Riu Palace Tikida Taghazout

Warning, this is going to be a long essay due to the limited reviews on here and my experience. I will endeavour to keep it about just the hotel and not Tui's sale of it (which is where some issues have arisen due to miscommunication). First of all: money. Dirhams are a closed currency, and with this it is advised that you convert your cash either at the airport or the hotel. Some will mention to take English Stirling (Scottish money has previously been refused). The hotel rate we received was decent, but there are a couple of things we would have liked to have known. One of them being: hold on to the receipt given when you change the cash. You will be asked for this when converting anything back to stirling to make sure you're not trying to put more money back into the system. Also the hotel, though it will convert to dirhams, won't convert back to stirling, this you have to do at the airport. Upon arrival from the airport it took around an hour on a coach (with no drop offs), taxis may be a bit quicker. We were instructed to leave our bags outside where the porters would sort them. We were welcomed with a drinks reception and given wristbands and instructed to go to eat before check in to make sure we got food in time. I believe on this date (7th) we were the first large addition to what had been quite an empty hotel. The food: This has been a source of discussion on facebook groups and gives a lot of mixed reviews. There are 3 'sit down' restuarants which require reservations. We were instructed that its one sitting per restaurant per week (so you could go to all 3 in a 7 day stay). We attempted to book upon arrival, but obviously due to checking in lots of us, we were asked to book the next day. First thing in the morning we tried, but there were no reservations free for the entirety of our stay (5 days 4 nights). This is likely because we were there for a long weekend (thursday - monday). Hearsay stated that the restaurants werent filled to capacity, and were doing 20 covers for each of the 2 sittings (7/9pm). THe restuarants are not open every day either, so this limits availability. I'd guess that this is true and down to the requirement of more and more staff as the hotel becomes more utilised. The food options: From my short stay I felt that breakfast was the same daily: bread station: pastries, danishes, cake, breads egg station: omelettes, etc cooked breakfast station: bacon eggs, beans etc naughty station: donuts, waffles pancakes fruit, yoghurts, cereals toast, ham, cheese, carcuterie type foods. juices: carrot, orange, grapefruit, beetroot (note that no apple or cranberry if you're fussy like me). tea and coffee served to you at your table. I personally had no issue with availability of food for breakfast, though on my last day pastries were running low. I didn't eat the hot breakfasts, but never saw any condiments that some consider a requirement (ketchup etc). snacks: I didn't try any, but we had a look around the midnight snack section which was some of the leftover desserts from the evening meal and some hot foods i didn't investigate. lunch: Lunch was the most average (to me). The main issue being vegetarian options, but also being a bit repetetive. My friend is not fussy, and pretty ok with things being near meat and will eat fish, but she struggled a lot to find vegetarian choices, and when asked about it (as the hotel advise) they may not have understood and just said that what was out was it. Tagine station: seemed the same daily, couscous, rice, beans, roasted veg. I cannot comment on these as i eat like a young child. I presume these are local staples. Salad station: i dodge salads, but what i did see was plentiful and fresh breads and soup desserts: often similar to the evening, layer cakes, mousses, vanilla slices. ice cream. Lots of soft options, but a pleasant surprise considering its an area not exactly known for desserts. pizza station: pizzas constantly made but they're around 10 inches, so they disappear very quickly. I frequently struggled to get pizza as this is currently marketed as a family hotel, but there are no obvious 'children' food, and thus they will focus on pizza, chips and burgers as the safe-zone. This means the competition for these items is higher as everyone likes them. Flavour wise they were ok, it did its job for me. Hot station 2: usually something ricey/stewy. There were changes between pork, fish and grilled/fried meats. There were chips on multiple stations at lunch. Hot station 3: Stuffed peppers and tomatos (but not veggie), hot vegetables. Variety of pastas which are the same at lunch and dinner (mac and cheese, tomato, and bolognese). The mac and cheese I ate wasn't good, but the bolognese was nice. To summarise lunch, it was a bit hit and miss at times. It didn't vary a great deal, but amounts was the issue while we were here. I believe there was a local bank holiday of some form so the hotel capacity increased significantly