Jaal Riad Resort

Went as a couple

Location - 10/10 close to the city/nightlife/airport. Uber pick ups were very seamless

Rooms - look a bit dated but everything worked (inc AC & TV), room services never missed a day

Amenities - swimming pool was spacious, getting a bench was never a problem/had to be more proactive to get a parasol but if you plan it shouldn't be a problem. I requested an iron/steamer for my clothes via front desk and it arrived in my room within the hour which I appreciated

Food - was probably the best all inclusive I stayed at especially being vegetarian there was always something. However it could be improved by having labels besides the food & covering up the pool area so the birds dont eat it (it's partially done but not for the pizza)

Staff - lovely people, always had a smile and greeted you. On our final day, concierge saved us 100 MAD getting to the airport by flagging a taxi down (also informing us how much market rates are)

Improvements could be made but its extremely value for money & would recommend to others.

• Food labels (mentioned above),
• Covering food in the pool area (mentioned above).
• Whole hotel could do with a floor clean, it's a lovely resort otherwise.
• Better designed drinks system, sometimes theres no queues and other times you could be waiting 15 mins
• Lower the cost of the spa/padel costs? they were never used once when I was there
• Later hours for drinks, 11am seems way too early, especially when you've gone out and come back at 1am wanting to sit down outside when lights are out and no one is there
• Upgrade plastic cups for pool area, 25ml is very little and most people end up getting 2 beers/cocktails. it is quite inconvenient

We visited in July during the 42 degree heatwave as a last minute couples holiday.

Pros: Actual setting and condition of hotel is very nice. Room is cleaned with thresh towels each day. Chico is very good. Only entertainer. Location is good and close to the medina and souks. Reccomend getting a taxi between 50-70MED to the medina and have a wander. Bit overwhelming but well worth it. Every night is a different type of entertainment but just know it’s the only entertainment. They played the football for the world cup which was good. I reccomend getting a pool side room view so you can easily do the sun towel race as mentioned below. Spa was good and we took the option of 30 minute massage and 30 minute facial. Be careful though as this as still £50 per person. They do come round the pool with a flyer for deals. Although we wasn’t with jet2 I reccomend using their agent for excursions. We booked the ATVs and 4x4 and dinner show in the Agafi desert which was pretty cool. Only negative is if you don’t like the food you will be stuck as you are there quite late.

Cons: Pool bar opens at 11am but can’t get drink between breakfast and 11am. Restaurant food is bad quality - lunch is a repeat of last nights dinner. On the subject of lunch you can go to pool bar for lunch for this is an added cost as mentioned below on the types of all inclusive. Given two bottles of water but no mini bar to top up. No convenience store if you need snacks, or sunscreen etc. We visited when it was 42 degrees all week so thought this was needed and no other amenities were provided. There is two types of all inclusive. We had the standard one and lot offered the all inclusive plus that includes premium drinks. Sun loungers is a race at 7am. I thought we had moved passed this as a generation. We also reserved sun beds on a few days and people stole the unbrellas which is unfounded. Bit niche but only given two toilet rolls and they are tiny and bad quality so you should request more.

Overall. Overall I still do reccomend this hotel. I wouldn’t say it’s a 5 star like other hotels I’ve stayed at as it was lacking on areas stated above. However, if you are looked for a reasonably priced all inclusive in a nice location that isn’t Tenerife or Lanzarote then consider Marrakesh.

I recently returned from a 5 night stay at this hotel.

Upon arriving I was wowed and in awe by the opulence and beauty of the hotel and it's surroundings.

We were met by a friendly hotel porter who helped with our luggage. We checked in at the reception and were also greeted by friendly staff. It was explained that as we were staying on an inclusive basis we were entitled to eat one evening at either an Italian or Moroccan restaurant.

On reading other reviews on TripAdvisor I understand Moroccan tea was served at reception and others have stated they were given a tour of the hotel. This wasn't offered to us. It would have been helpful as the hotel and it's grounds are vast, I'm not sure if this was because our flight had been delayed by an hour, but consistency is important and this could have been offered if this was the case the following day.

We were taken to our rooms and the hotel porter showed us that we had connecting rooms, which I was very impressed with as I had specifically requested rooms to be near each other as my sister has mobility issues due to arthritis and is aided with a crutch, as well as having other serious health conditions.

The room was beautiful, clean and spacious with a walk-in shower, robes and slippers and a small balcony, which was enough for one person.

We went down to the restaurant which served a buffet dinner after freshening up which was nice.

This is where the narrative changes.

We headed to the restaurant in the morning for a buffet breakfast. The main restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. We were greeted by small birds, wrens or sparrows that were flying and bouncing around, landing on the tables, up on the chandeliers and near the food. Not once did I witness any member of staff trying to shoo away the birds. I don't know if this is because of the serenity of the hotel and that this is seen as positive, embracing peace, tranquillity and nature. It's extremely unhygienic and could cause serious illness. We made sure to select food that was covered and if we left our table to ensure we covered our food and drinks. The birds seemed to be getting in via a small gap between the door handles.

Temperatures in Morocco were reaching in their mid 40s during our stay and there seemed to be rationing of drinking water! The pool bar opened at 11am. When it did open and you requested water, you were given a small bottle so I was going up often to get water to keep hydrated. I am also diabetic. Even at breakfast, lunch or dinner if you asked for water, this was being poured into a small drinking glass and wasn't even cold. When our rooms were cleaned daily two bottles of water were left, which definitely helped during the night.

