The sole reason that we ended up in Marrakech, in Hotel Amine, was because I fell in love with the pictures I saw of the hotel online. I think they were taken a few years ago, because the hotel isn't quite as opulent or magnificent looking as they portrayed.
However, it's not as terrible as some of the reviews would have you think, either!
The lift in the main entrance wasn't working, that is true, but there was another lift around the back that could be used if you need it. The hotel itself was spotlessly clean, there were cleaners going around all the time, and they visited the rooms every day, to make up beds, replace toilet rolls/towels, empty the bin and sweep and mop. Not many of the cleaners could speak any English, but by a kind of sign language they did their best to understand what we meant.
The rooms were perfectly acceptable, with large twin beds, wardrobe, dresser, draws and bedside tables. The toilet and bathroom were clean and tidy, and hot water was available at all times. Our room had a safe where we could store our valuables for just under £2 per day, but I did hear that not all rooms have safes, although you can leave anything important at reception in their safe, free of charge. There was a heater/air conditioning that you could put on, no extra charge.
The reception staff were always friendly, all spoke English, some a little better than others, and always said hello and goodbye when we entered or left the hotel. The porters were fabulous, apologising that they couldn't carry all the cases at once ..even though we were quite happy to carry our own! When we got to the hotel, our rep had given us a sheet of excursions that we could buy, but we found that booking them through the hotel was cheaper, saving us about £80 overall. One of our excursions was a very early start, and the hallway was very dimly lit at that time down the stairs, but apart from that one time, we found it ok.
Breakfast is served from 6am until 10am, everything is replenished as it runs out, so if something isn't there when you first get down, just wait a few minutes, and it will appear. As described in other reviews, the breakfast consists of: Bread/rolls, various types of cake, cornflakes, boiled eggs, various salad options, slices of meat which were sort of liver sausage in texture, olives (olives are EVERYWHERE in Marrakech!) what I assume was goat's cheese, pancakes with syrup (not served on Sunday), tea, coffee, hot chocolate and orange juice. If you can't find something amongst that lot to eat, then you're too fussy! The waiting staff at breakfast were marvellous, even going so far as to bring my partner up his breakfast in bed on the last day, because he fancied having a lie in!
The pool was a fair size, always spotlessly clean, although not many people were taking a dip, as it was January, and the water was freezing. A few did attempt it, but didn't stay in long. Plenty of sunbeds around the pool, and if all the lounger cushions were being used, you only had to ask one of the staff, and they'd go and find one from storage. There is an outside cafe/bar by the pool, where you can order from a limited food menu, and buy soft drinks and alcohol. The pool bar was the only place where we found a surly staff member, although he did know how to smile, because he'd turn on the grin when the hotel manager was about! The rest of the staff around the pool were all lovely. Food is available until 6pm.
There is a small 'spa' where you can get yourself a massage or hammam (all over body scrub) We didn't partake, but I think the price was somewhere around £25 for an hour or two.
The same room that serves breakfast, becomes the evening restaurant, where food is served from about 7.30 until about 10pm. It's not badly priced, but you can eat for cheaper outside of the hotel. I ate twice at the hotel, once was a burger and chips, where I had to send the burger back, because it was undercooked...they whisked it away immediately and brought it back piping hot, and the 2nd time was a lemon chicken tagine, which although plentiful in vegetables, was a bit disappointing in the chicken department, just one small drumstick hidden underneath, and stuck to the bottom of the tagine. Tasty enough though!
The hotel bar inside opens from late afternoon, and stays open until 11.30pm (this may vary in Summer months) There is a variety of bottled beers (you can't find draught beer for love nor money in Marrakech, unless someone can point you in the right direction) all the usual spirits, and wine, as well as soft drinks. Alcohol is NOT cheap in Morocco, and the bottled beers work out to about £5 a pint, wine not quite as bad at about £10 per bottle, depending on what you have. Once again the bar staff were always polite and friendly, not too much English spoke, but they could work out what you wanted. The bar entertainment that we got, was a man on the Moroccan equivalent of a guitar, and singing in Arabic .. to be honest, we were always glad when it was time for him to stop
Hotel location: It's outside of the main town, but not so far that you can't walk down to any part of it, or catch the No.1 bus almost outside the hotel on the other side of the road which takes about 10 minutes to get to the Medina, and there are always plenty of taxi cabs about, but do agree a price before you get in, or make sure they put on their meters if they are a 'small' cab, otherwise they'll rob you blind if they get a chance! You will take your life in your hands crossing any road whatsoever, the Moroccan traffic light system is very different to ours, and don't think you'll be safe on what looks like a crossing, as they take no notice of that at all, so if you have children with you, make sure they are kept close at all times.
Overall, I guess I was a bit disappointed with how I thought the hotel would look, and what it actually is, but it's very clean, the staff are lovely and helpful and we had no problems at all with anything .. and before anyone thinks we must have been tipping like mad, we weren't. We gave the first porter a 20 dirham tip when he brought the cases in, one of the restaurant staff a couple of English cigarettes which he was obviously eyeing up, and I think 10 dirhams to someone else that had done something nice. I don't think the hotel is particularly great for kids, as there is very little for them to do there, but if you're not the kind of people that stay in the hotel all day, then it's perfectly acceptable as a base.
One last thing I would like to say, is treat others the way you would like to be treated, don't flounce into the place like a big 'I am'. If you treat the staff with courtesy and respect, you'll get it back in spades.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
