Hotel Riu Palace Tikida Taghazout

“Amazing holiday at amazing hotel but not 5*”

Just returned from a week at this wonderful hotel and wanted to give an honest review. Hotel itself - amazing! The hotel is very aesthetically pleasing. The decor and pools just look amazing. The hotel is very clean overall. I saw a few comments about the sun beds having bird poop on etc and ye… more

Just returned from a week at this wonderful hotel and wanted to give an honest review. Hotel itself - amazing! The hotel is very aesthetically pleasing. The decor and pools just look amazing. The hotel is very clean overall. I saw a few comments about the sun beds having bird poop on etc and yes that is true but the staff work very hard to make it as clean as possible and honestly I was very impressed. Rooms - the room was big and spacious. Came with all the amenities we needed such as an iron, kettle and hair dryer. Cleaned everyday, mini bar restocked every day without asking and we asked for a higher room due to comments about cockroaches on lower floors and we never had any issues which I was thankful for. Pools/sunbeds - there are a lot of sunbeds, more than enough for everyone but there are definitely sunbed wars going on. We heard that you can’t reserve your beds until 7am but people were up doing it from 5am and also paying pool staff to reserve them and then not showing up all day. We are early risers so managed to get good pool side seats with ease but if you aren’t going to rise until 10am don’t expect a pool side bed. The pools themselves were lovely, nice and cool but not too cold. Our favourite was the pool with the swim up bar. Food - I am a very fussy eater so I tend to eat the same things at all inclusive hotels but what I did eat was nice. My husband and family aren’t fussy and enjoyed the food too although they did say it was a bit samey although I find this with most all inclusive. There isn’t much for kids. My 7yr old really struggled to eat so they could definitely cater more for children. We only ate at the steak al a. Carte restaurant which was nice. Husband said the octopus was amazing. Entertainment - very poor. Four nights were cancelled due to the football which was expected but the nights it was on it wasn’t very good and didn’t start until 9.30. We ended up just playing cards in the jungle bar. The entertainment side is definitely one of the main reasons why I knocked it down from 5* to 4*. The entertainment team do work hard though all throughout the day, just the nighttime isn’t very good. Drinks - no two bars make a drink the same, in fact no two bar staff either. This is a bit annoying as you can have one lovely drink and then a bit of a nasty one. Drinks in jingle bar are definitely better though. They also don’t always give you what you want. We kept asking for a Johnny Walker and Coke which was actually specified on their menu and they kept giving us Bells. Not a massive issue but don’t advertise a drink which we can see you have and then not give it when asked for it. Other - all staff very friendly and hardworking. Gave us rooms to change in when we had a late checkout, very accommodating. There are a lot of cats around the hotel. They just wander freely and the staff don’t seem to mind. We didn’t really mind this but we didn’t pet them. If you don’t like cats this may be a bit of an issue for you. No mosquitoes around, first time I’ve not had an issue with them. The sea mist is a thing but not every day and not all day. Still warm and when that sun comes out it is HOT! I didn’t like the fact that there was no poolside snack bar or that they didn’t have ice creams/ lollies. This is something I would expect from a 5* hotel especially for the kids. And having to go to the buffet for food all the time when a quick pool side snack would have sufficed was a bit annoying to me but that’s just my personal preference. Overall an amazing holiday and an amazing hotel. Only marked down to 4* due to entertainment and lack of food for kids. Highly recommend this hotel though and it definitely does not deserve some of the very harsh reviews I have seen

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“Family holiday”

Whole party had a good trip and all though the staff where excellent. In particular the staff at the Bouba pool bar and jungle bar Overall a good hotel The hotel could maybe do with some tlc with some area needing a refresh

“Amazing place, but needs a refresh”

First of all this hotel is aesthetically amazing. Beautiful place, amazing staff, good food. My only (mild) complaints would be: Place needs a refresh - paint looks shabby, lights broken in pools and some tiles broke in the pool. Food - Food is good but can be very similar. No snack bar or ice cr… more

First of all this hotel is aesthetically amazing. Beautiful place, amazing staff, good food. My only (mild) complaints would be: Place needs a refresh - paint looks shabby, lights broken in pools and some tiles broke in the pool. Food - Food is good but can be very similar. No snack bar or ice creams available during out of hours or between meal times. Entertainment - This was good on the whole but was mainly by the animation team. We also went during the World Cup semi and final so might be why we didn’t see much more variation. Overall a brilliant place. Will be back at some point. Thanks

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“Riu International need to take urgent action or change rating of this hotel.”

