El Mouradi Palace — Hotel in Maghreb

Arrived at 12pm. Told check in was at 2pm. At 2.10pm we tried to check in to be told it would be another 30 mins. When we finally checked in, we found we had the wrong room. Headed straight to reception to be told the upgrade we paid for is "unavailable" come back tomorrow morning. Sent away until 12.30pm. manager promised he was giving us an "upgrade" here's me thinking well the only upgrade from a superior would be a suit. Manager offered to show us first, good job they did. We were taken back to the same floor a little further down our room to find the 'upgrade' was the same. Finally "got the room we paid for" or so we thought- however no mini bar, no bath robes, still 2 single beds shoved together. There was a bath, but no plug, took me until 9.30pm to get a bath plug. Few days later, my husband approaches a cleaner on our floor for some more toilet paper, he sees the room she is cleaning and tells me that one is the superior, much nicer/bigger room, sofa in room also. Much better balconies for the superior ones too. Paid £100 pp extra for the superior room and did not receive it. So been fobbed off, at this point I'm not asking to be moved. But I certainly won't return to this hotel or any of the other El Mouradi hotels if this is meant to be the best one! Aircon is poorly maintained. Husband became extremely congested and bed bound for the day We have found mould in the air con. Told the onsite DR is shared across the El mouradi hotels and not on site today. Conveniently no duty manager either to speak to. Moved room for a second time. Indoor pool not in use. Was not told this, found this by coming across it. Definitely not enough pool loungers for the size of the hotel. There's PLENTY of room for more. Were told we can't reserve one but see regulars reserving them all day long without being anywhere near them. Lifeguards tell us we can't reserve them, but then I see lifeguards reserving them for others- to the point they're taking people's towels off reserved ones to reserve for those who have clearly slid them some money- disgusting behaviour if you ask me. Me and my husband spent 4hrs out and noticed some weren't being used, when my husband went to take them the lifeguards tried to stop him. Luckily we've formed an alliance with some other peeved off guests who will argue the fact the sun loungers haven't been touched for HOURS. Lifeguards once gave us the mattresses to use on the floor. 800+ room hotel with about 100 loungers around pool. Again plenty of room for more. Certainly not 5 star feel with the underdressed people in the food hall on a night time. WiFi is terrible.. but if you're in room 433 there's VIP by the looks of it! Which isn't an issue, but don't advertise WiFi if it can't reach through the entire hotel properly. Food- well I thought it was just me being picky, but after speaking to a few "regulars" they confirmed it had indeed gone downhill. There's 2 "hot buffet stations" that serve the same thing, 4/6 options on each, fresh fish on the grill, pastas, panini's and sushi fresh to order- which is a whole issue in itself as everyone is queueing on top of eachother. Food itself is either bland or too spicy. Found the pizzas are ok. Sushi was nice but I wasn't about to stand in a ridiculous queue for it. More sweet/fruit than substantial food. Soups nice depending on which ones are on offer - 2 a night - be quick though it goes cold quickly. Bread rolls to accompany soup were very nice. Don't be expecting tea/coffee in the room. Now it doesn't state it but with it being a 5 star hotel I thought it would go without saying. All the way to the food hall you go for your morning coffee Off duty maintenance helped us save a kitten from a drain pipe. Overall we have enjoyed our time here- eventually. The animation/entertainment team are absolutely fantastic! Theyre hard to say no to when it comes to joining in with activities. Their energy is next level, I feel tired just watching them! special thanks to Koussay, Nassib,...

