Hotel Riu Palace Tikida Agadir

Firstly I must say we have had a great holiday. The environment they have created is really nice. The hotel is spotless (people are Cleaning the common areas all the time and the rooms are immaculate). The decor is also very tasteful (see photos). 5 stars though - not sure. Depends what you have experienced elsewhere and what your expectations are. This was our first stay at a Riu hotel and I m not sure if the ethos across all of them is the same or not. I don’t think for us, Riu is worth trying again. I’m sure this hotel is very profitable. They definitely maximise efficiency in every aspect. For example, there isn’t enough staff - but not too few for it to really make a difference just not quite enough when you need them. Pool bar in particular often only has one person serving. Bar staff In general are rushing round cleaning up rather than asking people for drinks. You have to find someone and ask. I don’t think this classifies as 5 star service. It was made worse as when we they had a hotel rating visit and that day there were multiple staff everywhere - almost too many - but that should always be the case at a true 5 star resort. People shouldn’t have to find waiters or wait excessively to order. We also booked this hotel for the tennis courts. The website makes it sound like the courts are next door but it’s a 5 min cab ride or 20 min walk and the booking system is terrible. You can only book an hour at a time. Some reviews have stated that the drinks are premium. They definitely aren’t. They do have some brands but if you don’t specifically ask them they serve you the cheap version and they aren’t great. The cocktail mixes are all pre-prepared and super sweet. The pool bars even have a machine that dispenses them. Again not what I would expect at a 5 star resort. In general the staff are great. The entertainment team in particular are excellent always chatting and friendly and encouraging you to take part. The service in the restaurants is very mixed. Depends on who you get in that section. Youssef was excellent. He delivers 5 star service on all levels. Some are really slow and again more focused on clean up than serving. The food at the buffet is excellent for most part. There are no theme nights but they do mix up the dishes each night. It would also be nice for them to serve different types of coffee and a selection of milk - especially for cereal. Also the hotel is really busy at present and they often run out of things which again I wouldn’t expect at a 5 star resort - especially 1 hour into service. The food in the Moroccan restaurant and Krystal’s (“gourmet fusion”) was awful. Truly some of the worst hotel food I have ever had. Such a shame as the setting is amazing - decor is excellent but they treat it like a factory with two sittings and a lot of the cold food pre-prepared and laid out in the table before you even sit down. I also feel like they spread the ingredients out for the second sitting if a lot of people order the same dish in the first sitting. Our lobster dish had about two small pieces (size of an English 5p coin) of lobster on each plate. The wine is also supposed to be different to the wine served at the buffet and bars but it was the same. The sunbeds aren’t really an issue. If you want one near the pool then yes you need to be there early but there’s plenty around later in the day and lots of spare ones stacked up - just ask the pool attendants. Towel desk and pool closes at 6pm which I think is too early - it would be nice to be able to have an early evening swim. Also what’s the point of having Towel cards if its not enforced - get there after 6pm and no one is there to give you a card back and you can just get one the next day without a card. In summary, a good holiday in a lively hotel but not 5 star in our opinion.

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