We booked this trip several months ago despite some negative reviews online and took them with a pinch of salt. Booked via TUi. The last 4 years we have been to various 4/5 star all inclusive in Turkey. As my kids are 18 and 20 we booked two double rooms and the elder our daughter has Downs Syndrom… more

We booked this trip several months ago despite some negative reviews online and took them with a pinch of salt. Booked via TUi. The last 4 years we have been to various 4/5 star all inclusive in Turkey. As my kids are 18 and 20 we booked two double rooms and the elder our daughter has Downs Syndrome also. On arrival at 0145 hrs we went to rooms 4024/4025. There were 2, 2 inch long cockroaches in one room and 1 in the other. I caught them and threw them out whilst my wife and kids waited outside ( they were horrified). Then we saw the ants, lots of ants. 4024 smelled terribly of cat pop and urine too. It was unbearable but as we were all shattered we went to the bar and tried to get a drink.i was ignored by the 3 bar staff on duty whilst they served 4 others who turned up after me. I asked if I was invisible as at one point I was stood there on my own and they still didn’t serve me. The beer was flat and the cocktails absolute rubbish. once eventually lubricated we were able to just go to sleep. It transpired the smell was that outside the room were over 20 cats and kittens who had used the patio and garden area and possibly the room as their toilet. After 36 hrs we were moved to the 2 nd floor. We still had ants, the mini bar is not automatically restocked (not 5*) and the shower smelled of sewage after and during showers . For context I have virtually no sense of smell following 5 bouts of COVID and nasal surgeries and can only smell extremely strong smells. General maintenance: This hotel must have been quite something when it was first opened but it is absolutely battered. 100% of the sun loungers , umbrellas, tables and cabanas are damaged and falling apart. Chairs and furniture in bars are damaged or filthy. Tiles everywhere are broken and chipped. Ornaments are crudely stuck to shelves and tables with adhesive oozing out (zero care taken not 5*). Electrical fittings not secured with live wires exposed (even underwater pool lights hanging off below the waterline in the pools with wires exposed). Cleanliness. Rooms are not properly cleaned and communal areas are certainly not. I saw the same litter, glasses and spillages for the entire 7 day stay. The same rubbish in the lifts day after day which all the cleaners must be passing. Cats. For clarity we have cats but it is not 5* to have cats wandering freely in food areas and breeding out of control. We witnessed intact male Tom cats walk into the dining hall on 2 occasions whilst eating our breakfast and spray/urinate against soft furnishings and tables. We also saw this in the lounge. Many areas inside and out had particularly smelly seats. Drinks. One beer available (Speciale!} and really poor weak non brand alcoholic drinks. Cocktails inconsistent and varied from undrinkable sugary syrup to almost ok but so inconsistent you end up not bothering. Food. Not a massive choice but generally something for everyone. Can get repetitive. Lack of theme nights for food but we ate ok. Worst food was lunch which soon ran out and was a very sub optimal offering again cats everywhere. Beach. It’s a public beach, hotel beds were usual broken rubbish but the stray dogs, camels and horses treated it as one big toilet. There was literally excrement of one sort or another everywhere it was like walking through a minefield. They have been raking and sieving Benidorm beach for 30 yrs. They need to do this daily as it’s simply disgusting and (not 5*). Service This is difficult as I grew to really like the Moroccan people. They are very kind and were particularly respectful to my wife and disabled daughter. A tip works well as they are very poorly paid by European standards. Some staff though were clearly not meant for front of house roles. In summary, this is not a 5* hotel by world standards. It is absolutely not 5* Platinum either. It is in my view only a 3* having been a 4* before everything wore out or broke. I’m not interested in a reply from the hotel as it’s just word soup. The management know and appreciate the meaning of luxury if the number or brand new Range Rovers and Mercedes SUV s in the staff car park is anything to go by so start giving people what they pay for and improve. We had a nice holiday but that’s because we made the best of it. Would I recommend this hotel, absolutely not. Others have said they loved it etc but I suppose we are all different and have different standards but other peoples pictures are absolutely accurate so make your own mind up.

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