We would have loved to have sat around the pool on a cabana bed due to my sister's arthritis, but every day there were hotel towels/ personal towels strewn atop and not in use. On the 3rd day I spoke to the gentleman who was giving out the towels near the pool as to what the rule was. He informed me that if the cabana isn't in use, and there are no personal items in it the towel can be removed. He asked me to move the towel. As I was doing so his colleague appeared from nowhere and spoke in Arabic to him. When I asked if there was an issue he told me that the cabana had been booked via reception, so we were unable to use it. We sat at the seating area near the pool bar for nearly 3 hours as we were going out later and the cabana was vacant throughout that time. This happened on a daily occurrence. Surely a system needs to be put in place e.g. a time limit to use booked cabanas, loungers to assure fairness and to let everyone sit outside comfortably enjoying the surroundings.

There were several communication breakdowns. For instance, we wanted to try the paid food at the pool bar due to the bird situation at the L'Atelier (indoor) restaurant. The menus displayed on the table clearly state the time from 12.30pm-6pm. The pool bar actually opens at 11am for drinks only and serves food, buffet style or paid for at 2.30pm. This was clarified by a pool bar member of staff.  This could be clearly marked on the menus so everyone is aware or on their QR code, accessible via the television once switched on.

We went to reception to book use of the jacuzzi at The Bowe, their onsite spa to be told we needed to go to the spa to book this. I ended up calling from my hotel room to book.

I also went to reception to book the Italian restaurant for our last evening's stay to be told we need to book this at the restaurant. When I asked the man on reception if that required me to go to The Cat (the name of the Italian Restaurant) I was told yes. Surely for a 5 star hotel both services could have easily been booked via reception as a reception is the heart of any business and is the first port of call for any establishment. I work in an admin/reception role and go above supporting people on a day to day basis.

We went there in the afternoon and nobody was there (opening times are 7.30pm). We managed to speak to a man cleaning windows who directed us to a man who spoke English. When I relayed what I was told,  he got us to follow him to the reception area. We assumed he was trying to get some help and after 10 minutes he didn't return. As we were going out we left it. When we returned from our evening out, there was a man at reception. I assume he is some kind of manager as he wasn't wearing a uniform and was dressed smart/casual. We asked about booking the Italian restaurant and he told us this needed to be booked at the main restaurant. When I told him we were not told this, he was abrupt and rude and told me that the reception staff member would not have told me otherwise. Whether he thinks he was right or wrong in his assumption, his role is to try and resolve issues amicably, we are paying guests at the end of the day and he could have just apologised for the misunderstanding as opposed to wanting to disagree to what I had told him truthfully what had happened. This same man was serving behind the bar of Le Stay, the resort's bar on our last evening of our holiday ( Saturday 1st August 2026). I asked him politely for two alcoholic drinks in a plastic cup as we had been informed if we wanted to drink in our hotel rooms this is what we had to request. I wasn't even acknowledged by him. As he was pouring the last drink a young lady was behind me and he started engaging with her and asking her how her holiday had been so far, then cast my drink aside. How rude! If he wanted to flirt with her at least wait until I had left. He needs to understand that doing a customer facing role, basic etiquette is to smile and ask 'if I can help you?' That's all that was required of him!

That put a damper on my evening. I had a lovely experience at both the spa earlier in the day and at The Cat restaurant in the evening (please note there is a surcharge with some of the dishes). Both experiences were stand out moments of the holiday and the staff in both settings were lovely and friendly.

There was another member of staff who was rude and curt, who I assume was the head chef as he was dressed in a different uniform. When I asked him politely what some of the meats were as there was no signage as to what they were, he grunted back at me with one word answers. Again common courtesy goes a long way!

Apart from them two, everyone else was lovely. There were four members of staff who specifically went above and beyond their role. The first was a gentleman who worked at the main restaurant. I saw him at breakfast and at dinner. He was so helpful and attentive to my sister and couldn't do enough for her, helping to put food on her plate and carry it to the table. He also suggested dishes. I also saw him helping other guests. I'm unsure of his name as I forgot to look at his name badge. Special thanks also go to three other members of staff. Two who predominantly worked at the pool bar, Ibrahim and Roberto who again were very attentive and kind and a lovely gentleman who I believe was a hotel porter. He helped take out our luggage to the private transfer waiting to take us to the airport on Sunday 2nd August 2026 and earlier in the week was helpful in trying to find out why our transfer to the Medina hadn't arrived.

Unfortunately there were other misdemeanours that I feel are important to mention. The fridge in my room didn't work, but my sister's did. We spoke to another couple who said the same thing. If I had purchased items outside of the hotel to store in the fridge and hadn't noticed this it could have caused serious illness. 

Not all food was labelled with a signage in the main restaurant. It is very important to know what you are eating or drinking in regards to allergies as well as for religious purposes. I had put salad on my plate and realised afterwards that it had prawns in it. I don't eat seafood and although I don't have an allergy it could have caused an illness.

Cleaning was done often which was great, but I only saw on one occasion a sign at the pool bar stating that cleaning was in progress. My sister had to be extremely careful when walking around because floors and steps outside were often wet. This is unsafe for everyone but specifically people with mobility issues or a visual impairment. 

Although there were lifts and that's one of the reasons I booked this hotel, the grounds are immense. Sometimes we were disoriented and came out of the wrong lift to then be presented by stairs my sister had to manoeuvre painfully down. I didn't see any slopes that would have helped her manage better.

There was entertainment in the evening but when and what time was unclear. Better management of this would have been a leaflet at reception, in the hotel rooms, information in the lifts or again accessible via the QR code. We missed some performances because of lack of information.

I had made an enquiry via the hotel website before our holiday. I initially didn't receive a response and had to follow up with another email.

These faults/issues are unacceptable for a 5 star hotel. So, although the hotel as a whole is visually stunning the cons far outway the pros and therefore, I wouldn't be staying here again.