Hotel Argana is reputed for its excellence in family entertainment and has held onto a loyal clientele over the years. The hotel embraces you with a wide range of facilities and friendly customer service
Very friendly staff and good service makes all the difference
Review by John Klejna from Manchester on March 10, 2008 for stay during December, 2007.
Overall
Service
Room Comfort
Cleanliness
Food
Value
My 7 day holiday to Agadir was booked independently as single travellers get a very poor deal through travel agents or other tour operators. The flight over the Atlas Mountains was very exciting as they seemed to roll on for ever.
We landed at Agadir airport where a taxi was waiting, arranged in advance via the internet. I tried to exchange my travellers cheques at the airport but they were not accepted, only cash of which I had very little. This was no problem as I had an ATM card and cash handy. The rate of exchange was around 15 Dirhams to the British Pound or 11 to one Euro. The Dirham is a closed currency meaning it cannot be bought outside Morocco, only buy them when you enter Morocco; hotels, banks, cash machines etc all offer the same exchange rate as set by the Government on a Friday.
I arrived at the 4 star Hotel Argana after a 30 minute drive, the hotel and the surrounding area looked very presentable and clean. The staff were very friendly and helpful at all times. My baggage was taken up by a pleasant porter who was happy to take what small change I had in tip, you can of course give 1GBP which I think is very generous. The room had TV, bathroom, double bed and balcony overlooking the pool area. The hotel has a large swimming pool, a small one for kids, lots of loungers, secluded garden area and staff who are always on hand to help.
For the record, no tip is too small and Moroccans in general will not complain.
Located about a mile from the hotel is the beach which takes 10 minutes to reach. On the beach you can take camel rides or go horse riding or just relax on the wide and very long beach. At present this is undergoing a major transformation due to expansion of the promenade.
Breakfast is served from 6am until 10am and consists of cake, cereal, pancakes and fried egg freshly made in front of you, coffee or tea by the jug full, croissant, pan du chocolade and lots more, the breakfast area is uncrowded and has both smoking and no-smoking areas. Lunch can be got in the snack bar where you can have Tagine - steamed veg with or without meat; pastilla - a parcel of light pastry filed with chicken, nuts, couscous and other unidentifiable ingredients, it's very tasty and also very filing.
Rooms are cleaned daily and staff will fall over themselves to get everything right.
Next to the hotel is the Argana Restaurant, very clean with very friendly head waiter. The restaurant is attached to the hotel and not accessible from within but is only a short walk from the outside of the hotel. The traditional european style menu has been replaced largely by Chinese cuisine to attract more visitors, although some Med style food is available. The head chef, Mr Bing, is genuine and direct from China as some Chinese restaurants around town have no such chef and serve the most awful imitation Chinese food, one such place being the Asiatic Kim Hoa (run by Moroccans) with Irish patriotic music in the background ("Patrick was killed while fighting the British in the struggle for freedom" etc); McDonalds if you are desperate, but probably better than the Kim Hoa; Mauresque Lounge near the casino; La Scala, Le Jazz, Catanzaro, Jardin d'Eau and many others.
Agadir is very much a new city built up after the devastating earthquake of 1960. Much of what you see has been built with touism in mind, there isn't much of "real Morocco" here but it is a safe, clean place where you can walk out at night and not feel threatened, ladies as well.
Day trips can be arranged through several operators, Four Seasons Travel, Sunway, First Choice etc. A City Tour takes about 3 hours and covers old Agadir built atop a hill with a steep climb and where lots of hawkers will be waiting for you, just politely say no thank you. Also a visit into the Souk al Had where you can buy gifts, fruit, clothing etc at reasonable prices provided you go into the section where Moroccans would shop, if you buy in the tourist part you will pay a lot more; just imagine what you would be willing to pay at home. A drive around the Swiss quarter and various stops to take photographs. It was all very well arranged and only about 110Dh.
Water should only be drunk from bottles which will cost around 5Dh for 1.5L and is available from street sellers or shops. Do not drink tap water, only use it to wash with or clean your teeth.
In the surrounding area is a park, bird sanctuary, museum, gift shops, backstreet bakeries selling handmade biscuits very cheaply, the Souk al Had is a must; you can buy some really smart things here, I particulary like the wooden boxes made of aromatic Thuja wood from about 35Dh in the fixed price shops right at the back of the Souk, next to this is a traditional musical instrument shop with tabla (hand drum), nay (reed flute), mirwas (double-sided drum) and lots of others, some small enough to fit in your luggage. You will also find hat dealers but make sure they don't have "made in Bangladesh" labels in them, it's a bit disappointing.
A taxi will only cost about 10Dh to get across town, the cheapest ones are the orange Peugot types which are metered. The cream coloured Mercedes taxi's are privately run, unmetered and may cost 70Dh at the very least for a short distance. If you wish to go further, as I did, you could get a taxi to Essaouira, which is a very picturesque town on the coast with lots of shops and places to eat. This round trip cost 1000Dh for three passengers. On the way you can stop to see the famous Argan tree goats which actually climb trees to eat the nuts. The backstreet diners are great and nowhere near as expensive as one particular restaurant on the sea front which charged about 20.00GBP per head three corses. You could get far more in an Moroccan cafe/restaurant for about 2.50GBP. If eating outside of your hotel, eat only cooked food and avoid salads to be on the safe side.
I would recommend the Argana hotel to any traveller as it is clean, relatively quiet, has friendly staff who speak a multitude of languages and are not in your face or aggressive.
Anonymous said, "Arrived late due to flight delay. Were given a complimentary meal at the fish restaurant as we missed the evening meal (half board).
Hotel receptionists not very welcoming, they took passports and entry cards off us and seemed to be very unorganised, as they were trying to serve..." (further information on Hotel Argana)
melanie stadden said, "agadir is an up and coming resort there is alot of building work going on. the beach is ideal for surfers because of the breeze the sea is not clear so i only went on the beach once for a walk. the ramada les almohades hotel is run down and in need of refurbishment. lots of green h..." (further information on Hotel Argana)
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