"This is sometimes regarded as the best - and it’s certainly the priciest - resort in Agadir. And notionally five star. But my experience was the most mixed of any hotel I have stayed in recently.
First impressions are very strong. It is relatively new, beautifully designed and the rooms are spacious, with large well equipped bathrooms. A room with a sea view - even if only partial sea views and on the ground floor - is immediately inviting and special, looking over the Atlantic surf beyond the gardens. Some of the staff - such as the receptionist that dis check in - are both well trained and genuinely welcoming, with a service ethic and keen that you have a great stay and - more importantly - come back. Some of the food options are very good. The breakfast is good (although not an outstanding selection at the buffet). As other reviews have noted, the Tapas restaurant is probably the best - both in terms of menu, taste, and service.
Overall, however, it is very, very hit and miss. Some staff don’t seem to care much. It took three attempts to get a broken curtain in my room fixed. The laundry form is confusing making it seem they only offer dry cleaning or pressing and not laundry. Their service staff were clearly confused by this too. Maintenance issues took two phone calls to the service number to resolve on each of two occasions. Lots of staff lurking in corners on their phones or in back rooms.
Some standards are clearly not appropriate by international standards - for example, for the first time in my life I saw a toddler going to the toilet on a potty in a hotel reception area while her mother was talking to the receptionist! When she’d finished talking, the mother then double-bagged the ‘output’ and then put that and the potty in a tote bag and left! This was especially surprising as the toilets were less than a minute away from where they were sitting at reception.
Although there is a very good range of food and drink options, prices are high - and I mean relative to other four and five star hotels in Agadir. There are three other European hotels further up the bay where food and drink prices are significantly lower. And although the quality here is generally good, service varies enormously. The men at the ‘Beef and Reef’ restaurant were uniformly good. The woman in managerial role much less so. If you haven’t booked (even where the place is completely empty) you will be seated by her under a speaker so you can barely hear yourself think. If you dare to ask to move somewhere quieter, look out! She is absolutely the wrong person to have front of house.
A number of reviewers do comment on poor management. I noticed some of that too, especially among the men. Either absent, on their phones, talking to colleagues or disinterested. Women who appeared to be in management or lead positions were generally better, some very good - with the Beef and Reef exception. Some of the concierge staff (male) liked to chat with each other and to the bellboys outside. But the young male concierge staff who helped us check out and drove the cart back to reception was excellent and clearly knew how hospitality should work.
Housekeeping was good. I wouldn’t say very good simply because, as others have noted, it was inconsistent.
So it’s a genuinely mixed picture - and that’s a fair assessment in my opinion when hotels promote their five star status and charge these kinds of rates. Is this Fairmont good enough to stay at, staying solely within the resort paying five star prices for everything? No, because I don’t think it’s five star in terms of overall experience so it doesn’t represent good value for money at the usual rates.
But is it good enough to stay in the resort if you get a great discount on the room so the food and drink offer is cushioned and you can accept a lower service standard? Maybe. But as I said, there is competition on this bay. And it’s worth taking a look at the other (non-Accor) hotels nearby. A new Marriott will open right next door soon.
As always, when asked at checkout what I thought of my stay, I summarised my experience as mixed. No response from the receptionist. Didn’t bat an eyelid. Coincidentally, she was also the one who thought it was OK for a toddler to be potty trained at her desk!
In summary, I’d say it would be worth the price if it was consistently five star. But in my experience it’s not so the other hotels on this strip offer better value.
PostScript: Six days after checking out, the hotel was still holding a pending charge against my credit card for the full stay, despite also having taken the full amount on checkout. At one point during the week they had held THREE pending charges for the room charges against my card (triple the amount owed), significantly limiting my ability to spend. You may wish to factor this in if you do decide to stay."
A Tripadvisor traveler review
May 15, 2026
