El Olivar Palace

We are currently staying at the El Olivar Palace hotel. I nearly didn't book it based on the few bad reviews....I'm so glad I ignored them. We are a family of two adults and three children. We have the junior suite. The kids have a big room with 3 beds. We have a massive double room. There are two toilets one with two showers! Room was immaculate on arrival and cleaners have come everyday and left it spotless. The restaurant is never too busy. The hours for each mealtime are excellent. Breakfast until 10.30. Lunch 1-3 Afternoon tea 5-6 and Dinner 7-10 and pizza available at the pool bar for most of the day as far as we can see! Wine is served at lunch and dinner. I don't know where the reviewers of the bad reviews were eating! Food is delicious and very extensive! Bbq most meals. The freshly made kebabs this eve were better than I've ever had and the crepes!! Yummy!! Compliments to all involved in the food prep. We're really enjoying it! The entertainment team are great fun! So much energy! The aqua aerobics is a brilliant start to the day! The atmosphere here is so relaxed and welcoming. All the staff are very friendly and welcoming also. So polite. We took the shuttle bus to Marakesh centre today. So prompt and just a 20 minute ride. So much to see out the window on the short journey. I highly recommend this hotel and I advise ignoring the few bad reviews. By the way!! Free delicious ice-cream 🍦 is served during at least one mealtime each day as far as we've seen. Oh my goodness! So so good!! Thank you to all the staff for your welcome and hard work. We're really looking forward to the rest of our stay. I felt I had to refute the bad reviews.

It was a really great experience in OLIVAR PALACE
I want to thanks every member of animation team specially FADIA thank you for your kindness, also selma amal sam mouss michael heureux dj bob good job for the michael jackson it was amazing 😍 See you soon guys

Probably the worst hotel I’ve ever stayed in.

For starters, this hotel is advertised as a 5-star resort, but in reality it feels much closer to a 2-star experience. Before travelling, I read some of the reviews but took them with a pinch of salt because everyone has different expectations and experiences. However, this review is a genuine warning to anyone considering staying here: please look elsewhere.

We experienced several issues with our room throughout the stay. The shower leaked so badly that water was flowing into the bedroom because the shower head was broken. The only way to stop the flooding was to use the pool towels to soak up the water, meaning we had to exchange them every day. You also have to pay a deposit for these towels, although you do get it back at the end of your stay.

The room safe didn’t work initially, then the TV stopped working as well. Both issues were eventually fixed, which isn’t the main problem. The real issue is whether the rooms are checked regularly before guests arrive to ensure everything is in working order. Even when you report problems, it takes so long to get anything resolved that you constantly have to chase staff for updates.

There are also several rules that don’t seem to be enforced. The pool is only open from 10am until 7pm, and food is supposedly only allowed in the restaurant and snack bar, yet plenty of guests ignore this without consequence.

Food availability is another major issue. Breakfast is served from 7:00-10:30, lunch from 1:00-3:00, afternoon tea from 5:00-6:00, and dinner from 7:30-10:00. However, they are regularly late setting everything up, so don’t expect food to be available until at least 30 minutes after the advertised times. The selection is limited and the food is usually only lukewarm at best.

The snack bar is supposed to operate from 10am-11pm alongside the drinks service, but snacks often aren’t available until 12:30pm, and the choice is basically just pizza. With around 500 guests staying at the hotel, serving one pizza at a time simply isn’t enough.

Another issue worth mentioning is the number of reviews talking about “flies” around the hotel. They aren’t actually flies – they’re honey bees, and there are hundreds of them. Yes, they are all over the food and drinks, which isn’t pleasant when you’re trying to eat or relax. I appreciate there may not be much the hotel can do to remove them if they are protected, but potential guests should be aware of the situation before booking.

The choice of drinks was shockingly poor. If they ran out of vodka, you were expected to switch to gin because nobody seemed interested in restocking it. When the gin ran out, it was rum instead. We barely drank during the holiday because there was often very little available. The beer was poor quality, nothing was served on tap, and everything was warm. Beer, water, juice—whatever you ordered, it was warm. The fridges in the restaurant were rarely stocked with cold water either.

Most of the staff came across as miserable and rude. The animation team, however, were excellent and worked tirelessly throughout the day. A special mention goes to Michael, who was fantastic throughout our stay, and Youssef in the snack bar, who was also brilliant. Unfortunately, this was balanced out by other staff members who were arrogant, lazy and disrespectful, including Samir, who runs the indoor bar—which, by the way, isn’t included in the all-inclusive package.

The reception team were also incredibly rude and unhelpful. On one occasion, we asked about the cost of a taxi and were quoted 150 dirhams. Later, when we asked again, the price had suddenly increased to 250 dirhams for the same journey. There seemed to be no consistency whatsoever with pricing or information, and unfortunately some members of the reception staff appeared unsure of what they were doing. In the end, we simply downloaded Uber and booked our own ride, which cost us just 50 dirhams for the same trip.

If you are planning to use the shuttle bus that the hotel offers into town, avoid booking it on Fridays if possible. We found that parts of the market, including the Jewish quarter, were closed, which significantly limited what there was to see and do. Unfortunately, the hotel didn’t mention this when promoting the shuttle service, so it’s worth being aware of in advance.

Perhaps the most disappointing part came at the end of our stay. When we were asked how our holiday had been, we honestly replied that it had been disappointing. Rather than showing any concern or asking for feedback, the response we received was laughter, which summed up the level of customer service we experienced throughout our stay.

Overall, this holiday was hugely disappointing. Sadly, based on this experience, we would never return to this hotel or stay there again, and it has unfortunately left us with no desire to return to Morocco either.