Hotel Riu Palace Tikida Taghazout

Me and my family stayed here for 10 days end of July/beginning of August. The hotel aesthetic is lovely with a very impressive lobby and bar areas, as well as 7 pools to choose from (some are adult only). Rooms were impressive, spacious and clean. Staff were all very friendly, polite and approachable also. The block we stayed in (block 3) was very quiet, we had a beach view also. A few things the hotel does need to improve on - 1) Food - whilst its not awful by any means, there seems to be the same type of food all the time and it does get boring after a while. The deserts were great and full of flavour. But having beef stew served every day got a bit boring! 2) Sun loungers/beds - standard loungers were very worn and old, could definitely do with replacing. The day beds were constantly occupied by the same people who often claimed them the night before which I feel needs to be looked at and implement some sort of booking system. 3) General wear and tear - things like door handles falling off in the ladies toilet, the hand rail loose to the pool (which actually ended up coming off causing a guest to fall when entering the pool), ripped sun loungers, tiles missing from steps in the pool. Not what you would expect from a 5 star rated hotel 4) Hotel cleanliness - rooms were kept very clean but going to the pool in the morning there were cups and rubbish left from the night before, spilt drinks etc. Food plates and rubbish in the halls of the room blocks also We did enjoy our stay here for the most part, however its not comparable to other 5 star Riu hotels we have been to

In the main this hotel was pretty impressive, but scratch beneath the surface and there were a few issues letting it down. Bar and restaurant staff, were in the main, incredibly helpful, friendly and attentive. Hotel porters too. The only exception were the staff in the fusion restaurant who didn’t fill our glasses or ask if we needed anything. The animation staff were also great and left you alone if you didn’t want to join in, but also made you welcome if you did - we did yoga. Gastronomy lovers may feel a bit let down by the description. The food in the main buffet restaurant was plentiful, hot and varied. But a few days in the variation stopped and things were repeated. However, breakfast was always amazing. So much to choose from. We visited all three à la carte restaurants which we booked on the app (not easy to do especially for less tech savvy customers). These were the most disappointing. The Moroccan specialty was the best, but every savoury dish was covered in coriander which was not in the description. The steak restaurant actually didn’t serve beef steak; it was veal which we won’t eat and the seafood cocktail was made with frozen seafood. The fusion restaurant was poor. There was no ‘fusion’, it was a random mix of fish, steak and veg. The fish was awful, full of bones which one of our party choked on. The drinks at all the bars were plentiful and branded alcohol available. The wine was bearable but only one white, rose and red. The cava was spot on. The beer and many cocktails were decent. The hotel rooms were vast, but interesting not to have a door on the bathroom, but just to the toilet. Our room had a lovely balcony with sea and garden view. Quite a trek from the main pools, bars and restaurants but a lovely walk through the gardens- although a bit dark as some of the lights didn’t work. Beds were firm and comfy and the minibar didn’t contain any alcohol. The pool areas were huge and well maintained, however the main swim up bar pool seemed a bit cloudy. We mostly stayed at the adults pool - we had to go early to get sunloungers. There seemed to be a mysterious unwritten rule where the pool attendants could be ‘bribed’ to reserve the best spots for people. This was particularly true for the Bali beds which were reserved with towels for hours with no one using them. This was very unfair and the hotel should stop this. A huge issue for us as animal lovers were the stray animals everywhere. Cats and kittens were all over the hotel, and one of the staff told us that they are not neutered, litters of kittens born and vaccinated. But we could see some were not looked after or fed properly and didn’t get vet attention when needed. We visited the beach a couple of times which is right outside the hotel. The hotel’s area is quite set back from the sea so we didn’t stay there. The promenade is lovely but again we encountered stray animals- a whole litter of puppies living under a bench. They seemed well enough but clearly strays. The main beach was frequented by adults and young children selling things like snacks. The sand was lovely and fine but covered in horse and camel poo! The horses and particularly the camels on the beach for rides were not treated well. The camels were hit lightly with sticks and were never given a break or food. They had also been branded. The sea was sometimes calm but the waves sometimes strong, great for surfing! The jetskis on the beach were reasonable. All in all a very memorable holiday in a beautiful hotel, but quite a few issues need to be rectified to make this five star.