Your rating of this hotel:
9.0
from 10
Hotel ratings by criteria:
We rested from July 14 to July 21 at the Royal Atlas Hotel (Agadir).
The hotel is very good. Although the star rating is overstated, as elsewhere in Morocco, it clearly draws on a solid four. The rooms have everything you need: TV, air conditioning, hair dryer, mini-bar, safe with electronic coding, good plumbing. Our room had a balcony overlooking the ocean. The hotel is right on the beach, so you fall asleep to the sound of the waves. It was quiet all week, only on Sunday some kind of mass entertainer raged, and we had to close the door to the balcony. Your own beach at a hotel in Morocco is a relative concept. This is a small area with free sun loungers and umbrellas, separated from the general beach by a rope that saves you from direct communication with beach hawkers - they do not go beyond the fence, they offer their goods from afar. You go swimming in the common area. However, even this is a great luxury for Morocco. On the entire coast, only 5-6 hotels can boast of similar fences with umbrellas and sunbeds. How do the rest - I don’t know, maybe they lay towels on the sand? Speaking of beach towels, they are issued in our hotel near the pool for free. We didn't swim in the pool. We decided that it was stupid to splash in chlorinated water when there was a magnificent ocean nearby, and we went to the beach all the time. Maybe we had less waves, I don’t know, but the water was clean and transparent all the time. It is not as salty as in the Black or Mediterranean Sea, and surprisingly soft, just silky. True, it takes a long time to go to the depths. Be careful with sunburn. We were warned, so we went to the beach in the morning when the sky was usually overcast, in addition, we smeared ourselves with cream and sat under an umbrella. And still managed to get burned.
We were quite satisfied with the service. The waiters are smiling, courteous, regardless of the tip, which cannot be said, for example, about Tunisia. The Russian-speaking girl at the reception clearly facilitates communication. Although English, in any perversion, interested parties, such as merchants, waiters, etc. , are understood everywhere.
Money can be changed at the reception around the clock. We never take all inclusive, breakfast and dinner are enough. We liked the assortment: the European basis with elements of local exoticism is exactly what our inexperienced stomachs need. From the exotic, I tried: pickled artichokes, dried anchovies, lamb cutlets, goat cottage cheese, cactus fruits, lentil salad and some soaked flower buds, whose names I don’t know, but delicious. An abundance of different olives, very tasty orange fresh. They preferred to drink beer in a nice cafe to the right of the mini-zoo. Quite a decent Moroccan draft, and the price is normal, they serve free snacks - popcorn and olives. And the hotel only bottled beer and expensive. By the way, in Marrakech, in general, you can drink beer only in the hotel restaurant, in the city the sale of beer and cigarettes is prohibited - this is a note to those who are going on an excursion to this city. Once, instead of dinner, we went to a Moroccan restaurant at the hotel. A loan of 130 dirhams is allocated for this - enough for a tajine. You just need to book a table at the reception in advance. Tajine are dishes cooked in a special cone-shaped pot. We ordered lamb. The meat turned out very tender. Couscous was served separately as a side dish. Once again we ate tazhdin in our favorite zoo cafe, this time they served it right in the tajine (pot) - it was still gurgling, the lamb was mixed with vegetables and potatoes, it was also very tasty. Everywhere and always ordered Moroccan tea with mint - very refreshing and toning. In most cafes, they bring it directly in a steel teapot. We bought ourselves such an inexpensive home in a supermarket - it is the only one so large in Agadir. Thank God, no stomach upsets or poisoning, although we stocked up on pills.
We went on a two-day tour of Marrakesh-Essaouira. I liked it very much. A lot of impressions: narrow medieval streets with a variety of shops and workshops, women wrapped in colorful clothes, surprisingly characteristic Moroccan faces - just like illustrations for the Thousand and One Nights. Moroccan women (and Moroccans as well) are very beautiful, however, a mixture of blood always gives a stunning effect, and in Morocco there is a mixture of blood: Arab, African, European, Jewish... Square of Severed Heads with its snake charmers, fortune-tellers and storytellers of various stripes - complements impression. Essaouira has its own charm of a coastal walled city. By the way, the cheapest souvenirs made of wood (thuja, cypress) are in Essaouira. There you can buy a box for 10 didrachms, and in Agadir and Marrakech the same box costs at least 50 didrachms. We bought a Moroccan shirt in Marrakech for half the price than in Agadir. In Essaouira they were no longer interested, perhaps it is even cheaper there. In general, bargaining begins with a price that is 4 times higher than the real one. There are, however, shops where they immediately call the real price. Do not rush to buy anything, first walk around, take a closer look - as a result, buy everything much cheaper.
