Kasbah Agafay Hotel & Spa

Je viens de passer 4 jours merveilleux, véritable havre de paix, l'accueil et le service étaient exceptionnels.
J'ai été choyée par Hamid et monsieur Noureddine, merci pour leur gentillesse et leur bienveillance .
Hâte de pouvoir revenir.

De authentieke sfeer, super vriendelijk personeel en alles was netjes!

EL EDIFICIO ESPECTACULAR

I felt compelled to write my first ever tripadvisor review after staying at this hotel for 2 nights in April.
We booked a two night stay at the last minute as part of a quickly constructed road trip following cancellation of our family Easter trip East (cancelled due to the Middle east conflict).
A family of 5 always means two rooms and a lot of expense but K A appealed due to the presidential tents which could comfortably sleep our family.
The website looked amazing, Hotels.Com (where we booked) gave it an ‘excellent’ rating.
We have stayed in a lot of 5 star resorts across the world, and a lot of budget resorts too. So we have a good perspective on a range of quality.
On paper KA ticked the 5 star box and we plugged in a 2 night treat towards the end of our holiday before a one night visit to a budget place in Imlil, then ending on a high at Kasbah Bab Ourika.
Having the perspective over even just this holiday, comparing Kasbah Agafay to Kasbah Bab Ourika for example, this compelled me to have to give people fair warning before booking Kasbah Agafay.
There simply was nothing 5 star about K A. alarm bells rang the moment we checked in. so much so, I quickly checked for any new reviews on Google/tripadvisor/hotels.com and this made us really nervous to be staying at this hotel after reading the most recent reviews.
- The hotel is not maintained, half of it is derelict (tennis court, garden/outdoor kitchen area, patio areas) and the gardens are not maintained despite clearly having a lot of beautiful planting from it’s history as a good hotel.
- The staff seem untrained and seem to be incentivized only to sell you dinner, excursions, cookery classes and other upsell opportunities. At no point did any staff member interact with us except to try and sell us something like a desert trip or cookery class. After reading the most recent reviews, we avoided even engaging on this and stayed clear.
- One example of this lack of service quality was the day we arrived. We wanted lunch after a long journey from Essauira. We were not provided a menu, just told that the option was ‘chicken skewers, morrocan salad and chips’. After a long wait, we ordered that, plus drinks. After around 1 hour the food and some drinks arrived. The young water spilt one of the soft drinks and after some persuasion took it away and brought a fresh one (see more on the ‘bill’ below). We waited for the remaining two drinks but they didn’t arrived so when I asked about them the staff member said other guests had been ordering desert hence the delay. Obviously wasn’t reality (we saw maximum 4 other guests in the entire hotel) and they had forgotten.
- The staff do everything possible to not show you the pricing. This strategy is all about you building a bill that is then demanded as you leave. One example of this strategy is that their menu (which of course they have to share with you eventually) shows 350MAD per person for dinner. But their chef told us it was 450MAD with tax (at this point we had already decided we were not spending another penny in this place). Even that didn’t make sense as tax seemed to be 20%. All very strange.
- Prices are unreal. For reference, the two nights we stayed there, we had the driver we had used to get us to Agafay take us out to dinner at two local places (one was Restaurant Chouf L'Or on the way to Marrakech, the other a local pizza place called La siciliana in Dar El Ain, both found on google maps and really good). The return trip cost 800MAD each time (around 80 Euros) and it was still cheaper than eating in the hotel and the food quality much better.
- The wine list had the cheaper local wine – Cuvee President – for 650MAD a bottle (around 65 Euros). The same wine in Kasbah Bab Ourika (an amazing truly 5* place) was 190MAD!
- At checkout, you feel under pressure to simply agree to the bill. I refused to do this, even for just a few pounds, as I was not willing to pay for a soft drink that the hotel waiter spilt. The response from the man at checkout was ‘we cannot remove it, the system will not let us make amendments’. I argued that that is incredulous, they must be able to correct mistakes. I said they need to resolve it and their offer was to give me another can of softdrink. What! I refused and in the end had to tell them that I was not paying for it and they had to take it off before we would pay. In the end, they agreed not to charge us for the drink that their waiter spilt but it still showed on our final invoice for some reason.
- I read one review explaining how they felt threatened and ‘extorted’. Travelling with young children, the only comfort we had was that we had arranged a driver ourselves, not via the hotel, so we could escape for evening dinner and I felt that if it kicked off at check out our local driver would step in. checkout felt slightly intimidating with more staff arriving as the discussion progressed on the spilt drink, but with our kids in the car waiting i felt comfortable pushing back.
- Breakfast was very poor, with fruit served up as 3 whole apples between five of us, plus some sliced orange. On day 3 we were served 4 egg dishes between 5 and had to ask for a 5th. Coffee was cold and disgusting. On both mornings we were there, we were the only people in the breakfast room. On the second day we asked for some water with breakfast, I pointed to a half used and obviously chilled large bottle of water on the table at the side of the dining room. The staff member instead went in the kitchen/a room off the dining room and appeared with a half drunk unchilled bottle to give us. I pointed again at the chilled water and finally was given that but instead of pouring it for the whole table, he poored one glass and took it away again! It was just very haphazard, disorganized and we just felt very uncomfortable.
- On the day we checked out I used the toilet cubicles near the pool and went to close the door to the toilet and the handle just snapped off in my hand.
- There is no ‘poolside bar’ despite it being advertised.
- there is not 2 restaurants as billed. there is one room but it isn't really a restaurant as they forced you to book food 3 hours in advance if you want to eat there.
- Wifi was intermittent and unreliable.
- Breakfast is advertised as 8-11am but i went at around 8.30 our first morning and they said it starts at 9am
- I did not see any TV in communal areas
- The rooms were very tired (see pictures) and had limited toiletries and were not clean (I found a pair of underpants belonging to a previous guest when we checked out as I checked under the bed for anything we might have left)
- Our shower head fell off the shower on day one. To be fair they did replace this, but it took 24 hours.
- We booked via Hotels.com and asked for a refund which they could only give if the hotel agreed. They refused, saying the only issue was the shower head and that was fixed.

