Jaal Riad Resort

As per my title this is a really beautifully designed and decorated hotel which oozes glamour but underneath the surface it is not.

The situation of the hotel means that it is not possible, or advisable, to walk into Marrakesh. Taxis are a minimum of £10 each way or more if your taxi driver can get away with it.

I recommend that you go all inclusive, via your holiday package, as upgrading at the hotel is expensive and you are better off doing it in the UK. If you then want to eat out you have a fall back if required. Note Premium All Inclusive does not mean all branded drinks so if you want Grey Goose Vodka or other specific brands you still have to pay extra.

Buffet meals are very repetitive with same breakfast options each day and the same goes for lunch and dinner. On a couple of occasions I was down late for lunch and the hot options had been eaten and there were no replacements. Waiting staff are lovely but they have been trained to literally take your plate away when you have put down your knife and fork. On one occasion my husband and I went to get dessert and came back to find our table had been completely cleared. Multiple times I was still chewing my last bite of food when the plates were whipped away.

Bread products and small pastries are wonderful and beautifully presented. If you have a sweet tooth you will love these.

As part of your all inclusive package you get 1 visit to the à la carte restaurants which are Italian or Moroccan. We decided to choose the Moroccan and retrospectively that was a big mistake.

The portion my husband had for his starter was tiny and looked like samosas and spring rolls which was odd. My soup was good. Unfortunately the mains were terrible and really spoiled the evening. We paid extra for the Lamb dish, which was annoying and unadvertised, and when it came was dry and not at all tender. They served a better one at the buffet. My fish dish was frankly inedible. It was so salty I had 3 mouthfuls and could not eat anything else that evening. I eat a lot of fish of all types but never had anything as overwhelmingly salty as this.

They literally stop serving ‘free drinks’ at 11pm so if you want anything at all, including water, you will have to pay. This was annoying to lots of others staying there.

Couple of other points specifically about our room. Toilet roll holder was hanging off the wall plus one roll of very thin toilet paper is not ideal for most Europeans. I numerous times had to get our door cards reactivated as they stopped working. Annoying when you have been to Reception had it reactivated, got to the room and it’s not working and had to go back to Reception again. They were very blasé about it.

These tiny details really start to add up to the enjoyment of the stay including having to pay a deposit for your pool towels and I will be checking to see if they take payment after we have left and returned the tokens to the Reception on check out.

Would give this hotel 3 Stars but there is certainly need for improvement on the important little things that make a holiday extra special.

Overall, we had an enjoyable holiday, but there are several areas that need improving.

The room was fairly clean and comfortable. However, the shower over the bath was difficult to get in and out of and could easily be a slipping hazard. The grab rail in the bath was also loose and felt as though it would come away from the wall if used, which is a safety concern.

The food was very hit and miss. There were plenty of meat dishes, but the vegetarian choice was quite limited. It would have been good to see more hot vegetarian options rather than mainly relying on the salad bar.

One thing that really concerned us was that food left outside was not covered. We regularly saw birds eating from it, which was off putting from a hygiene perspective. We also witnessed a member of staff at the snack bar deliberately throwing food out to the birds in the bar area. This only encouraged more birds to gather where people were eating and raised further concerns about hygiene.

There were also a lot of wasps around the pool and outdoor dining areas, which made it difficult to relax at times. I appreciate this may not be entirely within the hotel’s control, but better management of food waste, discouraging birds from gathering, and quicker clearing of used cups from around the pool might help. Cups were often left sitting for long periods before being collected.

Service was mixed. The evening bar staff were excellent, very friendly, welcoming and provided great service throughout our stay. However, in the restaurant, tables were not cleared quickly, and we were often left waiting for one to become available. We were also rarely asked if we wanted drinks with our meals.

We also felt that some members of staff paid less attention to us because we did not speak French. We always tried to be polite and respectful, but it sometimes felt as though guests who spoke French received more attentive service.

We also paid extra for the All Inclusive Plus package and, in our experience, it offered little to no added value over the standard all inclusive. We did not notice any meaningful differences or benefits, so we would not recommend spending the extra money.

With some improvements to hygiene, maintenance, food variety and consistency of service, this hotel could offer a much better experience.