over the weekend and staff were struggling to keep up with the demand. They were working super hard, but there were only so many of them! Evening: I mentioned that when we arrived we were sent for food. It was a bit minimal, but i presumed that this was due to the time of our arrival. In a similar vein to lunch, not everything is labelled, which is a shame because the labels are really informative. If the item is labelled its in multiple languages, but also has icons depicting the ingredients to assist with any allergies. As i previously stated I was there over the weekend and the hotels capacity drastically increased so there were a fair few issues with evening meals throughout our stay with other holiday-makers lodging complaints. I often just waited a bit longer and took another lap, but it isnt necessarily what you'd expect from a 5* hotel. This is my first experience of both 5* and all inclusive, so i'm perhaps a bit more chill about it all. options: traditional station: often tagines, but i had a lovely chicken pastilla the other day, but it was the staples mentioned from lunch with a varying wet-meat dish (curry style), which seemed to change nightly. hot station 2: always super busy, is only station doing chips in the evening. Meats varied nightly from skewers, chicken legs, pork medallians. At the end is a carvery station which does one meat a night. I had prime rib (though didn't really as i was given a non-edible part), duck and i think i saw pork one night too. I lucked out with the duck and got a great piece. hot station 3: i think this is fishy, as i often went past it. It had paella one night, grilled fish, and is a source of vegetables. hot station 4: same pasta options as at lunch along with the pizza station, these pizzas are much nicer than at lunch. cold station 1: salad and sushi cold station 2: cheese and crackers, large cakes (creme caramel, chocolate gateaux, layer cakes, ice cream). i personally found the cake textures and flavours a bit samey. hot desserts: often stewed fruit in syrup, but one night they did a little deep fried parcel of custard in syrup which was amazing. cold station 3: individual mini desserts: mousses, set mousses, pastries etc. overall the food was ok. limited variation, but there are a lot of people to please. I was most surprised by the limited vegetarian choices. I at no point asked for anything in particular, so cannot complain on that part. But i think the food is the main 'teething' point being a new hotel. It did mean that we were happy to go to Taghazout for an evening meal despite being all inclusive. Comments on facebook around snacks could be considered by the hotel: nuts, crisps, pretzels and chips being more readily available would potentially assist in some of the pressure on the 'main' eating times. Ice cream was only at the meal times and in a dish, so adding cones and having them for by the pool could be good if they are considering this being a family hotel. Drinks: Never fear drinks are the saviour! Part of the all inclusive allure is not only the food, but really the drink. The cocktail menu is a mere 'suggestion', if your usual go-to isn't written on there, ask the staff, they know their stuff and will happily put something together for you. Very generous pours and didn't feel anything was watered down. I was able to have jd and coke with no fuss. Pool bar had slush which i added alcohol to, which again may be an appeal for the families. Pools: For winter sun, these pools are COLD! In summer i'm sure it'll be fine. I was more dissapointed that what looked like a jacuzzi was just bubbling cold water. Some guests did brave the unheated pools, but i was too much of a wuss and kept to the one heated pool. I did not try the indoor pool. There isn't any obvious signage to the kids pool which is part of the kids club, but i'm unsure if it was even open. Entertainment: We only attended one show, but left part way through. My comments on the entertainment will be reflective of my overall thoughts of the hotel in that it is a bit confused. The grounds of the hotel scream luxury and adult only, there is very little to keep children amused so it comes across as an adults only hotel, but then there is the kids area - its a very mixed message, this is where the entertainment kind of misses both parties. The entertainment is a show at 9:15, but its a sit back and watch affair. If catering to families, you'd expect it a bit earlier, maybe a little disco and a bit more participation, then a later option for the adults. For the one performance we did sit through, it wasn't really an adults interest - at least to us. I wasn't aware of anything like karaoke or the likes, but i did see football on. Daytime activities i didn't take part in, but there are varying sports and lighthearted things like bingo. Room: Large and spacious. Pretty well finished, it depends how picky you are. Our room didn't have any sort of hotel guide, and we had to request an iron (there