Iberostar Waves Club Palmeraie Marrakech

“Very good!”

Lovely hotel - very clean & tidy. Staff were excellant Food different every day and plenty of choice Entertainment great Book the resturant for 1 night if your on all inclusive Try the Trapeze!! Free shuttle bus to city centre was great but please be aware it's a good 20 min walk!! And you will … more

Lovely hotel - very clean & tidy. Staff were excellant Food different every day and plenty of choice Entertainment great Book the resturant for 1 night if your on all inclusive Try the Trapeze!! Free shuttle bus to city centre was great but please be aware it's a good 20 min walk!! And you will need google maps when you get off bus and traffic is a nightmare!! We did Waterfall trip (long drive but worth it!!) DO NOT book horse riding through hotel - although horses looked well, tack wasn't fit for purpose, no hats offered etc

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“A Mixed Experience: good value, but big compromises required”

Overall Experience We chose this hotel because it had a high rating and a good standard, but at a slightly lower price. We expected there to be some compromises, and that is exactly what we experienced. Overall, our stay was a mixed bag. This is a busy, enthusiastic, and often noisy hotel. It is fa… more

Overall Experience We chose this hotel because it had a high rating and a good standard, but at a slightly lower price. We expected there to be some compromises, and that is exactly what we experienced. Overall, our stay was a mixed bag. This is a busy, enthusiastic, and often noisy hotel. It is fantastic for some, but it is not a relaxed or quiet space. Arrival, Reception, and Shops Check-in was very personable. The staff bring you drinks and encourage you to sit down and relax. Reception staff were very friendly and helpful throughout our entire stay, except when it came to issues with the towels. They gladly helped us book taxis, arranged the free shuttle bus, and answered general questions. The hotel shops are well-stocked and feature great examples of local crafts. The prices are fair and not overpriced compared to the artisan market in Marrakech. You might be able to get items cheaper if you haggle in the souks, but the shops on-site are a good option. The Pool Towel System To get a pool towel, you must pay a 100 dirham deposit per towel. This gets you a card, which you exchange at the towel hut on the grounds. You can exchange used towels for fresh ones anytime during the hut's opening hours. At the end of your stay, you must swap the towel for the card, and then return the card to reception to get your cash back. This system has flaws. The towel hut has limited opening hours, meaning if you arrive before or after it is open, you cannot get a towel. We also had to return our towels the day before we left, essentially losing two hours in the pool on our last day. Furthermore, we had two towels stolen from around the pool while we were swimming, even though we clearly had our belongings on top of them. The hotel does not consider this their responsibility, so we lost our deposit money. Be very mindful if you use your towel to hold your sunbed during meals, as towels do get taken. Pools and Sunbeds The pools are gorgeous. We mostly used the main pool, which was clean and clear throughout our stay. It felt cool at first, but it was very pleasant for escaping the heat. The pool is built on a gradient, which allows swimmers of all ages, heights, and abilities to find a comfortable depth. It also has easily accessible stairs and handrails. There is an adults-only pool which is quieter and calmer. The children's splash pool features a slide and a giant water bucket, which is a fun way for kids to cool down. However, half of the splash pool was not working during our stay. Sunbeds are plentiful across all the pools. We woke up early before breakfast (largely due to poor sleep) and spent time relaxing on the beds. Even on days when we went out on excursions, we never struggled to find a sunbed when we returned. Daytime Activities, Kids Club, and Evening Entertainment There is daytime entertainment around the pool, including water polo, aqua aerobics, music, and dancing. The kids' play area is surrounded by shady trees, so children can use it even on the hottest days. It is part of a come-and-go kids' club where children can interact with the staff as they please. The club offers table football, arts and crafts, and real tortoises. However, the children's disco takes place at 4:00 or 4:30 PM on certain days. This did not make sense to us, as it meant the children had to leave the pool early, and it left them with no entertainment options in the evening. The main evening entertainment takes place on the upper level and is only accessible by a large staircase. It starts at 9:00 or 9:30 PM every night, lasts for about two hours, and has a different theme each night. It is extremely loud. If you request a pool-view room, be aware that you will be directly opposite this noise. We did not attend the entertainment because it was too late for the children, and it was simply too loud for the adults who stayed up to enjoy. Bars, Drinks, and Table Service Throughout the hotel, including at meal times, the pool, and the bars, there is little to no table service. We occasionally saw a small number of specific guests receiving table service, but it was not consistent or available to anyone else. We did not receive table service at any point. The bar by the restaurant is fine, and it is the only bar available all day. The indoor bar area has no air conditioning. There is also a pool bar open during pool hours, and an event bar