I stayed at the Sofitel Jardin des Roses for a couple of nights and I really enjoyed my stay. The hotel offers multiple services and the employees are so welcoming.

I would like to convey many thanks to the very nice receptionist "Sahar" for her help and hospitality. She was so nice and escorted me to the hotel's outlets where I enjoyed lovely delicious food. Many thanks again to Sahar and I am definately looking forward to stay again at the Sofitel Jardin des Roses!

If you are into contemporary styled hotels (think Westin, W) then this is your choice in Rabat. Non-descript look on the outside but absolutely gorgeous from the inside. The rooms specially have a unique modernist look with a touch of morrocan to them. Apparently they were designed by some famous french designer. Mostly everyone in the reception area and the hotel restaurants speak english, not the housekeeping or maintenance though so brush up on your basic french (generally a good idea if you are planning on visiting Morroco).

Our flight arrived very early and we were at the hotel at 8am and expected to have to wait till noon probably to get our room but they gave us the room immediately (it might have something to do with the fact that the occupancy seemed very low). The room was very pretty albeit quite small. We got the garden view which was absolutely breathtaking (remember to ask for the garden view when you check in, waaay better than the city view).

One thing to note about the room is that the bathroom area is a very contemporary open area so the entrance door to the bathroom is full of holes (mostly holes) so you can see into the shower area very clearly from the outside. Also the commode area has an opaque glass door but not sound proof to the bedroom area. Of course if its just a couple this shouldn't be much of a concern.

That was all the good stuff, now lets open the can of worms :-) ...

1. The shower did not work and when we called were told that they would send someone immediately to fix it. After a long flight we wanted to shower get ready and start sight-seeing since we had the whole day but with the shower broken we had not choice than to wait for them to fix it. We waited and waited and waited ... for more than an hour. I called the front desk twice and was assured that they are sending someone over immediately. After waiting for more than an hour we decided to skip the shower and just head out.

While walking out I saw a manager in the reception area and I complained to him. He was extremely apologetic and came over with me to my room to see what the exact problem was. He talked to someone over the radio and assured me that it will get fixed asap. This was around 10am.

We do our sight-seeing and come back to the hotel around 3pm. When we walk into the room we see that the shower is still not fixed but the maintenance guy was obviously there cause he had left an assortment of tools lying around. Within 5 minutes of us arriving he knocked on the door. He excitedly showed me what was wrong and fixed it right in front of me. It was a missing screw which took him all of 2 minutes to hand tighten. Then he lingered around talking something in french and it was obvious that he was expecting me to tip him for fixing the shower. Which of course I didn't because I am not paying for something that is suppose to work in the first place so I just thanked him and showed him the door. (BTW, this is a theme that you will notice throughout your stay in Morroco, everyone expects to be tipped, especially for something that they are suppose to be doing in the first place).

2. We got accused for not paying the bill at the cafe in the reception area because one waiter doesn't know what the other waiter is doing. We had lunch at the lobby cafe and the waiter who initially served us brought us the check right after he served us the main course (instead of waiting till we finished) so I paid immediately, whatever. Then we proceeded to finish our lunch and noticed that some other waiter refilled our water, picked up our plates and asked about coffee and dessert. We declined and got up after a few minutes to head to our room. The waiter came running behind us, caught up with us near the elevators and started talking to us in french in an annoyed tone about the bill. I mentioned that we had already paid and she insisted that we hadn't. Unfortunately she didn't know any English so it was hard to explain to her something that she should've already known. Luckily another waiter came running towards her in a couple of minutes and told her that we indeed had paid. Then she seemed satisfied and told us that its OK. No apology just it's OK??!?!? What the heck does that mean, as if it was somehow our fault. I thought that was extremely rude. Again, let me point out to you ... this is a 5 star hotel.

3. Minor issue but there were no coffee pods in the room so I had to ask for them. But the good thing is that the coffee machine is the krueger style and the coffee is amazing.

4. Check-out took long (40mins at the counter) because their credit-card machines/network was not working.

Final thoughts .... after travelling extensively in Morroco for 6 days I realized that the issue of service is prevalent everywhere so this might not be a Sofitel Rabat issue but a malaise that generally exists in the morrocan society!

The beautiful gardens and pool at the Sofitel Rabat supplement its primary function as the best business hotel in Rabat. The staff are well-trained and anxious to try out their English and their ability to help. But don't assume that your needs can be understood without proper explanation, as there is still a "maybe" quality to what is promised. Dine on choice fish poolside and stroll the grounds, but don't skip restaurants away from the hotel.

Stayed here a couple times during a recent one month business trip to Morocco as I needed a place for my colleagues and I to have meetings in reasonable surroundings. Can't fault the rooms although you can't help have the feeling that most of the fixtures and fittings are not quire what they seem - fairly cheapish and not destined for the long term. Rather a bizarre array of light swiches in the room which I was never able to work out and a swivel desk near the window which was not that comfy to sit and work on. Room didn't include breakfast so if you wanted to eat downstairs in the restaurant it would set you back about £25. On the occasions that I did venture down the buffet never had any meat of any sort - no bacon, nothing. Only eggs and some assorted vegetables which seemed like leftovers from the previous evenings dinner buffet. Prices in general in all the restaurants & bars were really expensive and with little choice. Due to the location of the hotel (middle of nowhere) you can't walk out the door to nearby stores so you are stuck unless you have a driver to take you (which we did) to supermarkets from time to time. Taxis are also impossble to hire either from the hotel or in the street so this is not the place if you are a tourist. The staff tried hard but are sadly underapid, tired and frustrated (at least the ones I talked to). All in all its rather an uninspiring and expensive place to stay and a touch disappointing for what you get. With a 33cl bottle of beer costing £5 you get the drift.