are currently only 7 in the hotel) which we were never successful with through reception, but were through another guest at the hotel. The minibar initially wasn't too well stocked, but after a comment to reception it was quickly resolved (we had sparkling water rather than flat). Staff: The shining beacons! Their English is fantastic, which makes me feel guilty as an ignorant Brit who didn't brush up on their french and knew zero arabic. The staff are more than willing to teach you arabic phrases and are super excited if you actually use it at the bars/restaurant. They are all clearly working incredibly hard and long shifts, but are not the cause of any of these hiccups, its clearly the hotel finding its feet, but struggling somewhat due to them being a small team when several coach loads of tourists arrive. Beach: recently finished the beach has super soft sand with loungers and parasols. Facebook groups and being nosy meant we heard of some people being attacked by stray dogs (main beach area not private bit), but we had no issue walking to the shore to the sunset. Just keep your shoes on until you're past the rocks as its a bit hurty under feet from shells etc. Camel poo is large nuggets so its easy to avoid, keep an eye out for jellyfish from the shore too. The dog issue is another thing which perhaps makes this more an adult hotel as they are strays in the area who were here first and will be learning on the safety of these new humans on their territory. There are also stray cats around and it may be difficult for kids to resist petting them (i had to sit on my hands for my own safety). Facilities: the gym looks well equipped- from this review if you're still following, you won't be surprised i didn't venture in here. At this current time (7-12th nov) the spa is not open. We could see salon equipment and pool tables packaged up so i don't think they're too far off, but these were advertised as open by Tui. As the spa isn't open the hotel was shuttling people to a nearby one for treatments. Overall this hotel has great potential, but a few issues to iron out. Food requires attention for volume, signage, variation and ideally some rules (i definately saw kids using fingers rather than the provided tongs). I think the hotel needs to commit to being either adults only or a family one as it gives mixed messages, personally and from seeing others comments this place would be an outstanding adults-only resort as there is a neighbouring Riu which has a lot more going on for kids. I think older kids would be ok, but the wifi isn't that strong by the pools, so it entirely depends on how easily entertained they are, but younger kids will definately struggle here. The building and decor is fantastic, and I cannot praise the staff enough. The area is clearly brand new, there is a huge authenticity about the place because of this and this is one of only a couple of hotels that are complete. I think in 12 months + this area will be completely different as there is a clear tourism investment plan going on. Taghazout is walking distance from the hotel largely on the promenade. It was fine for us, but if you have mobility issues its not for you due to steps/steep ramps, no lighting in the evening and taghazout's cafes are built into the rocks which are awkward to get to. Worth it if you can do it, but there were a few guests with canes and mobility aids that I know could not have visited where we did. It has been a great holiday, despite the issues mentioned, this may be due to the fact we got the holiday at a relatively good price though as i doubt i could afford this place when its fully established! Unfortunately I have become ill on the last day of the holiday. This is not necessarily down to the hotel, but could have been from an excursion, so i urge you all to be extra vigilant on hand washing and alcohol gel!

Absolutely fantastic hotel. Pure luxury. This was out first time in Morocco but our travel friends come every year staying at Rui Palace Agadir last year. The Management and staff were always visible to answer any questions. Lovely decor and furnishings always in pristine clean condition. Food was plentiful and lots to choose from. Entertainment staff were always on hand to get you involved or to help put parasol up on a couple of occasions. Reception arranged for a taxi on a few occasions which was always on time. Bar staff very friendly. Could not fault our holiday experience and can’t wait to return next year.

Visited this hotel from the day it opened and stayed for three weeks. Yes, there are a few completions remaining, but these do not detract from the wonderful experience this hotel offers. My congratulations to the Manager and his extremely caring and professional staff. Will most definitely be visiting next year. Don't be put off by the negative comments,these are merely gripes about some things not being completed by the day of opening. This hotel is probaly the best hotel in North Africa and Europe.