Riad villa saphir & SPA

The bed was hard as a rock, and the walls are thin enough that we could hear everything our next-door neighbors were doing. There was no spa. Still, the room and the whole villa were beautiful, the staff friendly, and breakfast good. We really enjoyed the huge bathtub.

Lovely experience, and I’ll come back, mainly because Mohammad and Ahmad were such great guys. They helped us so much and made us feel really comfortable.

The pool and garden were clean and pretty, and the rooms spacious. One small annoyance was having no socket by the bed. Two towels were missing, and even after we asked, they still hadn’t arrived an hour later. Breakfast was alright, though it always took a long time, so plan for that. One receptionist was very friendly, while the other was less so. The second one spoke neither French nor English, which made communication harder, especially when one side wasn’t keen to make an effort. They were very friendly about making us breakfast before our 4:45am departure on the last day. All in all, a good experience, with a few things that could easily be improved.

The hotel is as beautiful as the photos, but its service didn’t meet the level I’d expect from a four-star place. We booked through the hotel website, but when we arrived they couldn’t find our reservation. The receptionist handling it seemed inept and unfriendly, with no apology or offer of a concession even though it was their mistake. One day they couldn’t serve any food, which was a problem given the remote location and lack of anywhere within walking distance to get something to eat. We also asked about the spa and were told it wasn’t available. On the plus side, one receptionist was super friendly, though ironically he worked nights, while the less friendly one was on the day shift.