Simon Prower

Review of Kenzi Menara Palace Marrakech

This could be a great hotel....but the first impre...

This could be a great hotel....but the first impressions are badly let down by the reality. This is the first time we genuinely feel we have been mis-sold a hotel experience. This is NOT a 4-5 Star hotel.

Most of our observations are simple to fix ..and have been highlighted by previous guests. There are basic failures here which the management are either unaware of (insufficient oversight?) or are choosing to ignore.

Check-in is advertised from 2pm. We arrived ahead of this so no problem with the initial wait as our room wasn t ready ..but we kept being sent away for another 15 minutes and eventually weren t checked in until after 3.15pm, over 75 minutes late. Not a great start to the holiday.

This was our first wedding anniversary, and my wife had (unknown to me at the time) arranged for the honeymoon treatment in our room. i.e. Flower petals on the bed, etc. This wasn t done ..but 20 minutes after we d arrived in our room a maid knocked and then started sprinkling petals on the bed right in front of us. Not a major issue but somewhat spoils the surprise!

The room was fine in many respects ..but clearly starting to show its age and a number of issues clearly being ignored by the staff ..shower hose leaking everywhere (easy fix .I tightened it!), toilet flush panel falling off the wall, etc.

The swimming pool environment was great ..can t fault it. BUT if you re not there early, they run out of towels! 3 out of 4 days we had to wait for towels as they were being recycled (washed and dried). This is sold as a 4-5 star hotel and they are running out of towels on a daily basis. The management are aware of this from previous feedback. All the staff are aware this is a daily problem. Simple fix buy another 100 towels!

Broken chairs and sunbeds....but the staff don't care!



The food in the main restaurant could be great and undoubtedly it is a good standard when it leaves the kitchen. But half of it is stone cold or luke warm!
o Food in the food warmers is simply not being kept warm, we think this is because the water trays underneath aren t being kept topped up! Previous guests have complained about the same thing, and this should be a simple fix, but is clearly ignored.
o On one evening I selected the carvery . The meat was fine (on a hot tray and under a heat lamp) .but the vegetables were completely cold, on plates with no attempt to keep them warm.
o When I commented and asked if there was any hot vegetables I was pointed to a microwave .the first 4-5 star hotel where I ve had to reheat my own food!

If you arrive at breakfast after 0930 you are greeted by all the empty tables being dirty, and no attempt to clean and relay them. And then if you ask for a table for 2 the staff look at you like you re an idiot ..there are plenty of tables empty! So you sit at an empty table and wait for them to clean up around you and then you have to chase for cutlery. And then you have to chase for more cutlery because they ve only laid half of it!!

We tried the Italian restaurant. Probably the best food of our 3 nights eating in the hotel. But still there is no attention to detail they will serve you with bread and butter but no plates. No problem, I ll just use my mobile phone as a side-plate and spill everything over the table!

There were positives .the pool environment is great, and amongst the largely disinterested staff there is the occasional star who wants to give warm and genuine customer service (e.g. Khadija in the Italian restaurant). But as experienced and regular travellers (for both work and pleasure) this is the first time we have genuinely felt we have been mis-sold in terms of the star rating of a hotel. And as mentioned above, most of these are simple fixes, which suggests that the management are ignoring the feedback, not out observing the operation, or simply don t care.