RIU Tikida Palmeraie

"Negatives There seemed to be a lack of management at the hotel the workers seemed to have not much consideration for people in a morning who wanted a lie in or a chill. Loud cleaners in a morning talking to each other very loudly and banging the mop into the door at 7-7.30am when she cleaned the hallways everyday Loud , animated conversations around the pool by the pool/towel guys first thing in a morning when you want to chill and read before the music comes on (it’s our holiday not theirs) The Food was very similar every day. Not all foods had name cards to identify what they were, lots of food was bland like the rice (I mean we are in the country of amazing spices for F sake…add some flavour) Some times the meats were overcooked and dry , other times food was cold under the heat lamp, eggs at breakfast that are meant to be soft boiled were opened to be like water. I want to add that it wasn’t all bad, we always found something to eat and we aren’t fussy people at all, but it just needs a lot more for that 5 star experience. We did both the Italian and Moroccan à la care restaurants. The Italian was abysmal. This consisted of a smaller buffet experience of what you have in the canteen restaurants daily, pizza , pasta and the usual salad and Cous Cous . For the à la care experience you should be served your food and the food should be of higher quality, it wasn’t. The Moroccan experience was still a buffet type self serve but we did enjoy the fact we could actually try some different foods that weren’t normally served every day and it was very nice . We love to try new foods .The restaurant was more fine dining with lovely table cloths and plates (although the candles were cheap battery operated ones and it would have been nice if they were real) in both restaurants they needed music playing for a more pleasant experience. We actually ate out In Marrakech nearly every other night so we didn’t feel so disappointed at meal times . People do get up early to reserve sun loungers, we don’t mind that . You could always find a bed. There wasn’t much going off during the day , water polo , water volley ball that my kids liked were good but sometimes got out of hand with kids literally getting held under by grown men so they could get the ball, but some activities that were scheduled didn’t happen. On holiday we wanted to be treated special , on arrival there was no welcome drink . No sorry when we had to complain the room was leaking , although they did fix it promptly both times it happened. We had two rooms and my daughter’s room leaked from ceiling 3 times and black mold formed on the ceiling daily and rapidly. Sometimes it’s nice to be asked if you would like a drink , maybe around the pool but especially at lunch times , you didn’t get one unless you got up to get your own . Positives The place is always clean or being cleaned , the grounds are beautiful and well maintained . Everyone worked hard and are very friendly, especially the bar staff and animation team. They all work very hard. The animation team ask you daily if there is anything you need from them. The rooms are nice and spacious, only water and tea and coffee tho. Nothing else is given in your mini fridge . The pool was good , very clean and it was a nice temperature to cool down in. The drinks served were nice . I like a beer , red wine , sangria and the occasional cocktail. They will even make you iced coffee. This was particularly nice with a dash of almond syrup. Shows were basic , funny and the animation team always worked hard to give you a giggle . But we didn’t always watch them and chose to play cards at the main bar bar/lobby area most nights. Tips There is a free shuttle bus every day to take you to into town. Go to Marrakesh! It’s crazy but it’s amazing. Do some research and find the rooftop bars . Absolutely stunning places when the sun goes down with beautiful sunsets and amazing foods and drinks. We booked a tour guide to guide us through the marina and souks. It was really interesting and we learnt so much about Marrakesh. Also we booked a quad bike through the desert, meal and fire show that was incredible. We only paid £13 each and it was the best day . The desert is a beautiful place to watch the sun go down. We got friendly with a taxi driver that collected us from hotel one night. He gave us his WhatsApp number and we could always call him when we needed to go anywhere. He was reasonable and charged us 100 dirhams to take us and 150 collect us from Marrakesh city (more money after 8.30pm ). Will we be back ? To Morocco yes but not the hotel . We may stay in a Riad next time and enjoy all the local cuisine and culture."

"Traveled as a family of 8 early August with 2 young children and had a good time, the hotel could be much more with small improvements. The hotel grounds were amazing lovely and clean and the gardens wonderful the kids especially loved at night looking for the frogs and listening to them, we had no issues in getting a sunbed in the day and there were a lot of wasps especially dinner time ish which we got stung a couple of times Maybe this could be looked out to reduce the number of wasps and the odd cockroach we spotted but didn't have issues with these. Staff- very friendly and really helpful across the hotel and we would personally like to give a big shout out to Abdellatif and Soufane in the restaurants they really looked after us and were fantastic with the kids also and Amein I think his names is spelt from the lobby bar always attentive and constantly on the go always looked after us with drinks and snacks. Entertainment team. Some really good ones and they spoke to everyone daily and were really engaged where as some of them just walked past and didn’t interact, the Kids disco was the same every night I think this could be mixed up a bit with different songs, and the night time shows we did a couple but decided to give a miss as not entertaining for us improvements needed in this area. Food was ok as you expect from an all inclusive this could also be labelled better was repetitive at times and breakfast was always the same so got boring after a few days, the dinner and evening food was good and we did the Italian restaurant which was also good, I think they could cater bit more for children on evening meals and have a kids section which is stand alone which would prevent kids putting food back with their hands. Drinks, hit and miss as lot reviews state sometimes watered down and sometimes good few more drinks options with hand made cocktails especially in the lobby bar would make it stand out, improvements needed in this area. Rooms were clean but comfy and could tell a bit outdated and need modifications, just through wear and tear, the patio door was always hard shut and lifted up, the bathroom leaked when having a shower. Location was about 25-30 mins from airport nothing much around the hotel you could get the free bus to Marrakech note this drops you about a 10min from the soukes so bear that in mind or get a taxi at 100 dirham if getting a taxi back negotiate otherwise it’s expensive. Weather was high 30’s to early 40’s everyday dropping to about 26-29 degrees at night the heat wasn’t as I’d thought and we were ok with it. In all we had a good holiday probably won’t return as we prefer beach lifestyle but wanted try something different and experience the culture I would return to Morocco but probably try Agadir."

"Pros: beautiful nature and looked after in the hotel. The rooms are ok. Overall most staff were friendly , some were rude at the bar and arrogant entertainment staff 😅 Cons: location is not convenient, quite far from everything. Food and drinks really bad, all very cheap juices only nothing else. No fresh fruits, only old apples and cheapest oranges. Poor lunch and dinner , plus same menu daily, imagine staying for 7nights. The spa manicure is a joke. Don’t recommend."