Some are repelled by the smells and dirt in the narrow streets of Moroccan cities. But it seemed to me that Marrakech and Essaouira are no dirtier than Paris or Nice, where in the evening there is also a lot of garbage and unpleasant odors. In general, it all depends on your mood. The apotheosis of our excursion was the spectacle of goats grazing on argan trees. How they get there is still a mystery to me, I only saw the result: indeed, the goats stand on a tree in a spreading pattern and nibbling the leaves. Regarding argan: we were brought to a farm where cosmetic oils, creams, and so on are made from the fruits of this unique tree. The farm also has a shop. So, argan oil in a supermarket in Agadir is two times cheaper than on this farm (the packaging is the same). I bought cream and edible oil from a Moroccan store in the free zone of the airport for the same price as on this very farm. So see for yourself.
As for the pestering of local merchants and beggars, I will say this: they pester no more than in Tunisia or Turkey. You can ignore them or refuse politely but decisively. Here they are lagging behind. No one grabbed our hands.
In Agadir itself, we didn’t have time to get bored in five days, so we didn’t look for any special entertainment. True, we are big animal lovers, so we went to the local mini-zoo a stone's throw from our hotel three times. There are mostly domestic birds (the zoo is called so - Bird Town) - various chickens, geese, pigeons. There are peacocks that periodically spread their tails, a whole herd of some unusual rams, and most importantly, kangaroos, which I first saw so close. All animals are terrible beggars.
All in all, it turned out much better than I expected. I went in a skeptical mood, just for the company of my husband, who had long dreamed of Morocco, and returned full of impressions and positive emotions, which is what I wish you.
Galina, Kyiv
The hotel is very good. Although the star rating is overstated, as elsewhere in Morocco, it clearly draws on a solid four. The rooms have everything you need: TV, air conditioning, hair dryer, mini-bar, safe with electronic coding, good plumbing. Our room had a balcony overlooking the ocean. The hotel is right on the beach, so you fall asleep to the sound of the waves. It was quiet all week, only on Sunday some kind of mass entertainer raged, and we had to close the door to the balcony. Your own beach at a hotel in Morocco is a relative concept. This is a small area with free sun loungers and umbrellas, separated from the general beach by a rope that saves you from direct communication with beach hawkers - they do not go beyond the fence, they offer their goods from afar. You go swimming in the common area. However, even this is a great luxury for Morocco. On the entire coast, only 5-6 hotels can boast of similar fences with umbrellas and sunbeds. How do the rest - I don’t know, maybe they lay towels on the sand? Speaking of beach towels, they are issued in our hotel near the pool for free. We didn't swim in the pool. We decided that it was stupid to splash in chlorinated water when there was a magnificent ocean nearby, and we went to the beach all the time. Maybe we had less waves, I don’t know, but the water was clean and transparent all the time. It is not as salty as in the Black or Mediterranean Sea, and surprisingly soft, just silky. True, it takes a long time to go to the depths. Be careful with sunburn. We were warned, so we went to the beach in the morning when the sky was usually overcast, in addition, we smeared ourselves with cream and sat under an umbrella. And still managed to get burned.
We were quite satisfied with the service. The waiters are smiling, courteous, regardless of the tip, which cannot be said, for example, about Tunisia. The Russian-speaking girl at the reception clearly facilitates communication. Although English, in any perversion, interested parties, such as merchants, waiters, etc. , are understood everywhere.
