different language. If you do need directions to somewhere it may be preferable to ask a woman or an older man or a storekeeper - they are more likely to give you accurate directions out of common courtesy without then wanting to accompany you or expecting money in return. If you do end up being accompanied by a 'faux guide' against your will, you may want to explain that you are happy to talk to them along the way but do not wish to have a guide and will not be paying them any money if they accompany you. At least that way, when you reach your destination, you can feel comfortable sticking to your guns and refusing to pay - though be prepared to be pestered repeatedly and to have to hold your resolve. Of course there may be no harm giving a few coins to a boy who has taken some time to get you to the right place, but they should not expect to charge more than this and should be prepared to give you correct and honest information for free. So when one lad demanded 20 dirhams (more than a taxi fare across town) just for telling us which door on the street we were looking for we robustly refused - pour decourager les autres.

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I went to Marrakech for a girls' holiday last weekend, for four days and it was terrible. I had been before with my husband and really enjoyed it, but this time the annoying experiences outweighed the good ones. We were harassed to the point of being sworn at in Djemaa el Fna’s souks, especially the shops near to the square. We had a good idea of how to bargain; they quote a price, you quarter it, and the haggling begins. This was possible in the souks further inside, but the shopkeepers nearer the square were so hot tempered and arrogant that we couldn't be bothered to explore half the time.

Also, at the weekends, medicine is impossible to find. I fell ill and every pharmacy I walked past was closed. When I asked the hotel where I could find one that was open, they directed me to a pharmacist (a short walk away) and told me to read the sign showing which pharmacies were open. But not knowing French made it impossible to decipher this list. I walked 20 minutes in one direction with a hotel bellboy (who I requested to come with), only to find the pharmacy had closed down. And shops and supermarkets sell everything from TVs to nappies, but no aspirin or paracetamol! Our hotel was useless in this situation and showed no sympathy or support.

On our last night one of my friends was robbed as we were waiting for a taxi. Two young boys came up to her and with a knife while she was holding her camera, she gave it immediately. We tried to call for help but we didn't know who to trust. After making our way back to the hotel, the receptionist couldn't even call the police and ask them to come to the hotel to take a report (for insurance). Instead we were advised to get a taxi to the police station (bear in mind we didn't want to go back out because we all felt angry and upset). Having spent an hour in the police station we couldn’t wait to get back to London. We know robberies take place everywhere but the lack of support, care and sympathy in Marrakech was outrageous!

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Having been driven nuts by incessant requests to buy something or taste food at Jemma El-Fna I pulled my mobile and pretended I was talking. People are much less likely to pester you. Obvious, but I've seen a many distressed tourist trying to untangle themselves from the charms of 10,000 sellers.

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For some reason or other, superstition or plain dislike of being actors in our holiday snaps, Moroccans hate being photographed. Makes any street photography a nightmare, although most people prefer to quietly step away or lurk in the shade as opposed to making a scene. If you need a close-up portrait, do ask and expect a request for money. I strongly suggest not tipping even at the expense of not having that colourful mint seller in your album. Some folks do agree to be photographed for nothing, but bizzarely, while tuning my lens on one seller I had a policeman coming by and checking that I've got my subject's consent. Children on streets are ready to put a price tag on their father's footprints, so expect some young chap proudly demanding a price. Gently send them away.

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Having recently returned from Morocco we are posting this review to warn everyone about the scam that is also known as “Origins” supposedly an environmentally sustainable, community supporting company that provide accommodation in some of the more inaccessible parts of Africa and other parts of the world. Our experience relates to Dar Itrane in the High Atlas mountains, an “eco-lodge” with solar panels, local culture library, set in a beautiful valley … sounds good? We thought so too. A lot of money clearly went into selling this place and the website reflects this. Quick to take your money in advance and slow to provide any follow up customer service. Our first bit of “useful” advice was that the mountains would be very cold and we should pack accordingly. So with a bag full of thermal clothes we spent 7 hours in 35*C heat travelling to Dar Itrane, it soon became apparent that the email warning of these conditions was sent from France and that the Origins staff had no idea of what it was like on the ground. A recurring theme it has transpired.

We arrived, dusty and tired, looking forward to a nice relaxing time and integrating with the local culture only to find that the place was derelict and filthy dirty. After half an hour or so of wandering around someone from the village asked what we were doing. We explained that we had intended to stay at the lodge and he helpfully broke into the office, found a key, tried every room and managed to get one open for us. We were then told that there was no one around and that there was no food available. By this time we started to worry about what we were going to do over the next four days and it was becoming clear that the promises made by Origins were totally empty. We called the in-country contact who dismissed us in a rude manner and told us that there would be no one there as we were not supposed to be there either. After several rather heated conversations the contact acknowledged her mistake as we had been confused with some other, perhaps wiser, travellers who had cancelled their booking earlier that week.

With no alternative we left the next day much to our disappointment, the hotel is in a beautiful location but in terms of community interaction there may as well be a barbed wire fence around the outside. The library which was advertised as “being central to the lodge and giving guests a wide range of information on the Berber culture”– it consisted of a basket with two books, one of which was the Origins brochure – there wasn’t a solar panel in sight and the place had clearly been neglected. We were trying to do something positive on holiday, and were encouraged by the claims on the Origins website of minimal impact on the local community and environment, this couldn’t have been further from the truth, the ‘ecolodge’ aspect is a farce. Despite the assurances of, by now, the very apologetic in-country contact we have not been refunded for our troubles and we wasted two days of our holiday. Origins have not responded to a series of emails in which we raised points of concern to us, such as the above and other queries re the ‘eco-ness’ of the lodge. We received one curt email that asked us to stop emailing them.

www.daritrane.com

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I arrived by car and ended up in a Monte Carlo style rally on the narrow streets. Also there are few hotels in the centre with car parks.

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