Sofitel Agadir Royal Bay Resort

We’ve had a generally enjoyable stay at the Sofitel Royal Bay Agadir. There’s quite a lot to like about the hotel, but also several things that, particularly for a hotel at this level and price point, really need addressing. The good The hotel is nicely presented and has a very chilled, relaxed atmosphere. It certainly isn’t rowdy, which was a big positive for us. The pool area is large with plenty of sunbeds, and the staff have generally been very friendly and welcoming. Our room was cleaned every day, and we particularly liked the nightly turndown service. Coming back to find slippers placed by the bed and camomile tea ready for a good night’s sleep was a lovely touch and gave the hotel that little bit of extra luxury. Where it falls short Although attractive, parts of the hotel are starting to feel dated and in need of maintenance. Some of that maintenance was quite literally happening around us! On one occasion, somebody was painting our sunbed and the base of our sunshade while we were actually lying there. Nothing quite says relaxing afternoon by the pool like the smell of fresh paint! More concerning is the condition of the swimming pool. Tiles are coming away in numerous places, leaving loose/sharp pieces on the bottom and large areas of exposed, rough grout. This isn’t simply cosmetic and really does need addressing. Entertainment There was generally live entertainment in the evening, which was better than we’d perhaps expected. Typically, there would be a singer, followed by dancers, and then the singer would return afterwards. The whole thing probably lasted around an hour in total. It was pleasant enough and gave you something to watch while having an evening drink, although it wasn’t really a full evening’s entertainment. Some more variety from night to night would have been welcome. Our room was noisy Unfortunately, our room was in a very noisy location. Sound travelled considerably through the corridors and between floors—we could hear music, people playing pool and pretty much everything else going on above and below us. To be fair, things generally quietened down at around 11:30pm, so it wasn’t an all-night problem, but it is worth bearing in mind if you’re an early sleeper or particularly sensitive to noise. Food and breakfast We stayed bed and breakfast. The breakfast selection was OK overall, with a reasonable range to choose from, and the freshly cooked omelettes were particularly good. That said, I did have some concerns about hygiene around the uncovered food. Birds were literally sitting on the bread and cakes and pecking away at them. It might look fairly harmless, but what goes into a bird inevitably has to come out somewhere too! Personally, I avoided those sections of the buffet after seeing that. There was also the option of having an evening meal at the hotel for around £40 per person, excluding drinks, which we thought was very expensive. We chose to eat out instead and found we could have two-course meals plus drinks for the two of us for around half the price of just the hotel meals. Given the choice and the number of places to eat elsewhere, eating out represented far better value for us. Gluten-free food needs some serious thought My wife is gluten intolerant, and unfortunately this was one of the more disappointing aspects of our stay. There is a small gluten-free selection, which initially sounds positive. However, there isn’t a separate toaster or adequate separation to prevent cross-contamination, which rather defeats the purpose. We tried explaining our concerns to staff but didn’t really feel they listened to or understood the issue. If you’re going to advertise gluten-free food, there needs to be a proper process behind it—not simply gluten-free products placed alongside everything else. Very expensive food and drinks More generally, be prepared for very high prices once you’re in the resort. A can of Coke was around £4. You receive one complimentary bottle of water per person each day, but additional water is chargeable. As another example, one chicken wrap, a crumble-type dessert and two Cokes cost us approximately £32. We expected hotel/resort prices, but even allowing for that, we felt food and drinks were extremely expensive for what you actually received. Pool towels Initially, getting beach/pool towels in the morning was surprisingly difficult because the pool staff didn’t appear until mid-morning. We raised this with management and, credit where it’s due, they acted on the feedback. By around day four the situation had noticeably improved. It was good to see that when an issue was raised, something was actually done about it. Overall There’s a lot we like about the Sofitel Royal Bay. It’s clean, attractive and relaxing, with friendly staff, a lovely big pool area and some genuinely thoughtful touches such as the evening turndown service. However, there are also issues that stop it feeling as polished as it should for a hotel at this level. The deteriorating pool is probably the biggest concern, along with maintenance taking place immediately around guests, noise, the arrangements for gluten-free food and cross-contamination, hygiene around uncovered breakfast food, and very high food and drink prices. We enjoyed the chilled atmosphere and there are certainly plenty of positives. With more attention to maintenance and some of the practical details, though, this could be a considerably better hotel and a much stronger luxury experience.

An absolutely incredible stay. Arrived late at night and stayed for 7 nights. Booked 2 rooms, one ocean and pool view other room a pool view room. Both excellent rooms. The ocean and pool view the next level, walk in shower, gorgeous views.

Beds super comfy. Place spotlessly clean.

Stayed half board and it was excellent, breakfast and dinners. Ate most nights in the buffet, one night in one of the restaurants.

Food was excellent everywhere in the resort. Fresh, huge selection of different options to eat and drink.

Resort in a lovely part of Agadir, quiet.

With everything spotlessly clean, food amazing, sunbeds a plenty and very relaxing by the pool, decor inside and out is beautiful in this resort. Very chilled and just stunning. Couldn't do better, but then what made it the next level was the staff.

So many amazing staff here. Ever so caring.

Fatima at breakfast. The most incredible happiest helpful amazing person. She is a diamond. Went above and beyond and looked after the three of us incredibly well, especially my parents.

Soufiane "No Scotland No Party" and Rachid at the poolside. Ever so attentive, caring, friendly, excellent service. They went above and beyond too and looked after us all week amazingly.

Redouane in the restaurant/buffet at night was also just amazing. Really lovely, made sure food was explained and helped my parents and went above and beyond, and Lyasse (I think maybe wrong spelling, sorry!) He was brilliant in the mornings also.

There were more incredible waiting staff both morning and night.

The house keeping staff were next level also.

Especially Hajiba in the mornings in my parents room the pool and ocean view and Nadya who would be in at night.

Housekeeping on my floor was incredible also, everything spotless and daily the decorations would differ. They were all next level.

And a big thank you to the Housekeeping manager Meriem who throughout the stay asked if everything was OK and went really above and beyond for us. She has an awesome team.

Without the staff the hotel and everything is 5 stars. But the staff make it 10 stars. Especially those mentioned and the others also there.

We stayed at the International Beach Resort in Doha, Fairmont the Palm in Dubai, Bab Al Shams in the desert in Dubai.

This place, Sofitel Royal Bay Resort in Agadir wins out of the lot. Due to the staff, the service, the care, the love from them all.

Just simply amazing.

We will definitely be back.