open from 9:30 PM to 11:30 PM during the evening shows. The bars are generally understaffed, usually with only one staff member working. In the evenings, this resulted in long waits. Drinks consisted of what you would expect: local spirits, tea, coffee, and soft drinks. The pool bar serves fizzy drinks, water, and hot drinks, though the hot drink machine was inconsistent. The staff will make basic cocktails or provide spirits for you to mix with the fizzy drinks from the machine. There was a flat fruit juice dispenser, but it only worked for half a day on our first day. There are no other flat soft drinks available at the pool bar. Food, Dining, and Allergies For guests without allergies or dietary restrictions, it is easy to find a good range of options, and the food is well-made and tasty. Breakfast included local and international hot foods, eggs, vegetables, and a cold section with pastries, fruit, cereals, cheeses, and meats. There was a self-serve bread station with crusty rolls, loaves, and baguettes available at every meal. The omelette station is fantastic, and the omelettes are fresh and worth the wait. The fresh pancakes were also especially good with the local amlou. There is only a single, rotating toaster oven for the entire breakfast service. It is kept on a low setting, meaning you have to put a slice of bread through 4 to 6 times to toast it, which creates a queue. Lunch offered two options: the buffet or a snack van next to the pool. The buffet featured soup, local and international options, freshly cooked meat to order, various potatoes and vegetables, and extensive salads. Dinner was similar to lunch but offered more complex salads and different main meals. Both meals had a good selection of desserts, including ice cream, fruit, pastries, and cakes. The snack van served basic burgers and chips at lunchtime, and waffles and pancakes in the afternoon. There are no alternative options here. The food was tasty, and they provided a good range of both sweet and savoury sauces. The restaurant only serves hot drinks, water, and fruit juice at breakfast. At lunch and dinner, you can only get fizzy drinks, beer, wine, and water. There are no fruit juices or hot drinks during these later meals, though each night features a specialty local drink, such as mint tea. All drinks are self-service. Getting a beer at lunch and dinner was extremely difficult. The tap was technically working, but it poured pure froth most of the time. We had three former bar and pub workers in our group, and even we struggled with it every day. We travelled with two vegetarians and one child with a dairy allergy. Managing food was extremely difficult and potentially dangerous. Mislabelling was a major issue at all meals—we even found seafood in items marked as vegan. Please be vigilant and question the staff about ingredients. At breakfast, despite being promised alternative milks, none were available. Thankfully, we brought our own. We also brought our own pre-packed sweet waffles from home to ensure our child had safe snacks at the pool. Water Stations and Hydration There is no bottled water available anywhere on the property. Instead, there are water machines located regularly throughout the hotel corridors, and there are water fountains in various areas. In your room, you are provided with a glass decanter and two glasses to fill at the stations. This is a great initiative to reduce plastic waste. However, this makes bringing your own refillable drinking bottles an absolute necessity, and you must bring your own cleaning equipment (a sponge and washing-up liquid) from home to wash them. Rooms and Comfort The rooms are a mixed bag. They are beautiful, well-appointed, feature lovely local design elements, and are exceptionally clean. We were very impressed with the housekeeping staff. However, the rooms are quite worn. It was disappointing to see multiple cracks, dents, and missing tiles that had simply been patched or painted over instead of properly fixed. The handles on our wardrobe and window shutters regularly fell off because they had shorn off their bases. The worst part of the stay was the beds. We use a firm mattress at home, but these were solid and lumpy, with rigid edges and a severe dip in the middle that caused you to roll to the center no matter what. Our entire party struggled with comfort and poor sleep, and we all ended up in pain by the end of the week. One evening, our bed actually collapsed. When we moved the mattress, we found that all the wooden slats had been installed upside down, which may have contributed to the severe dip. If the hotel changes one thing, they need to update the beds. Grounds and Staff The staff throughout the hotel were wonderful. They were always lovely, pleasant to talk to, said hello, and offered support. It created a really lovely atmosphere. The hotel grounds are beautiful, featuring well-kept gardens and a lovely pond with terrapins and fish. There are peacocks, tortoises, and cats roaming around the grounds, but they never bothered the guests. Key Tips for Future Guests * The beds are an issue: If you have any back pain or struggle with sleep, seriously consider this before booking. * Bring reusable bottles and cleaning supplies: Water bottles, a sponge, and washing-up liquid are an absolute must for every guest due to the water fountain system. * Take your own pool towels: Save yourself the deposit fee and the hassle of the towel hut opening hours. * Be careful with allergies: Mislabelling is common. Be aware of your dietary requirements and do not rely strictly on the buffet signs. * Expect a lively environment: This is a busy, enthusiastic, and often noisy hotel.

