Hotel Le Golf D’Essaouira & Spa

The only good thing I can say is that the bar was clean. The rest of the night was a letdown: the place felt lifeless, the service was poor, and it felt more like a prison than somewhere to have fun. Bodyguards kept telling us where we couldn’t stand, sit or go. The dance floor was crowded with them, and after dancing we couldn’t sit down without buying a bottle. Even taking a cigarette upstairs was a struggle with another guard. The €20 entrance fee feels steep, especially since only men pay and women enter free. We spent a lot but didn’t get the fun or good music we expected, just restrictions and an unwelcoming atmosphere. I wouldn’t recommend it for a night out.

I stayed three nights during the Moga festival. I’d hesitated to book because of Sofitel’s previous reputation, but decided to give it a chance and see what the Golf acquisition had changed. I regretted it quickly. It has the name and amenities of a 5 start hotel, the floors and elevators of a 3 star hotel, and security like a motel. At the gate, a guard mocked my friend’s name, changing “Amine” to “Amina” with a big grin. I’m fine with light jokes, but after a six-hour drive, that wasn’t welcome from a guard at an alleged 5 start hotel. On the last festival day, another guard let us through the gate, but this same guard then grabbed my sleeve violently as if I were trespassing. He doubled down instead of apologizing. I only got an apology after his boss came, and it was far too little and late. Breakfast service ends at noon, but I’ve never seen a buffet at a 5 start hotel cleared away exactly at 12:00. I tried to get O.J from the fountain after noon, and a staff member shouted in darija to a colleague to remove it ASAP, apparently thinking I wouldn’t understand. My friend and I had been away from our table for under three minutes to get the juices. We’d left full coffees, plates of food, sunglasses and cigarettes there, clearly showing it wasn’t ready to be cleared, but when we returned servers had cleared half the table. Wi-Fi was ridiculously slow and hard to get a signal for, which is a real problem in a resort with very low mobile signal and data. The spa was a joke too. I booked an overpriced massage, only for the woman at the desk to say she’d let someone else in whom she thought was me. It’s a shame that a resort with this alleged prestige provides such poor service. If you can, look elsewhere.

We drove three hours to get here, and it looked nothing like the pictures. The place is smelly, dated, run down and falling to pieces. It needs a lot of money spent on it, and rating it 5* while charging what they do feels completely out of touch. They want $200 per month for the gym, which is mouldy and outdated. When I asked if they planned to renovate, they said yes, and that it would cost even more.

The location is beautiful, but the visit didn’t live up to the name. I stopped by Sofitel Essaouira today for a coffee and a bit of a rest, and came away disappointed. Service was poor, and the coffee fell well short of what I expected from a place with this reputation. I hope they improve the quality.