Royal Atlas Hotel

9 readers found this review helpful

I arrived at the royal atlas on xmas eve with mu boyfriend, the staff were all very polite and helpful - the xmas eve gala was an experience i wouldn't want to repeat however. The ativety complete with live donkey, chickens and ducks was unique - the food at the xmas eve gala was not good - was disappointed with the first evening. However, the rest of the holiday was lovely, a few tips if you are thinking of visiting agadir;
1 - do not be rude to the bar staff - you will wait a long time to be served
2 - do not hang around the bar, always sit down and wait to be served - tip the bar staff and you will be well looked after.
3 - learn a few words of french, this will go a long way in agadir, also learn a few moroccan phrases such as thank you, no thank you etc
4 - tip the waiting staff in the all inclusive restaurants, this will ensure your drinks arrive promptly.
5 - the italian restuarant is a moroccon take on italian food so for people who like traditional italian food i would not recommend eating there.
6 - If you go to the marina ensure this is during the day, was advised by bar staff not to walk to the marina of an evening....
7 - visit the barcelona bar, great coffee & food - is very cheap. look for places the local ppl are eating - you will not be harassed by people there.
8 - go to the uniprix before you buy anything from the local shops; the uniprix is one of the only shops that has fixed prices - be aware the tourist driven shops will double the actual price of goods so be prepared to haggle to reduce the price at least be 30-50%
there is plenty of variety of food from fresh fruit, salad, bread, pastries & cakes, tagines, meats, cheeses, aswell as more familiar foods from chips, burgers, pasta etc so dnt understand posts stating the food was awful as we found it to be very good.
I would go back to the royal atlas, you cannot fault the hotel, the staff are friendly and as we were all inclusive it was good value.

I'll keep this short(ish), as other people have made similar comments. The good stuff first...
1. Hotel clean and tidy
2. Rooms comfortable
3. Good location
4. Pool area nice and clean
Bad stuff...
1. Staff are useless and rude (unless you're French)
2. Have to wait forever for any kind of service
3. Food was absolutely awful...cold and greasy
4. My balcony door was left unlocked and open by the maid at least 3 times, although I reported it on the first instance.
5. The safe worked well, but cost 210drms for a week! That worked out at about £20.
6. When showering in the room, the water goes under the glass panel and soaks the floor...my wife nearly slipped on the first night.
7. The Gala dinner on Christmas Eve (our first night) was awful...menu looked nice and we looked forward to the food...big mistake! Nearly everyone sent the soup back....it was disgusting! They gave us vegetable soup as an alternative, but grease was floating on the top , and we couldn't eat it. It went downhill from there. People were getting up and leaving before the end.
One point about the First Choice rep, Paul King...he can talk for England!...and don't believe everything he says. He told me that some of the staff were "friends" of the Moroccan King, and would be difficult to get rid of!!
I will be writing to First Choice and to the hotel to express my disappointment in greater detail.

1 reader found this review helpful

We travelled as a group of 14 - (3 children, 11 adults). Lovely hotel, very clean, great waiters and staff, nice beach. All as you'd expect from a 4 star hotel. Loads of food choice, though not really for young children.
Would recommend to all, the ONLY bad points:-
We went during ramadam and a few weeks before received a letter from First Choice informing us that the hotel had decided not to put on evening entertainment, a little disappointing, but with good company in our party and meeting other like minded people there, it didn't matter.
Ice cream is not in the all inclusive from the snack bar!
Go, and you will have a lovely holiday!

1 reader found this review helpful

The resort is ok...really what you expect from a North African resort...looking a bit shabby though...the food is the issue, AI is pretty much the same where ever you go...its mass produced canteen food, bland and boring. The service by waiting staff is poor, you can wait for some 20 minutes for a drink. The resort is safe...your not trapped in the resort, we felt quite safe wandering out and about both day and night. Do I think its 4*...not really in comparison to other major chains I have stayed at but overall it is fairly good value for money and relatively cheap...

The only thing i would like to comment on is - Do not take Scottish notes with whilst in morocco it is inpossible to get it changed.
The best hotel i've stayed in for a along time.

3 readers found this review helpful

We have just returned and like a lot of people were unsure what to expect having read some mixed reviews about the resort.
I can honestly say it was one of the best places i have stayed in. The resort itself was very impressive: Spacious, stylish, modern and spotlessly clean. The bedrooms were huge, the beds really comfortable and the maids did a great job every day.
By the pool there were more than enough sunbeds available, even if you didnt get down there until mid day. Alternatively the beach is about 10 meters away with a private area closed off for hotel guests.
We found the selection of food really good. Often with all inclusive hotels you can easily get bored after a few days but not here. There was a huge choice that was different each day and all was very tasty and hot. Equally impressive was the salad bar and dessert selection. We heard a few people moan about upset stomachs but this was more likely due to eating food that they were not used to and/or drinking iced cold drinks all day in blistering hot sunshine. There is also an Italian restaurant and a Moroccan one. Both were very good, the Italian one slightly better.
All the staff were really friendly and really looked after you. Its true that at times the service was not super fast, but that just reflects the pace of life in the resort and probably Morocco as a whole. After all, if you are on holiday to relax who cares if a drink takes 5 minutes to arrive rather than instantly!
There is also a good gym and spa with loads of reasonably priced treatments available.
Agadir itself is great to walk around, with lots of bars if you do fancy a change of scenary from the hotel. The local people are incredibly freindly and you dont get hassled much at all. When the occasional person does approach you to sell something, it only takes a firm "No Thanks" of "La Shakram" and they will leave you alone.
All in all definately recommended and I just wish we had 2 weeks there instead of just 1!