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“Iberostar Waves - very good.”

Overall we were very happy with our 7 day stay. The room was clean, the air conditioning effective, even a little aggressive, and everything was as it should be. The food was excellent and plenty of choice (including vegetarian and vegan) and the Jawhara restaurant (one visit per week which needs t… more

Overall we were very happy with our 7 day stay. The room was clean, the air conditioning effective, even a little aggressive, and everything was as it should be. The food was excellent and plenty of choice (including vegetarian and vegan) and the Jawhara restaurant (one visit per week which needs to be pre booked) surpassed itself. The facilities were very good with a broad range of activities- tennis, volleyball, petonque, table tennis, pool stuff etc. So please take the following as a guide not criticism. The spa is well worth a visit and seemed reasonably priced by European standards. The gym is small but very good. The staff are helpful although if you speak a little French it helps. There are two swimming pools- the main one was quite crowded and we went in June. This is where you will have to go if you have children as the other is adults only. WiFi: this is patchy and seems to time you out after a while. Almost impossible at times in crowded areas. However, this is clearly a double edged sword- I need to use it a lot for work but if you are trying to get kids off their screens it may be ideal! I bought a data bolt in from o2 but it didn't work as they do not have a relationship with the local phone company. Building work: there was a lot of this going on including drilling around the adults pool which was occasionally noisy. 6 out of our 7 days we were subjected to intrusive drilling, hammering and workmen around the adult pool. We were not informed of any works being carried out and it dawned on us on the last day they were clearly expecting a conference or head office visit hence why they were doing the work. It was more than your general routine touch ups! We were told this was the off season which was odd as 90% of the guests were Europeans - mainly French and British and French. They were even painting outside our balcony at 10 pm. Food: although we said excellent, the choice for children was limited but this could be because few were there in June. School holiday time could be different but basically pasta, burgers, chips & nuggets. Desserts were limited. There were few queues but if the hotel was packed they could do with a few more staff. Beverages- this was our only gripe. Non alcoholic beverages were limited to soft drinks despite alcohol free beer like Heineken Zero being available in most other countries. Excursions - several available from local service providers in the main foyer plus golf. However, if you just want to see local things such as the Medina, Bahia Palace and Koutoubia Mosque it's easier to do it DIY via the hotel shuttle bus which is daily and punctual, bookable a day in advance. All three can be done in a morning. Things like camel rides and quad biking are available but having been to North Africa & the Middle East before we didn't do them this time. Late check out: we had a late return flight so paid £29 for this. It's worth it if available although cash was requested so we suspect it goes into the staff slush fund! Clientele: if like us you prefer not to be surrounded by Brits or more particularly English then this is ideal as they are in a minority behind the French. Although those that there were seemed to conform to national stereotypes. Activities: I think the hotel could do more to promote these without pestering people non stop. You have to ask for information and this also applies to meal times. Some were at odd times of the day - e.g. aerobics at 4 pm in peak temperatures.

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“Mugging in marrakesh”

Hotel lovely. Food great. Beautiful grounds rooms a little dated. Free shuttle to marakesh parks too far away leaving customers very vulnerable. We got mugged by a guy on motorbike and all our possessions taken. However this wasn't the worst thing. The marakesh police did nothing. 7 trips to differ… more

Hotel lovely. Food great. Beautiful grounds rooms a little dated. Free shuttle to marakesh parks too far away leaving customers very vulnerable. We got mugged by a guy on motorbike and all our possessions taken. However this wasn't the worst thing. The marakesh police did nothing. 7 trips to different police stations being refused assistance and help. Although the incident happened on a busy road with plenty of cctv not one police officer was willing to help. We will never return to Morocco which is sad as up until this point we really enjoyed it.

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