Dakhla Attitude — Hotel in caïdat de El Argoub قيادة العركوب

Thought I'd try a different venue for the annual pilgrimage to Morocco for kite foiling fun and stumbled into this gem of a place at the end of the peninsula... directly opposite where I have attempted to foil on the previous 2 year's trip to the region. Attitude has a positive feeling about the place, and far more focused on teaching than other resorts I have been to. As a consequence, the middle of the beach is saved for them ( inherently sensible and fair) with free kiting down wind to them and winging/windsurfing upwind to the north. As a kite boiler, there's an element of being a bit of a pariah, where you don't belong to either gang and rig up with the kiters, but then have to get your board from the wing foiling section. Whilst it's a first world problem, and there's a quad bike trailer combo to take it to the water, it did make me feel a little excluded. Fortunately however, the general feel of the resort is cohesive and I was adopted by the wing foilers.... which was nice. The accommodation is clean, tidy and comfortable. The shower can be toasty warm, but can also be a little tepid depending on time of day and usage... which is to be expected.

The staff on the beach are totes friendly and keen to help, whilst the team in the rental/lesson building are knowledgeable and... most importantly for me, able to conduct high quality repairs for a reasonable price....in Euros.

The kite inflation system is plentiful (4 hoses) although can be a little lacking in the pressure front, resulting in a comedy queue with usual nations joining the aforementioned queue whilst others (again expected) barge to the front! You do have to love European stereotypes,🤔

It's a similar gag with food, which is both plentiful and high quality. A BBQ seems to be on for lunch and dinner, supplemented by a huge medley of salad and some other cooked meats/pasta/ vegetables etc. All in all, some pretty good feeding. Breakfast is lovely with omelettes and crepes made to order..... although here people did remarkably queue 🎉

In summary, the place is a bit of a gem, airport collection and delivery is well organised and the place runs efficiently. You get a wearable tech bracelet for drinks, ice-cream and clothes from the shop - payable on checkout.

My only ickle issue is that the morning wind blows from behind the resort, so it's a bit offshore and therefore turbo gusty in the morning when it's a 10 it's breeze and ideal for a casual session. This sorts itself out by 1100 but then it's pretty windy and builds during the afternoon - but the wind can be a little intimidating when kite foiling.

This is not an issue on the other side of the lagoon as it's onshore, but then again, the amenities are not so good.

Would I come back? Yup. but I'd come with more euros (kite repairs in cash only) and definitely a...

Reserved a bungalow for a family of 4. 19 to 24 July 2022, 50% paid in advance, all done by email and phone ROAD we told we were coming with our own car, no one told us there is a 3 km off-road track in the middle of the sand, barely feasible with a city car with a lot of luck. As we arrived we had to call them 4 times until they send us a driver to show us the right track, don't look at Google maps photos. There's no shuttle to bring you to the city back an forth, only when someone arrive or go at the local airport ORGANIZATION one day we planned to go in the bay for fishing and look around, reserved the day before. Only 30 minutes after the time to go out we was informed the material for fishing was not available, and that only a tour around the bay was possible. We complained and canceled. Totally deceptive, especially for the kids. No organization and no planning even for very simple things like that. FOOD always almost the same choice on the buffet. Some fresh vegetables on the buffet are full of flies, in particular the very small ones, I saw only one time one of the staff trying to keep it away... awful, there are many ways to avoid this, is just a question of willing. Fish was offered only 2 times and was one of the most cheap on the market.. Dakhla is famous for fish and oysters farmers, here you can have it for more than 15 eu, while in very good restaurant in dakhla are for less than 0.5 eu per unit. Similar for clams, 10 eu for a dish, and the bay is full of them PRICES definitely the price is not worth the hotel quality, don't forget is a 3 star hotel STAFF the most are very friendly, nice and helpful. Unfortunately for few with no good attitude the image of the hotel is affected. OTHERS excursions around are possible with a driver/guide from local companies but organized by the hotel. Prices are 20% to 30% more expensive than similar service offered in other parts of the country. I live in Marocco and I know. CONCLUSION we was dissatisfied. Perfect place for kite surfing only and only if you arrive by the airplane and only if you don't plan to go around in the region RECOMMENDED visit the...

Hotel is nice and setting is exceptional, we enjoyed our stay.

Unfortunately you get the feeling of being some kind of cash cow getting milked for all your money.

1 ) We booked for a price of 1050 €, but once there we were charged 30 € more, supposedly due to exchange rate issues, even though the Euro got stronger between booking date and arrival.

2. On the day of arrival (Christmas day) we had the pleasant surprise of having to pay 60 € per person for a special Christmas dinner even though dinner is supposed to be included, without having a choice to have a "normal" dinner.

3. Locker for kite material is 10€ per day, which is ridiculous for a kite hotel. Again, no choice, locker is required. Just to compare, I've never been to a ski hotel that charged for storing skis....

4. Any extras, activities , drink, etc are overpriced, i.e. prices closer to what you would find in Switzerland than in Morocco.

Hopefully the staff gets paid well and it all doesn't just go to line the pockets of the owner.

Came expecting a relaxed, down-to-earth place were people are passionate about kiting. Found a mix between a ClubMed wannabe and an average kitesurf school with almost no wind (at least at this period of the year).

My added reply after response from manager Thanks for replying. Here's my advice ....charging extra for extra services is ok and understandable. Last-minute surprise charges for things that the guest doesn't have a choice to accept generally tends to piss people off. Honestly, I you had been upfront and charged more at the time of booking to cover the "extra non-optional services", it would have been a lot more honest and everyone would have been...