Dorint Atlantic Palace Hotel

We have just returned from a week in Agadir at the fabulous Atlantic Palece hotel. Like other reviews the first sight of the lobby area and the many sumptuous places in which to sit and relax are truly amazing, really like a palace. Our room was great and cleaned scrupulously every day without exception. The main dining room was fully staffed with efficient waiters who couldn't do enough to help. The food was the finest we have eaten in a hotel, at all meal times and the choices were huge, it was impossible unless you had the appetite of a horse to sample every one. The Taj Mahal restaurant with its Moroccan theme has belly dancing and traditional dancers twice a week and was a delight. I think the reason I feel compelled to write a review is that I read other reviews (after we had booked luckily because we might never have chosen to come here otherwise) that were damning. They said the hotel was dirty, their room was dirty, the food was not good which I think is absolute rubbish. The staff were not friendly, rubbish also. The beach was dirty with donkey droppings all over the place. All I can say is that the worst thing I saw on the beach was a washed up panty liner. The beach is far cleaner and most importantly free of beer cans and beer drinkers that you will find anywhere. The locals selling their wares are of course everywhere, of course they are they live there, they have a living to make and that's meagre enough, but at no time were we hassled. If you say no, you don't want it, they go away, simple as that. Correct there were no romantic sunsets and sunrises because the sun despite being always warm often is late appearing in the day but the beach has the silkiest sand ever and a walk along it could take an hour or two. It is full of people just having fun be it locals or tourists and at no time did we feel unwelcome as British the entire tme we were there. I think the people who wrote such unpleasant things about the resort should have done their homework about Agadir and then they might have found out that it is not a beautiful place to be in, there is a huge amount of building work going on, there has to be, their main income is tourism. If you want beautiful sunsets and beautiful views go to Mauritius ot the Maldives. The main thing we loved apart from the fabulous accomodation at the Atlantic Palace, was the vibrant life going on at the beach. It's really great. So please anyone reading other reviews that appear offputting, take it all with a pinch of salt. Agadir may not be for everyone but as far as the Atlantic Palace goes it is only and absoutely fabulous (I forgot to mention the pool to die for, and despite its curved shapes you can still swim a very good length). Steph Fears Seaford East Sussex

The Dorint was a nice hotel with a great exterior. The pool is one of the best in Agadir and the lobby and meeting rooms are truly awesome, with that old school feel that made you actually want to hang out in the lobby before heading out for a night on the town. The room was a little disappointing after seeing the rest of the hotel - I have stayed in better while spending less. The room was comparable to chain motels in the United States, and if you have to pay full price for the hotel it is probably not worth it, but if you can get the room for under $200 a night, then you have a pretty good deal. All in all not a bad place to stay if you are going to be in Agadir.

My husband is from Morocco, and I am american. We had a wonderful stay at the Dorint . My two kids ages 10 and 14 . The reviews I read after i booked were iffy. But once we were there the staff was wonderful. The hotel was beautiful and the breakfast buffet was great. There wasn't much to do for the kids but the town is full of things to do. I recommend taking the camel ride on the top of the mountain, the guides who work there are very informative. We traveled from north Morocco with our own suv and everytime we went out at night and came back the staff would save our parking spot. There is a casino and sometimes on the weekends it gets hard to find parking but if you tip the guys in the beginning and are nice to them they look out for you. In fact the guy at the gated entrance radio's ahead when he see's you come in and they are waiting for you. The pool was beautiful, the rooms were nice , we had two adjoining with our kids. We had alot of luggage and we had been traveling for three weeks, there was no problem bringing all the luggage to the room. We actually stayed twice once on our way south morocco to taffrout and again on our way back from taffrout. The beach is close, a nice walk across the street. If you need a lift to the street the hotel will provide a golf cart ride. The main cook during breakfast was great. She would make anything you would want. The poolside food was pretty good too. My kids had burgers and fries. Tipping is a great help in Morocco the people there don't make the kind of money we make in the states. Money talks over there. It doesn't have to be much, and it goes a long way. We tried the Thalasso Therapy , it was a gift from the hotel manager (he is friends with my husbands cousin) and I also went to the Hammam for the first time. And the girl who takes care of you is especially nice. I didn't know what to do and she helped me. We went out to eat at Little Italy Pizzeria, now grant it I own a pizzeria in the states, and my kids were dying for pizza. I was expecting the pizza to be bad but it wasn't it was actually very good. We ate there twice during our two trips to agadir. The owner is moroccan but spent time in italy cooking. Very family oriented. I haven't been to Morocco in 14 years, alot of things have changed for the better. I still love Agadir the best. If your going to visit Agadir I would strongly suggest staying at the Dorint. We looked at the Beach Clubs Lounge and pool , nothing to compare to Dorint.

My wife and I have just returned home from Agadir, Morocco and to be honest I would not recommend Morocco as a holiday destination if you are British or American. As we were aware before we went that this is a Muslim country and we respected their religion as we knew the last couple of days our holiday fell into Ramadan. However, where we showed them respect the feeling is not mutual. They are not fond of the English or Americans and the this was obvious with the hotel staff and restaurant staff wherever we dined. The beach in Agadir is NOT beautiful, it had dog & donkey mess all over it and you hassled by locals trying to flog you all sorts of rubbish. Dont expect any beautiful sunsets or romantic walks on the beach because you wont get them. I would definately not go again and would recommend anyone who reads this the same! On the flight home I spoke to about 20 different people and NOT ONE said they enjoyed their Morocco Experience!

