We were a group of seven girls in our early 20s who arrived at the hotel on 7th September for a four-night stay, arriving at around 12pm. On arrival, we were greeted at the door and helped inside with our bags, which was a nice touch.
We began the check-in procedure and, as expected, were told that our rooms weren’t ready yet but would be in an hour or so. That was fine with us. We went for food and spent a couple of hours by the pool before returning to reception around 2:30pm. At this point, the reception area was absolutely swarmed with about 20 men shouting at staff in Arabic, creating a massive scene. There were no queues and no organisation at all.
After about 15 minutes, we managed to get to the front desk. It was around 2:30pm at this point, and we were told that only one out of our three rooms was ready. When we asked where our room was located, two staff members refused to tell us and instead shouted at us, saying we could “find it ourselves.” Finally, a third staff member, the manager, apologised for the situation and personally showed us to the room that was ready.
Rooms
The room itself was large and clean enough, ideal for a younger group of girls who weren’t expecting much. Unfortunately, it was missing some basics — there was no safe and no mini fridge, which, although not surprising for a dated all-inclusive hotel, is worth noting. The room also lacked plug sockets, with only two in total, so I would definitely recommend bringing an extension cord.
Our shower was also broken and not attached to the wall, but after the hassle we had already gone through just getting into the first room, we decided to just live with it. On a positive note, the air conditioning in the room was excellent and the beds were big and comfortable, which we really appreciated.
Food & Dining
Dinner is served from 6:30pm to 9pm, and I would strongly recommend getting there right when the doors open. On the first night, we went around 7:30pm, and it was absolute carnage. Guests were fighting over food and plates, and the whole experience was very stressful. On the other nights, we went early, and it was a lot better, though the later it got, the more hectic it seemed to become.
The food itself was edible but nothing special. We mostly lived off rice, salad, and pizza as we couldn’t identify much else. There is also a grill section, but the queues were very long, and many guests were extremely rude, regularly pushing in front of others.
One evening, we ate at the Hard Rock, which is only about a five-minute walk from the hotel, and we wish we had done that more often. For a starter, main, side, and two drinks each, we paid around £20 per person, and the staff there were absolutely lovely. I would definitely recommend this as an alternative for dinner.
Entertainment & Drinks
The entertainment team at the hotel was absolutely excellent and one of the best parts of the stay. They had something different on every night — dancing, singing, aerobics, a foam party, and karaoke. I would recommend heading down around 7:30pm if you want to get a good table. The schedule was well organised: kids’ disco at 8pm, entertainment at 9pm, and then the adult disco until late.
The downside was the bar. On three out of our four nights, the bar ran out of any spirits from about 9pm onwards. Luckily, we had bought vodka from the airport, so we just sat at our table with it and got mixers from the bar or bought drinks from the on-site shop, which was reasonably priced.
Staff, Safety & Guests
Most of the staff were nice enough, although many were younger male workers who tried to chat us up. It wasn’t anything overly strange, just something to be aware of.
Unfortunately, we did experience some uncomfortable situations with other guests. One night, we were followed to our room by another male guest, but security were excellent in dealing with it — they sat outside our block the entire night to put our minds at ease. On another occasion, an Algerian guest came over to us, asking if he could marry us and telling us he had been watching us for the past three nights.
Thankfully, we were in a large enough group that we still felt safe overall, but if you are a smaller pair or group of girls, I honestly don’t think this place would be safe for you. The sheer number of creepy male guests was very off-putting and affected our overall experience.
Excursions & Activities
“Mr Banana Man” at the hotel was excellent — he’s the person to go to if you want to book excursions or beach activities. We booked the pirate ship excursion through him, which cost £30 per person, and we couldn’t recommend it enough.
A bus picked us up from the hotel, and it was only a 15-minute drive to the port. The trip included a boat tour, music, dancing, singing, performances, lunch, and the chance to jump off the boat and swim. The whole thing lasted three hours, and the boat was full of people of all ages. It was honestly one of the highlights of our trip.
We also booked jet skis on the hotel’s private beach, which were only £15 each for 10 minutes. There were also lots of other activities to choose from, including parasailing, the banana boat, speedboat, and ring boat.
Housekeeping
The maid came to our room every day to freshen up and provide new towels. However, because the hotel is so unorganised, some days she wouldn’t come until about 6pm, which wasn’t ideal as we were often getting ready at that time and had to turn her away.
Another issue was that the maid wouldn’t knock before entering and would just let herself in. On two occasions, one of our friends woke up from a nap to find a man entering her room. We assumed it was a maid, but since they spoke very little English, it was hard to ask any questions or clarify what was happening.
Overall
Honestly, the hotel as a whole is okay. It is outdated and unorganised, but you get what you pay for. If you’re a family or a couple, you’d probably be more than fine staying here. We, however, had problems because we were a group of young white girls, which unfortunately attracted a lot of unwanted attention from creepy male guests.
If you’re looking for a short, budget-friendly stay and have low expectations, this hotel will do the job. We still had a good time overall, mainly thanks to the entertainment and excursions, but we wouldn’t stay here again. Personally, I’d recommend staying at one of the El Mouradi sister hotels next door, which looked much nicer for not much more money.
GB