"This is a VERY detailed review of the hotel only, we stayed for four nights for a true rest so did not venture outside of the hotel.
Arrival - we found Morocco to be very pleasant, the private transfer was seamless, and the gentleman who picked us up seemed genuinely interested in us, a theme that was repeated throughout our stay. Moroccan people are really lovely people, very chatty.
The hotel itself is stunning, we had booked a room with a pool view, which I would recommend as we had spoken to people that had a road view and said the traffic was loud. Another area to be aware of is that the hotel is on a flight path, so be aware that you will hear aeroplanes from 6am on some days, take earplugs if you’re a light sleeper.
The hotel reception staff were absolutely lovely, we were greeted with smiles and another gentlemen who took our bags, served us Moroccan tea and cookies which was very welcome after our flight, and then took us to our room.
We had booked as All Inclusive Plus, which will provide you with a purple wristband and the reception also provides you with a leaflet showing you what is available within the plus and also the times of food openings etc. we got to choose one of the a la carte restaurant visits and we chose the Italian Le Cat, more on that later!
Rooms - beautiful rooms with air con, free safe with no deposit required to use, and also two tokens (one each) for use of the pool towels. Pressure of the shower was ok, I would have preferred it slightly stronger but good enough. EU plugs can be used in the sockets. Beds were very comfortable, great seating area within the room too. Good amount of storage. Balcony big enough for two with great views of the pool. Cleaned often throughout the four night stay.
Food - I feel this is where some work could be done to be improved. The service in there was excellent, staff very attentive. The food is repetitive but tasty. Some dishes were not to my taste but could be to others. Salads were always plentiful and lots of choice. The biggest issue was arriving just after 9 one night we felt we were left with what was left over, no fresh food arriving as dinner ended at 9.30. I feel there should be fresh food constantly up to 9.30. The 02 bar by the pool served a late lunch at 2.30-4, consisting of salads, little sandwiches and a hot dish of either fish or chicken with rice/pasta and chips. You could also ask the staff there for bowls of chips and they would provide during that time period if there were none left. One day the food arrived late, starting to bring out the food at around 2.50, no real excuse in my opinion for the food arriving late as if you had breakfast between the 7-10am and chose not to have normal lunch at buffet you wouldn’t want to wait too much longer for the later lunch than 2.30pm.
Le Cat - when booking on the Tuesday, we asked for Thursday night booking, which seemed like they were struggling to find a time to fit us in, but we eventually got an 8.30 reservation. When arriving, the room is stunning and again staff excellent. There were only four tables in use when we got there out of about 12, and the same when we left, so didn’t understand the idea of feeling like we were being fitted in to the timeframe we requested. Food started with bread and butter, a herby butter which was delicious, and an olive butter which my friend said was also delicious. My friend chose the cheese and honey and I the crispy polenta for starters, both good. I had chicken and my friend the Gnocchi, again tasty, however on the menu were pizzas which when we saw them come out wish we had had one of those which looked amazing. There were some markups on the menu if you wanted to choose them, which I felt as an all inclusive plus guest shouldn’t apply. Overall a nice experience.
Staff - this is where the hotel truly shines. Every single staff member we encountered were excellent, but as always there are certain staff members who really do make your holiday. Firstly, the Bar Manager Salim, what a guy! He was funny, attentive, interested in how our days went, happy to make you a cocktail that suited your tastes, and a truly lovely soul in a cheeky chappy exterior. A true 5 star experience from all the bar staff in there.
The entertainment by the pool headed up by the ever energetic gentleman who I never got the name of was great. Water aerobics, water Zumba and just dancing around the pool, he would pop by for a chat to everyone and would be a constant smiling face in the day, another great guy with amazing dance moves, you could tell the guy just wants to dance through life!
Aya at buffet reception, a young lady who was genuinely just the sweetest, always smiling and happy to see you.
Entertainment - sporadic in the evenings, we did Monday to Friday, but I feel if we had spent the weekend there it would have been a busier entertainment programme. There was a wonderful singer there a few nights and karaoke on the Thursday night, but I would have liked to have seen a bit more variety for a hotel that is considered 5* and that was away from a busy area to go to easily.
Overall - a really pleasant stay with areas for improvement, but we had a wonderfully relaxing time and really enjoyed meeting so many great people."