Money can be changed at the reception around the clock. We never take all inclusive, breakfast and dinner are enough. We liked the assortment: the European basis with elements of local exoticism is exactly what our inexperienced stomachs need. From the exotic, I tried: pickled artichokes, dried anchovies, lamb cutlets, goat cottage cheese, cactus fruits, lentil salad and some soaked flower buds, whose names I don’t know, but delicious. An abundance of different olives, very tasty orange fresh. They preferred to drink beer in a nice cafe to the right of the mini-zoo. Quite a decent Moroccan draft, and the price is normal, they serve free snacks - popcorn and olives. And the hotel only bottled beer and expensive. By the way, in Marrakech, in general, you can drink beer only in the hotel restaurant, in the city the sale of beer and cigarettes is prohibited - this is a note to those who are going on an excursion to this city. Once, instead of dinner, we went to a Moroccan restaurant at the hotel. A loan of 130 dirhams is allocated for this - enough for a tajine. You just need to book a table at the reception in advance. Tajine are dishes cooked in a special cone-shaped pot. We ordered lamb. The meat turned out very tender. Couscous was served separately as a side dish. Once again we ate tazhdin in our favorite zoo cafe, this time they served it right in the tajine (pot) - it was still gurgling, the lamb was mixed with vegetables and potatoes, it was also very tasty. Everywhere and always ordered Moroccan tea with mint - very refreshing and toning. In most cafes, they bring it directly in a steel teapot. We bought ourselves such an inexpensive home in a supermarket - it is the only one so large in Agadir. Thank God, no stomach upsets or poisoning, although we stocked up on pills.
We went on a two-day tour of Marrakesh-Essaouira. I liked it very much. A lot of impressions: narrow medieval streets with a variety of shops and workshops, women wrapped in colorful clothes, surprisingly characteristic Moroccan faces - just like illustrations for the Thousand and One Nights. Moroccan women (and Moroccans as well) are very beautiful, however, a mixture of blood always gives a stunning effect, and in Morocco there is a mixture of blood: Arab, African, European, Jewish... Square of Severed Heads with its snake charmers, fortune-tellers and storytellers of various stripes - complements impression. Essaouira has its own charm of a coastal walled city. By the way, the cheapest souvenirs made of wood (thuja, cypress) are in Essaouira. There you can buy a box for 10 didrachms, and in Agadir and Marrakech the same box costs at least 50 didrachms. We bought a Moroccan shirt in Marrakech for half the price than in Agadir. In Essaouira they were no longer interested, perhaps it is even cheaper there. In general, bargaining begins with a price that is 4 times higher than the real one. There are, however, shops where they immediately call the real price. Do not rush to buy anything, first walk around, take a closer look - as a result, buy everything much cheaper.
Some are repelled by the smells and dirt in the narrow streets of Moroccan cities. But it seemed to me that Marrakech and Essaouira are no dirtier than Paris or Nice, where in the evening there is also a lot of garbage and unpleasant odors. In general, it all depends on your mood. The apotheosis of our excursion was the spectacle of goats grazing on argan trees. How they get there is still a mystery to me, I only saw the result: indeed, the goats stand on a tree in a spreading pattern and nibbling the leaves. Regarding argan: we were brought to a farm where cosmetic oils, creams, and so on are made from the fruits of this unique tree. The farm also has a shop. So, argan oil in a supermarket in Agadir is two times cheaper than on this farm (the packaging is the same). I bought cream and edible oil from a Moroccan store in the free zone of the airport for the same price as on this very farm. So see for yourself.
As for the pestering of local merchants and beggars, I will say this: they pester no more than in Tunisia or Turkey. You can ignore them or refuse politely but decisively. Here they are lagging behind. No one grabbed our hands.
In Agadir itself, we didn’t have time to get bored in five days, so we didn’t look for any special entertainment. True, we are big animal lovers, so we went to the local mini-zoo a stone's throw from our hotel three times. There are mostly domestic birds (the zoo is called so - Bird Town) - various chickens, geese, pigeons. There are peacocks that periodically spread their tails, a whole herd of some unusual rams, and most importantly, kangaroos, which I first saw so close. All animals are terrible beggars.
All in all, it turned out much better than I expected. I went in a skeptical mood, just for the company of my husband, who had long dreamed of Morocco, and returned full of impressions and positive emotions, which is what I wish you.
Galina, Kyiv
Translated automatically from Russian. View original
Comments (1)
leave a comment
Show other comments …