1 reader found this review helpful

I have just returned from a week stay with family and kids. The hotel and staff were excellent and there is a nice sense of security to let the kids roam as the whole complex is secured and manned with a couple of guards, (not to say I felt threatened in anyway when outside the complex).
There isn’t a great deal to do if you want an action packed holiday or like lots of shopping. However, the beach is fantastic and only 20 yards from the hotel as well as the superb pool complex. There is a well equip kids club but the lady running it is a bit like the child disliking Punch & Judy bloke from Hi-De-Hi! The big Sioux is worth a visit, however be aware that the taxi driver may offer you the tourist Sioux (as he did to us) and you will end up in a back street shop belonging to a member of his family!
The hotel Royal Atlas is the best hotel to be in, it’s very spacious, clean and seems void of chavs. The food was great with a very large varied selection. If you’re expecting chips, pies and burgers to eat and inflatable crocodiles in the pool then forget it and get yourself off to Blackpool or Benidorm,
Not having been to Morocco I was a bit wary, however I would recommend it if you want a nice relaxing holiday, and I will probably return one day.

A FANTASTIC HOLIDAY RESORT!!! Definately recomend it! We returned from Morocco on Wednesday. As a family we had a fanastic time. The hotel staff were BRILLIANT, very friendly and FUN. There were lots of activities to get involved in - for adults and children. The first choice tours were a little pricey...The first choice rep was a bit wet... don't believe everything he says!!! On arrival we were given the impression that the dress code (when leaving the hotel) was very strict- Rep told us to cover shoulders and knees...Panic...not enough clothes. When we spoke to the locals they told us to just get a life...all the youngesters dressed just like us...so take that advice with a pinch of salt! The country is lovely, lots to see and great people. The people of Morocco are very relaxed and laid back, don't expect things to happen quickly - just go with the flow. Cleanliness A1 standard, lots of food variety-good value for all inclusive. I would say it is not a cheap country but if you barter you may get a bargin. Never offer more than a 3rd of the price!!! We organised some of our own day trips-works out a lot cheaper...always set taxi fair before you leave. Gather info from hotel staff... they are always willing to help. Country works on tipping- so always carry lots of change. Good luck if you decide to go! x

I have just returned from the Royal Atlas and having read the varying reviews went with an open mind. Having broken my foot two days before travelling I was on crutches, on arrival at the airport I was met with a wheelchair and whisked through to my coach. The hotel was superb, the staff immediately moved my accommodation to reception level to make it easier for me and all through my stay the rep, the management and the staff were absolutely superb and offers of help and support were in abundance. The hotel was spotless, the rooms were beautiful, my only criticism would be the bathroom which needed a few additions to stop the shower flooding the bathroom floor and the shower fittings and tiling could have been improved. The food in the main restaurant and both the Morrocan and Italian were excellent. The buffet restaurant offered excellent choice and variety, beautifully presented as much as you wanted. The pool area was kept clean and tidy and poolside entertainment, i.e. belly dancing. aqua gym, aerobics etc was available to those who wanted to participate. Service was slightly slower than here but the culture is much more laidback and if you accept that an enjoyable time can be had by all. Public toilets in the hotel were immaculate but ran short of toilet rolls which were not topped up on a regular enough basis. Overall it was an excellent holiday representing unbeatable value for money and I would highly recommend it.

We have just returned from 1 weeks stay at the Royal Atlas and all i can say is thank god we never went for a fortnight!!!! Food was rubbish. On the odd occassion there was something that we could identify,it was cold. Cutlery was dirty and the restaurant smelt. Waiter service was never the best,sometimes getting our drinks after we had finished the meal or sometimes not at all. If you asked for water it was at room temperature,never cold even when we asked for it.
Entertainment - non existant!! unless you count the music festival that was on for 1 night on the beach outside our room which started at 11pm and went on till 6am!!!!
The all inclusive isnt exactly all inclusive. Only buffet restarant and stone bar are all inclusive. You do get 1 visit each to the italian and moroccan but i wouldnt bother. We didnt arrive untill 9.30 pm and evening buffet had finished so we had nothing to eat and on day of departure the all inclusive finishes at 12noon and we didnt get picked up untill 5pm so its a good job we had got some money left over! Pool bar tried to charge us £2.50 for a small bottle of water!!
We were both quite poorly whilst over there which is funny as we hardly ate anything - the rep was blaming an airbourne virus that was going around the hotel???
Make sure you remove anything valuable when you leave the hotel as a lady that we met over ther had her camera and purse stolen out of her fastened handbag!
On the upside though,whole hotel was kept lovely and clean and so was pool area.
We will not be going again and wont be recommending it to anybody!