I looked on Google earth using the historical image function when we got home to see if I could see how this hotel had evolved to what it is today. It clearly has been neglected in recent years. It clearly has once been an amazing place, but seems a lack of investment and poor/limited staff is letting it down and they are still trying to live of it's past glory. 100% avoid and go elsewhere if you truly want a 5* experience.

Location and facilities were excellent. Nice garden, room, terrace, pool etc. Staff very supportive and friendly.

An amazing Kasbah, the decoration is traditional and extremely beautiful.
The staff makes you feel home, and will ensure you get a fantastic service.
The food is next level good: best tajine ever !
Gorgeous room with very good bed. (We never sleep that good !)

Really hard to review this property as we arrived during unseasonably cold and wet weather. I can imagine that on a balmy, night, the lovely gardens, grounds and outdoor facilities are great, but not so much in the rain. There was a log fire on arrival in the Kasbah and that was nice. And the staff tried really hard.

Rien!

breakfast was simple but tasty. Location perfect for our vacation. Would have liked to stay longer. Dinner was excellent - best tagine we have had.

We could not have been happier with our stay in this unique and very special place. As it was Ramadan and early in the season, we were the only guests, which made the whole experience feel like a quiet adventure, having the place to ourselves.

We spent a lot of time by the pool and in the surrounding areas. It was early March so still a little cool, but when the sun came out it was the perfect spot to relax. The pool is not heated, which didn’t bother us in the least, coming from Ireland we’re well used to a refreshing dip!

Afternoons were spent in one of the large tents, having lunch, then stretching out on low sofas and soft cushions for a rest. The wider grounds are truly beautiful. We arrived just after an unseasonably rainy spell, so everything was lush and green. Orange trees in fragrant blossom, and all sorts of flowering plants thriving across the patios and quiet corners.

We were given a tour of the property and were particularly taken with the cookery school, set within a generous herb and vegetable garden. There is also a lovely space used for yoga retreats, and a large hammam and spa, which was closed during our stay for renovations. The ongoing care and improvement of the place is very evident, and speaks to how thoughtfully it is run.

Our room was beautiful, set beside a small riad courtyard which I imagine would be especially welcome in hotter weather. The communal spaces are many, and each one has been created with real care. Traditional textiles, antiques, and reclaimed architectural pieces such as old wooden doors and tables give a strong sense of the Kasbah’s history, while still feeling comfortable and easy to settle into. The original artwork, particularly the photography, adds another layer of interest.

We chose to have all our meals at the Kasbah over our four-day stay, and I’m very glad we did. The evenings were cool, so the staff set a table for us beside an open olive wood fire, which was both cosy and atmospheric.

Really nice staff, a very beautiful location and kasbah.

Gorgeous renovated Kasbah. Traditional stay. Enough room for all of us in the executive suite. We felt like we were living in shabby-chic luxury. Staff was excellent.

Personnel très serviable aux petits soins, sens de l'hospitalité, cadre magnifique. Possibilité d'avoir accès au sauna & hammam, piscine très jolie.

Endroit de rêve, atypique avec un accueil exceptionnel, des propriétaires et du personnel

Relaxed environment and attentive staff. Fabulous food. Just lovely authentic shabby chic Morocco

Original, très beau, pur style marocain
Piscine extraordinaire, très grande, plein de transats
Très propre
Personnel au petit soin
Le lieu pour les petits déjeuners et repas est très beau