L Atlas Marrakech

Booked last minute on the internet for a quick 6 day getaway with a friend. We had a twin room for £19 a night per person. It was clean and spacious, the shower was great and it had a small balcony. The swimming pool is big and clean and there were plenty of sunbeds in a peaceful garden setting. We were there in Ramadan so getting staff's attention at 6.30pm was difficult but apart from that they were OK. Can't say they went out of their way on the charm but if we made a bit of effort with speaking French then they tended to be more helpful. We didn't go for the half board as we wanted to try out local restaurants but if we went again then we would probably go for it as the deal we had would have been a £4 supplement per person per day and you could choose either lunch or dinner. By the looks of it, it was a buffet selection which didn't seem to change too much but onsite it was charged at £12.50 so definitely worth getting in advance if you get a good deal. Having said that breakfast was nothing to write home about! Powdered sloppy scrambled eggs and pancakes, along with bread, jams and a cereal. Coffee OK but tea not so good! A la carte lunch menu was small but not bad - nicoise salad very good in fact. It's a good 30 minute walk to the Medina (along an olive tree lined road so quite pleasant) or a taxi should cost no more than 20 dirhams (but expect to barter!). All in all better than expected. If money is no object then stay at the Sofitel or the Sultana but if you're looking for a cheapie then Atlas Asni is definitely a good bet.

Reception staff engage in personal conversation while guests are waiting to be served no to mention the Security staff at the door were simply the worst I have ever encoutered in my life. They are letting the hotel down and will certainly spoil your stay.

This place is fine for the price (82 euros for 2 + 1 child). Spacious, great pool, relaxing after bustle of the medina. Breakfast could be improved easily with some fresh fruit and change the strange scrambled egg. Staff attentive, room quiet, ac fine.

This was an average hotel. Good points were the swimming pool and the staff. Bad points were cost and lack of facilities. The swimming pool was big and clean. There were usually sun beds available, nobody was reserving their beds with early morning towel deposits. The Maitre Nageur made sure any sun beds not being used were given to people who wanted them. He also gave out towels to use. There was plenty of shade around the pool, on the east side in the morning, moving to the west side in the afternoon as the sun moved across the sky. The staff were very attentive and happy to help. Room service was quick, the maid service was thorough and the waiting staff very efficient. Drink prices in the hotel were 20 dirhims (£1.20) for a bottle of coke or sprite, 25dms(£1.50) for a bottle of water, 50dms(£3) for a small bottle of beer. If you wanted a bottle of Evian from the shop, that was 40dms (£2.40). Buying water from a shop outside the hotel was 5dms(30p) so the hotel marks up by 400% as they have a captive customer base. A coke in any other restaurant was 8dms(50p). We could only drink beer in the hotel, every other restaurant we went to didn't sell alcohol. The room was very basic. It had air conditioning which was essential, although we tried to keep it on all day, but the maid kept turning it off. The TV only had one English speaking channel, CNN international. There were about 30 others in French, Arabic, German and Italian. There was no mini bar in the room and no internet connection. Although the lobby had a free wireless connection and there was a room that had 3 PCs to access the internet. Overall the downsides didn't spoil my stay at the hotel. I would stay there again if the price was low enough.

At first glance this is a great looking hotel, but lots of little problems once we checked in. Here are some of my main problems - 1)airconditioning only just made the room a bearable temperature and had no control over the temperature or fan strength; 2) same breakfast everyday and although dinner varied each day only a single choice of mains were provided, which makes it very difficult for people with dietary restrictions; 3) for a country with such wonderful food this hotel makes a very poor representation of any of it; 4) the pool is always packed out with european tourists and the garden pool area is too small for the number of guests; 5) none of the facilities are free (except the pool). So the gym, snooker table ... even the room safe, incurred additional cost, not cheap either; 6) a long walk from the medina, so the only way in is really by taxi, which is ok but nothing really within walking distance from the hotel. On the positive side, the staff is very friendly, general cleanliness is good, wireless internet is free. In conclusion, it's an ok place to stay if you are desparate, but if you have time to look around I am certain there are much nicer places to stay in Marrakech.

The hotel was nice (8/10), clean and the staff were helpful, the pool was great and very clean the hotel garden were nice too. At the least get breakfast as part of your hotel package as there is nothing better to start your day with a full stomach ready to face the people of Marrakech (You’ll see what I mean when you get there!). If you are like us and wanted to taste the food of the land from the market and other restaurants don’t be disappointed to find the food very very very very bland. You are probably better off eating at the hotel rather then anywhere else as the food tastes better their from the selection of vegetarian and meat dishes and a good range of deserts selection. Id recommend to get this as part of your hotel package but if you don’t it costs 180Dhrms per meal (not including drinks).

