Disappointing experience
I stayed six nights in March during the Ramadan season. Considering the price, the experience wasn't up to my expectations.
On the plus side, the hotel is beautiful, and the outdoor area (swimming pool, gardens, etc.) is impressive. The staff was generally polite and attentive, and the food was mostly good. We hired a babysitter for our toddler who was very attentive, and our daughter quickly built rapport with her, which made things easier.
On the negative side, a few things:
- The day we arrived, we were offered a 'welcome drink', which we refused because we had to put our toddler to sleep during her daily nap. Nobody ever mentioned it again or tried to re-arrange. What is more worrying is some comments mentioned this as an "onboarding" to the hotel facilities, which we never had. It took a few days to get our heads around the place. Along with the fact that the shared areas were generally "empty" during the day, it added to a sense of "confusion" about how to make the best out of our stay.
- More often than not, nobody was at either the Reception or the Concierge desks, particularly during the day (there were almost always people in the evening/night). This was quite surprising for a hotel in this category.
- The spa and the farm were closed. We were looking forward to both.
- Due to Ramadan, The Al Ain restaurant only offered a buffet at night. This was very disappointing, as we were effectively down to two options for dinner: Le Caravane and the Bar (with a somewhat limited menu). The website didn't warn about this. While it probably makes sense for someone fasting all day to have a large, copious dinner in the buffet, we pretend light dinners and paying for the buffet every other night didn't make sense
- The website clearly states children don't pay for food in selected restaurants (including Le Caravane). We went with our toddler, and she had some food (we didn't), and the waiter charged us. When we contested, he told us that the offer was only applicable if we, too, had food. We argued with him, and he said he would charge our room whether we signed the bill or not, quite arrogantly. We had to take it up with his manager, who confirmed our understanding and refunded us — quite an unsavoury experience.
- One of the days there was some kind of "Fairmonth festival". The setup was impressive, and the food in the various stalls was very good. Since all the restaurants were closed, we asked where our toddler could eat. We were told we could order room service free of charge, which we did. Unsurprisingly, the cost made it to the final bill, which we had to contest again. It was removed but left the impression that the hotel was trying to squeeze us at every opportunity.
- It was annoying that the festival music continued past 1:00 AM, which is unacceptable for a hotel.
- Breakfast was one of the best services in the hotel, with a lot of variety. One thing that wasn't great was having birds flying all over the food and sometimes even peaking on the cakes. Those birds have biological "needs", and I don't think they are civilised enough to spare the food.
- For an international hotel, quite a few staff members barely spoke English. One gets the impression that you get a sub-optimal experience unless you speak French.
All in all, I don't think I would want to come back or would recommend it to other people in my circle. I have been to similar resorts in different parts of the world (not Morocco). The staff typically gets out of their way to help you enjoy your experience since the moment you arrive, they are more visible when you need them, what you see on the website is what you get (and there aren't lots of "closed" services) and you feel you pay a premium price for a premium experience, which wasn't the case here.
Perhaps we shouldn't have gone during the Ramadan. We will never know.
Thanks.