Movenpick Hotel Mansour Eddahbi — Hotel in Marrakesh Prefecture

We stayed at the Movenpick for 3 nights. I started a list of all the problems we found: random towel left on the floor of the hallways for days; housekeeping never picked it up even though housekeeping cleaned our room and must have seen the towel on the floor when we checked in, the bed had an impression of a body on one side; I found hair and dirt on the sheets; we requested new sheets and the housekeeping manager pushed back to say the stains/dirt was from ironing the sheets; eventually she agreed to have the sheets changed. I strongly suspect someone was resting on the bed before we checked in. the elevator does not tell you what floor you are on; the screen that shows the floor number does not work. there's a metal detector at the entrance but no one monitors it and you can easily walk around it. What's the purpose of it? the refrigerator in the room did not work and was not cold at all. we did not get toilet paper or hand towels one day after housekeeping came to the room; we called and requested toilet paper and hand towels, no one came and we called again; finally someone brought toilet paper and a robe but no hand towel. randomy our key stopped working one day; this happened to many other guests on the same day too; then we and others had to wait in a long line at the front desk to get it fixed; at one point FIVE front desk employees were looking at one computer to figure out how to fix it. Correcting a key should not be that difficult.

But by far all of this paled in comparison to the hotel's weakest area - check in/registration/check out. The front desk staff are all nice but they are extremely untrained or unskilled at using the check in/out system. Everyone in our conference group complained about the long lines to check in/out. Lines regularly took about 1 hour or more to simply check in/out, even for guests who prepaid! The staff needs training in how to use the system and there needs to be strong management to fix this issue. Checking guest in/out should only take a few minutes. If the system it so difficult or does not work, it needs to be replaced.

When we checked in although the reservation was clearly for a garden room, we were taken to a room overlooking a roof and no garden view. We went downstairs and requested a garden room. After waiting more time, we were given a new room.

It's unfortunate this hotel's reputation will suffer because it lacks proper management and training...

As I am notoriously hard to please I am very pleasantly surprised and definitely relieved after reading some negative reviews which I can only consider to be totally unfair to this lovely hotel which I feel is so worthy of its Five star status. We are only half way through our holiday here but so far we are so pleased that I wanted to review straight away. Yes there are a few niggles but very minor ones. My main one would be that the daytime cocktails menu is more varied than in the evening and I can’t understand why the same ones cannot be made available at all times. The Breakfast cereals should be branded ones and not cardboard cornflakes and the duvet is too thick for warm weather but I’d rather be too warm than too cold so not a huge problem and none of this would put me off booking here again. I had read that there needs to be more maintenance with broken tiles, chipped and scuffed paintwork and threadbare carpets, well there is always going to be wear and tear but as long as there is evidence of ongoing repairs then why should that be an issue, and there is certainly constant work being carried out to rectify such matters including gardeners and workmen tending to the beautiful gardens and surroundings, which I very much appreciate. The Hotel staff and management seem to take great pride in the place and it shows. The staff are all very friendly, polite and professional and make you feel very welcome and valued, from the pool staff through to catering and hospitality. The evening Buffett is fabulous, very reasonably priced with, really good quality food and the staff were particularly lovely here. Lunch time snack bars at both pools have a good selection and again the food is excellent. The pools are all gorgeous with the perfect temperature water, not too cold at all and the sun loungers are so comfy plus whatever time of day we arrive there are plenty available so no worries about having to get up early to secure them, we have even had a spare one at times to put our bags etc...

Our stay was a mixed bag.

The good things: -lovely well maintained greenery and gardens throughout the hotel which attracts songbirds making the pool and outdoor areas feel very calming -our room (in the 7000 block at the back of the hotel) was large and well maintained with a large balcony. Which had a nespresso machine and nice toiletries -the breakfast buffet was well stocked with lots of options and had stations making eggs and pancakes fresh to order -the gym was large and brand new, better than some commercial gyms -the main indoor areas were spacious with fountains and generally felt of a high standard -excursions and airport transfers were easy to book and went well -the pool areas catered to different tastes so there were kids having fun and quieter calmer areas

Sadly there were negatives -others have mentioned it, but the check in and check out process is laborious, some people had 1 hour plus waits to check in and check out took us 20 minutes with staff needing to use different systems, key cards and print outs with some of the technology unreliable. This was less the staff’s fault rather the process the worst I’ve seen in a big hotel -service was unpredictable; some staff were friendly and efficient, especially the waiting staff at lunch and the Consierge. Others were surly and some didn’t seem to know what they were doing at all. For a five star hotel, even a lower priced one, it just isn’t acceptable to have to ask for the bill three times, or be snapped at when asking a question. -the food outside of breakfast was very mixed. The pizza at lunch was great but both of us had dinners which were poor and very poor value

Overall, this isn’t a five star experience. However if you can get a good deal on a larger room and arrange to eat elsewhere in the evening it can be a good base to see Marrakech. Give yourself plenty of time to check out if you have a...