Our overall view of the Atlas Asni was very good. The rooms were kept clean and the verandah view over the well-manicured gardens was very pleasant. The area around the swimming pool was kept clean. My main criticism was the muzak we were forced to endure and the entertainer at night - although being quite good - was not necessarily to everyones taste.(This might just be me being a miserable sod, though!) Particular attention is worth drawing to the food. The catering staff offered a wide variety of fare which would satisfy the palate of eveyone from a bearded sandel wearing vegan to a raving carnivore. The quality was consistantly high and empty vessels were quickly replenished with fresh produce. The bar staff could speed up - it was always an effort to get their attention & there was confusion if more than a couple of people were waiting to be served. Would use the Hotel Atlas Asni again though. It was pretty good

We went end of May for seven days, at this hotel. The room was quite reasonable and clean but we had a problem with the patio door lock, which despite several complaints never really sorted. The breakfast was nearly always the same! And as a result we weren't terriblly looking forward to it. The Lunch and the evening meal weren't that exciting. We had half board but we were given the choice to have either, which was quite good. Again the meal was mostly the same, which was disapointing. At the pool, the towel weren't cleaned between usage, just dried in the sun! The bottled water in the restarurant was expensive, costing shocking Dh25 when you can get the same bottle outside the hotel for Dh5, that's what we did. We purchased bottled water outside and used it in the hotel both in the hotel room and in the restaurent. Tip. When you bring bottled water from outside the hotel, use a black carrier bag, otherwise the hotel security guard will query, as you're not supposed to bring it from outside, but why pay this huge price when you can it far cheaper!

Had a 6 night break on half board basis at this hotel, which was booked through Lastminute.com. Very good value for money, breakfast buffet style and plenty to eat and drink. Half board basis allowed us to take either lunch or dinner, we opted for dinner and could not fault it. Dinner was served buffet style, with soup, various salads and rice/pasta dishes, together with at least two hot dishes, meat/ fish. Desserts were delicious, various pastries and tarts etc, as well as a plentiful supply of oranges! Location to airport was max 10 mins in a taxi, which cost no more than 100DH/150DH at night. also walking distance of Medina, although in the heat not advisable, but again only about 20DH during day at night 30DH via taxi. Excellent gardens and pool/terrace area. One piece of advice do not buy water from hotel shop, buy at bar! (40DH in shop/25DH at bar). Would highly recommend this hotel, even though some of the previous reviews did leave us with a little apprehension that the hotel may not be that good.

we were anticipating an african adventure! looing forward to immersing ourselves in an exciting new culture. we found it to be racist and rude (in the hotel). Whilst we appreciated that we were in a foreign country and that French guests have an obvious advantage we felt as if our attempts at communication have been ridiculed. It became evident that this only became a difficulty within the hotel as the locals humoured our attempts at “pigeon” French. After our rep had initially checked us in, we were left waiting in the lobby for 90 mins. watching other gusets arrived and assisted we were not offered to have our bags taken(despite copious staff milling around) but not even advised or directed as to where we could locate our room (or indeed the elevator/stairs). Further to this we were at a complete loss as to what “half board” entitlements were or to what was available in the hotel (e.g. meal times). The result of this was that we felt like naughty teenagers taking what we were not entitled to. the reception staff were particularly challenging– we stood by the cashier waiting to exchange currency for 10 minutes without him acknowledging our presence. We appreciate that he may have been busy but it costs nothing in manners for him to ask us to return when more convenient. In attempting to contact our rep by reception telephone we were only told afterwards that we were to be charged. We may as well have used our mobile. In attempting to type this letter we were unhelpfully informed that this would not be possible due to the printer not working. The cashier appeared to take great delight in this and could not offer an alternative suggestion. we have yet to recieve acknowledgement of the letter we did write. The size and cleanliness of the room were adequate thankfully. However, we were expected to share one towel between two of us. then a member of staff entered on three occasions without awaiting a response from their knock. We were both undressed and inconvenienced at the time. Highly intrusive and embarrassing! vacuuming, on the fifth morning at 0830 and this was supposed to be a holiday. At the pool we were never offered a towel by staff, despite observing other guest being given them; not that we would particularly want one as we observe the way they are unwashed in-between use, and merely hung out to dry with stale sweat and sun cream. The difficulty in obtaining pen or paper from the bar and reception staff was exasperating! I watched with astonishment as my partner attempted politely to request same at the bar without success only for another guest to walk up and be given them directly; fed up with buffet food we approached the Pizzeria one evening. Our presence was not welcome. We were keenly ushered toward the other restaurant (the buffet). It was an exercise in assertiveness to be eventually be allowed to stay. despite copious offers of payment. After finding ourselves a table we sat watching other guests being shown to theirs, orders taken and promptly served whilst we waited. Without placemats. Why were we told (shouted) “Oi! Its kaput!” across the foyer that the pool table was out of action, when barely hours later another guest was given change by the cashier for it. The reception staff (including said cashier) were unable to resolve this puzzle. We began to feel paranoid at this point. Then we saw other guests (now English as well as French et al) being given more nibbles than us at the bar. Mysteriously we were called by someone claiming to be our rep. curious as we had met our rep, 2 days prior. Once again, reception had no clues as to understanding this. One final point; how long is a recommended time to be left in the relaxation area after the steam room. We still do not know as we were left so long, that the member of staff “looking after” us went off duty without telling us. all in all we could (and did) have seen what Marrakech had to offer in 2 days. many of the locals were friendly and accomodating, though the acts in the Jemaa did give the impression that they were for the benefit of the tourist and not entirelty authentic. Travelling around the area we did feel safe and were not over harrassed by traders. it is a holiday for the keen shopper and many of the goods were beautifully crafted.