We have just returned from a week away staying at Doriant Atlantic palace Agadir. We arrived at hotel at about 22.30 and was instantly impressed by hotel exterior, we then entered front booking hall and again stunning ceiling, we checked in and were very disappointed with quality of room for a hotel holding a 5 star rating room more like 3 star standard. Our room had 1 lamp not operating which we were informed would be sorted out which was not until another call by us the following morning. Also the water temperature on taps very hot even on cold which again had to be sorted out following call to reception. The pool is large and clean with a good size kids pool. The restaurant is large and open plan, but to our horror on first night of dinner witnessed a small cockroach running through which did not build our confidance the food is average to poor and breakfast is better than dinner selection. We had booked this hotel to celerbrate our 5th anniversary and booked half board (mistake) there are a few restaurants near by to choose from. No hotel entertainment at night and the hotel night club never opened in our week there, overall relaxing break but struggled on what to do for week, service from staff good in restaurant poor in reception

My husband and I (early 30's) stayed for 1 week in the Dorint Atlantic Palace in May 2005, it was a welcome break from the hussle and heat of Marrakesh where we had previously been the week before. Great location just a 2 minute walk to the beach and about 5/10 minutes from good bars and restaurants. Our room was spotlessly clean and we could not complain about anything, pool area was really quiet and the hotel must have been empty guestwise, as we were vistually the only swimmers a lot of the time, its a fabulous pool and we spent a lot of time there. Food also no complaints, as a regular traveller the buffet breakfast was above average and we never had to wait for a table, and the room service, pool snacks were also good -I recommend the Club Sandwich! There are many other good restaurants within easy walking distance for lunch and evenings, all really reasonably priced and we never had any bad food at all. The hotel Thalasso is HIGHLY recommended, pricewise its really good and the service is superb. As the Royal Palace is right behind the hotel we found the Thalasso entrance surrounded by security "men in black" a few nights of our vacation, a local taxi driver told us this would have been due to the King Of Morocco who pops in to use this Thalasso when he is in town, so if its good enough for the King, then its good enough for me! Deserves 4 stars this hotel as we wanted rest and relaxation and thats exactly what we got. There were no animations or entertainments whilst we visited, but I couldn't have had a more quiet and relaxing time. If you have kids then maybe you'll want a different hotel thats more noisy and catering to children. For the resort of Agadir it was pretty standard and may be less to do than the popular European resorts I've had more experience of, but if you read up about the location before you go, you'll know not to expect Ibiza Uncovered. Its a very clean resort and more modern than I expected, main warning is shop keepers are extremely agressive and will go to such lengths as standing in front of you and blocking your path to get you into a shop. Female travellers beware of un-wanted attention on the beach and out and about from the local males, especially those girls with blond hair. As I was with my husband I felt more comfortable, but the local males do stare and its a bit un-nerving, I would NOT have liked to be here (or anywhere in Morocco) in an all female group.

very very happy with the service, the staff, the food the cleanliness of the rooms and bathrooms. I felt very welcomed at the Dorint Atlantic. I would definetly recommend.

Not really a five star by European standards. The bedroom decor was quite dated and our shower didn't work very well, probably more 3 to 4 star standard. However the hotel lobby and swimming pool were fantastic, some of the people we met on holiday did check out some of the other hotels and said that the Dorint was one of the best by comparison. The breakfast buffet was very good, mixed reviews about the hotel restaurant food - however it is very cheap to eat out locally and we didn't have any food that wasn't nice and service is generally very good in all the places we went to. We took two day trips organised by our holiday rep to Marrekesh and Essouira both were excellent- would deffinitely recomnend Essouiria it was really beautiful and very peaceful. A good thing to do before you tackle shopping in the souks and markets is to go to the Uniprix supermarket in Agadir as this is fixed price it will give you an idea of how much things should cost. Wear your sunglasses in the markets if you can, because as soon as you make eye contact you will be pestered to buy something. If you take photos of any locals ask permission and a tip is expected for the privilage. Overall although a bit disappointed in the hotel we had a great holiday.

1st impressions of the hotel are great, the lobby is fantastic after that it is down hill all the way. The rooms are shabby and not so chic, the official website must have a great photographer. The service is questionable, the bar staff where lovely as where the ones in the Moroccan restaurant other than that they where very poor and had a can't do attitude. The pool is okay but needs some attention, many of the loungers where in need of repair and a lot of the pool side tiles where cracked or smashed. Luckily we where on a bed and breakfast basis so we could escape the mediocre hotel food. Breakfast was the same choices everyday and fresh fruit was in short supply. Definitely not what I would expect from a 5 star hotel.

Burglary At least 3 rooms were broken into on November 3rd, 2005 and valuables of about 3000 € were stolen in my room alone. The police were called and a report was filed, but a copy for the victims was denied. Until today I have not received any document from the police or the hotel management stating that this burglary has ever taken place and this despite many emails or phone calls to the hotel manager, who promised swift action Because of this I have not been able to claim insurance for the stolen valuables. A sad story for a hotel claiming 5 stars