Ecolodge La Palmeraie Ouarzazate Maroc — Hotel in caïdat de Ahl Ouarzazate

I will start by saying that the grounds are nice, the gardens are beautiful and the place seems like an excellent place to relax, however our experience left a sour taste in our mouth. We arrived at the Ecolodge after arranging for a standard room with the owner over email. Everything was confirmed and we showed up at around 2pm. We were only greeted by a member of staff after interrupting him on his phone. The staff member had no idea that we had booked a room via email and the owner was not on site (not an issue but the staff should have been made aware). We were eventually showed to our room, however, no information was given to us and nothing was requested of us at the reception. The staff member said that the owner was not around but that they would come by during the day to collect our information.

We spent a large portion of the afternoon in our room with the door open and eventually left before sunset for diner.

We were woken up at 7 am by a member of staff asking us what we wanted for breakfast, after telling him that we had not requested a wake up at 7 am he seemed to realize his mistake and left. Obviously a little startled by this and by the noise and light coming from outside the room we had difficulty falling back asleep. This resulted in us sleeping until 10 am and leaving the room at 1030 am.

The room included breakfast, however, we were never made aware of when breakfast was served, whether this is our mistake or the hotel's, it doesn't really matter, because it is what follows that results in us giving this place 1 star. The staff informed us that breakfast could no longer be served, we explained to them how we were not made aware of this and asked if it any exception could be made for breakfast or a small reduction in the cost of the room. After some back and forth the staff member seemed to agree with us and said he would prepare us breakfast (Until this point everything was pleasant). A few minutes later the owner arrived and immediately started blaming us for not knowing when breakfast was served, for not providing them with our information and basically anything else that should have been done by THEM during check-in. The owner of was rude, arrogant and at some point he started insulting Europeans (which we are not), accusing them of always wanting what they want when they want it. As we left the member of staff that showed us the room was there and his version of the story was filled with lies. We paid for the night and left. We are extremely flexible and easy-going travelers and have never had such a bad experience with the owner of a hotel.

We were not asking for the world, we wanted breakfast or a small discount for the room - however it seems as though the owners pride prevented him from apologizing ending the discussion professionally and moving on.We work in the industry and unlike the popular saying the customer is NOT always right but in this situation we felt attacked and disrespected...

I will start by saying ecolodge palmeiria is beautiful. If you want a place with rustic charm, this place is perfect. We rented a an African style hut for 3 nights. The hut itself was equipt with air con which was very much needed and kept the place beautifully cool. The beds and linen were clean and comfy and both wash and pool towels are provided. There are no fridges or drinks facilities in the huts which we felt would have been beneficial. ||The gardens are stunning with an array of fruit trees, herbs and vegetables growing all around the place. There are a few cats around which my kids loved and a little puppy who likes to play (be careful of your ankles when he gets overly excited).||Breakfast was a mix of fruit and breads which tended to be available until around 10am. However, beyond this time , there is no food available until around 7pm when the set menu is served for dinner. I cannot comment on this because we found it was expensive compared to every other eatery in the area and therefore chose to eat elsewhere. We did find the lack of available food throughout the day difficult, particularly having 2 children who did not appreciate going out in the midday heat. Drinks are available from the main area and we found out via another guest that free cold water is available upon request, however this wasn't pointed out to us on arrival. ||Prior to arriving, I messaged the host requesting an airport collection, however, upon arrival to the airport, nobody had come to pick us up which meant we had to grab a taxi. When we eventually did get to ecolodge, this was not mentioned by the host. We were asked to sign the sign in book and it became apparent that the host does not speak English so nothing was explained to us beyond being shown to our room. We did not find the host particularly accommodating and towards the end of our 3 day stay, felt that we did not want to ask for anything due to sensing he was becoming irritated. ||Overall, we had a lovely time, the pool is beautiful and due to the small amount of rooms it never felt overcrowded. Would we stay again, as a family, probably not, but this is just due to personal preference. Whilst we tend to avoid all inclusive, the lack of food throughout the day, with young children, made the stay difficult to an extent. It would have been beneficial to have a small area to purchase snacks/drinks or an offer of a small selection of cooked food to purchase. ||Additionally, as previously mentioned, the cost of the set menu is double the price of everywhere else we ate and I feel that guests are slightly beholden on the basis that it is a taxi ride away from the main...

Absolutely perfect from start to finish. Absolutely the best hotel I have EVER stayed in anywhere in the world! |The property itself is stunning and the maintenance and cleaning is amazing. Our room was a traditional hut and was so well equipped, clean and cold in the day and warm at night - perfect! Daily housekeeping was incredible, they fully cleaned and changed all bedding and towels and even tidied up our clothes and mess we had left. The property and area are SUPER SUPER safe, we left our bikes unlocked, our laptops out and unattended and no one even looked at them let alone touched them. This hotel staff are the absolute best, nothing was too much trouble. The owner even offered to go to the shop for us to buy us a SIM card. The service at dinner was so attentive and we felt so genuinely cared for and valued. They even remembered our names and room number so everyone we ordered anything they just knew where to charge it. The hotel room price is so so reasonable for what you get and the food and drink is so cheap but so fresh and delicious , all hand made daily. The property is an absolute dream with a gorgeous pool, hammocks , gardens, vegetables , cats, peacocks, donkeys. Honestly such an oasis and well worth it. The airport is close and there are many lovely nature spots near by and the bikes from the hotel are free. Alternatively the hotel can arrange any kind of trip you want at very reasonable prices. |The owner of this hotel was so nice and he clearly knows his business very well and is doing everything totally right! I wish him and his team all the success and thank them from my heart for giving us such an amazing experience and memories we will treasure...