Riu Tikida Garden Marrakech

I have just returned from a 4 night stay with 3 friends. We had a lovely break. The hotel itself is stunning. We had no issues getting sunbeds and didn’t wait for long for drinks or for a table in the restaurants. Food was good and we enjoyed our visit to the à la carte (although service felt overly slow here). One thing I would say is one of our party is Coeliac - some things are labelled well/ some not so. She asked in the restaurant on the first day about this (as she had emailed previously and this was what she was told to do) and the waiter seemed unsure. Having said this we were served very well by every member of staff! Particularly the waiters in the restaurants. We spent most days around the pool. Only complaint would be the afternoon sports sometimes went on too long but that’s a personal opinion! Rooms were clean but we had an issue with air con on the first evening (too warm), towels were very small (and a little tatty) and we used the app to ask for an iron/ help with air con/ towels and water (only put in room on first day). All requests were ignored. I asked at reception for an iron and ironing board and this needed a deposit. I was then handed both which seems a mad thing to walk past the pool with but hey! We liked the shop but limited opening hours were a shame. Evening entertainment was okay but not enough seats. We tended to sit on a lounger and play cards instead. We ended up having an impromptu photoshoot - a good selection of photos and not too expensive. All in all a good short break in the middle of the summer holidays and I’d come back again!

Unfortunately, I left this TUI BLUE hotel feeling quite disappointed, particularly as I don’t feel it lived up to the 4-star standard I was expecting. One of the first things I noticed was that the water in the room fridge wasn’t replenished every day, meaning we had to get our own. For a TUI BLUE hotel, I expected a little more attention to these details. I was also disappointed with the drinks and cocktails. The cocktails were pre-made rather than freshly made, and there were no frozen cocktails available. Again, for a TUI BLUE hotel, I expected a better choice and quality of drinks. The pool area was another major issue. There didn’t seem to be anyone monitoring the sunbeds, and guests were getting up as early as 5:30am to reserve them. If you weren’t down by around 8am, it was very difficult to find a sunbed. Some people were even sleeping on the sunbeds under the roofed area by the pool just to keep them reserved. There were also people reserving sunbeds the night before, which I felt was extremely unfair to other guests. I really think the hotel needs to have a much stricter sunbed policy and actually enforce it. The evening entertainment and facilities were also quite limited. There was no pool table or table football, the entertainment finished around 11pm and the bar closed at midnight, with nowhere really to go afterwards. I like having the option to carry on socialising somewhere within the hotel once the entertainment has finished. Having stayed at Riu hotels previously, I found this a big difference, as they offer more options, including 24-hour bars and games such as pool and table football. The White Party was also a huge disappointment. Having experienced White Parties at other Riu hotels, I was expecting a proper themed event. Unfortunately, this felt more like a normal evening with a DJ and a couple of inflatables in the pool. Compared with previous Riu White Parties I’ve attended, where there have been balloons, acrobats and people on stilts walking around, this really didn’t feel like a White Party at all. It was one of the things I was particularly looking forward to, so it was disappointing to see how little effort seemed to have gone into it. There also wasn’t enough seating around the entertainment area, so on several occasions we had to sit on a sunbed just to watch. Unfortunately, the entertainment itself was also quite repetitive throughout our stay. The biggest disappointment for me was the lunch food. It was very repetitive, and I eventually became so bored with the options that I couldn’t face eating it anymore. We actually ended up ordering a takeaway to the hotel, which is something I have never done on an all-inclusive holiday before! That said, I do want to give credit where it’s due — the evening meals were delicious, and I always managed to find something I enjoyed at dinner. Overall, I think there is definitely room for improvement. I’ve stayed in other 4-star hotels, including Riu, and unfortunately this hotel didn’t feel to me like the 4-star experience I was expecting from a TUI BLUE. Better management of the sunbeds, freshly made cocktails and more drink options, greater food variety at lunchtime, improved evening facilities, more varied entertainment, a proper themed White Party and more seating would make a huge difference. There were some positives, particularly the evening food, but unfortunately the overall experience didn’t meet the expectations I had for a TUI BLUE 4-star hotel

This was our first visit to this hotel but hopefully not the last we would love to return. Check in process was quick & easy upon arrival, the porters offered to take luggage but there wasn’t enough porters for all arrivals so we just took our own. Sunbeds became a daily battle which resulted in one of our party getting up each day around 5am just to get a bed. To me this is ridiculous. We stayed at the pool most days we chose the entertainment pool, entertainment was repetitive but we did enjoy our days there. The highlight of our time here was honestly the waiters. They were absolutely fantastic, they couldn’t do enough for us at each mealtime & they honestly gave us the best service we have ever received at a hotel. I felt like by the end of our holiday we actually had a great friendship with them. Nothing was too much for them ❤️. I can’t remember all there names but Abdel, El Habib & Youssef were the best & I feel they deserve a mention. The rooms were also great we had a problem with our air con but it was dealt with as soon as we reported it. The cleaners kept our room immaculate & the grounds around the hotel are also spotless the staff are constantly working to keep everything amazing. We arranged a trip through our Tui rep. Firstly the transport didn’t arrive. The taxi eventually arrived 40 minutes late. 6 of us in a taxi with no air conditioning, it was a nightmare journey making one of our party sick upon arrival. We did the quad biking which was a great experience & our guides were amazing. As for the transport provided by TUI this was awful. All things considered we had a great 10 days and would return