We have just come back from this hotel and this is my honest review. First of all this is not a 5* hotel. (Was awarded in 2005) I would say between 3 and 4. Saying that, I would still recommend this hotel. There are good and bad points which I have listed below. ||Bad - ||Rooms|Our room was located in the far right part of the hotel and while it has a king size bed and a pool view, the room itself was very old and smelly. While it was cleaned every day the room was not 5. I know some people who complained about their rooms and got upgraded to a more modern nicer room - we didn’t complain as we weren’t that fussed but if your expecting a really nice 5 room you probably won’t be given one in the first place. ||Drinks - |One of the main reasons why this is on the bad list is due to no sugar free options for soda so most nights I had a sugar rush. Cocktails were limited and weren’t the greatest plus the booze was cheap. But did I get drunk and have a great time … yes. So again if you’re not fussy with booze and just want to get drunk then you won’t mind. Alcohol started at 8 too, so can definitely take full advantage. There is a pool bar which served beer and some spirits, a normal bar with iced coffees, hot coffee, cocktails, beer wine and spirits so plenty to choose from. Plus you could get full sized bottles of water at anytime. Theres also a piano bar where branded alcohol was served but this was at an Additional cost (not expensive) Cliff at the piano bar took care of us and was really lovely. ||Sun Beds - while there was a sigh that appeared on our 5th day, if you didn’t get up before 7 to claim a sunbed… you didn’t get one. People were reserving beds at 5am!!||Good - ||Animation team - the animation team were the best part of the holiday. All the boys were great. They did darts, stretching, aqua aerobics, water polo and evening entertainment. While the evening entertainment was great the animation team really took care of you from morning to night. koussay especially was lovely and super friendly. There’s also a nightclub on sight which we didn’t go to but if you’re looking to carry on the party there’s the option to do so. ||Food - the food is great and there’s plenty of choices. While some dishes were repetitive and brekfast wasn’t the best there was always so much options for lunch and dinner. Sushi, meats and cheese, lamb, chicken, sandwiches, |Pizza, pasta, salads, desserts, ice cream, fruit - the list goes on. I ate something different each night. The chicken shawarma was especially delicious. Peoples reviews say that you don’t get service if you do not tip. This is intrue. ||Bar men - the bar men were lovely, especially the men during the day. The drinks are STRONG but they will accommodate to your liking. Again we didn’t tip and we still had a lot of fun and service from the bar men. They even remembered it was my birthday and wishes me happy birthday the following day. They were lovely. ||Pool - I hate a freezing pool, this was lovely. It was 30+ degrees there and a dip in the pool really helped me cool off. The pool is also huge so was good to play or do laps in. The temperature is cool enough to take the heat away but not too cold that it takes your breath away. ||Location - this hotel is 5 min drive from the local port where you can do boat trips and restaurants looking over the marina, it’s also 5 mins from the Hard Rock Cafe which we visited twice whist we were there - highly recommend visiting once at least. Staff were friendly and food was amazing. Even had live entertainment there nightly. The beach is a stone throw away and connected to the hotel. It’s a beautiful beach with white sand and clear blue water. There’s lots of water activities like banana boat, parasailing and jet skies. Pretty cheap too. We did a catamaran boat trip which was lovely where you could jump in the middle of the sea which was also pretty...

I recently stayed at El Mouradi Palace for 6 nights with a companion, and overall, I would rate the experience as below expectations for a 5-star hotel. The only features that reflect its star rating are the beautiful main building and the reception area.

The room was very outdated. The wardrobe door literally fell off during our stay, the bed covers looked at least 15 years old, and the balcony was dirty. On the positive side, the air conditioning worked perfectly, and the bed—though very firm—was comfortable with new blankets and pillows, which I personally liked.

The sea was warm and pleasant, with very little trash, and beach staff were regularly cleaning. However, many sun loungers were broken in the middle, and there were far too many vendors approaching guests every 10 minutes, which became very annoying.

Pool Area The pool itself was decent, but not ideal for families with young children. It has areas over 2 meters deep, and I, at 180 cm tall, could only stand in about 25% of it—the rest required swimming. The pool bar only offers free water, cola, Fanta, and Sprite; even ice cream is at an extra charge. Drinks are served in very small paper cups, barely enough for three sips. The area around the pool is dangerously slippery—even with rubber shoes, many people were slipping and falling on the concrete or stairs. Also, there were never enough loungers for all guests.

I do not recommend the à la carte restaurant. We went to the Italian one and it was a disaster. Dinner was scheduled for 7:00 but only began at 7:30. There were only two waiters for about 30 guests, one of whom was new and untrained. The salad and lasagna (about 200g, no vegetarian option) were just okay. The fish served as the main course was terrible—over-spiced, full of bones, and served with undercooked fries. Only the dessert was decent. Many guests ended up going back to the buffet restaurant because they were still hungry.

Most of the staff did not speak English, except at the reception. Waiters only knew the basics, and spa/cleaning staff spoke no English at all. We tried to arrange laundry for a pair of jeans and spent nearly 30 minutes searching for a housekeeper, and another 30 explaining what we needed—until a security guard finally translated it into Arabic. When we asked reception for help, they told us it was the responsibility of the housekeepers.

Be very careful with money and always negotiate taxi fares in advance—even if the taxi was called by the hotel. We were scammed once despite this. I do not recommend visiting the Medina; it’s full of aggressive sellers, some pretending to be hotel staff to lure you into buying silver “with a special discount.” I bought souvenirs at a main store with price tags and don’t regret it.

The promenade is not suitable for walks—it’s dirty, with many locals just sitting around on the sidewalks. The public beach is overcrowded and unclean. I preferred staying at the hotel’s beach, which was more peaceful.

Do not waste your money on the Ile Kuriat excursion. The boat was overcrowded, with people sitting on the floor. The island is small, with many seaweeds and rocks. The lunch provided was mediocre at best, and we only got to the island around 11 a.m. and had to start packing up by 3 p.m.—most people were ready to leave even earlier. It was the worst use of 270td.

On a more positive note, I highly recommend the spa services. Massages, pedicures, and other treatments were affordable and performed by experienced professionals.

El Mouradi Palace might look impressive from the outside, but the quality of service and facilities does not match a 5-star standard. If you're considering staying here, be prepared for outdated rooms, poor communication with staff, and limited free amenities. The beach and spa were the highlights of the trip, but overall, I...