The View Agadir Magically Royal Ocean

My wife and I chose The View Agadir for part of our honeymoon, expecting the level of hospitality, professionalism and attention to detail associated with a five-star hotel. Unfortunately, despite a beautiful property and some genuinely excellent members of staff, our overall experience was deeply disappointing.

I am writing this review in detail because I believe hotel management should be aware of what happened. Most of the incidents I describe below occurred in public areas and should therefore be possible to verify through the hotel’s cameras and internal records.

Arrival and honeymoon experience

Before arriving, I had informed the hotel that we were newly married and that this stay was part of our honeymoon. Communication during the booking process was relatively straightforward, and we discussed the hotel’s honeymoon offering.

On arrival, however, we had to wait approximately an additional hour and were not able to access our room until around 16:00.

When we finally entered the room, there was some chocolate and fruit waiting for us. A cake arrived later, followed separately by flowers.

The flowers were beautiful and genuinely appreciated, as were the other gestures. However, for a five-star hotel that knew in advance that guests were arriving for their honeymoon, I would have expected the room and honeymoon arrangement to be fully prepared before we entered. Having the different elements arrive gradually afterwards made the experience feel uncoordinated rather than special.

This alone would never have caused me to write a negative review. Unfortunately, what followed was considerably more serious.

Treatment by security and valet staff

On 15 August at approximately 06:00, my wife and I returned to the hotel after spending the evening out.

Already when arriving at the parking/entrance area, the attitude from security and valet staff felt uncomfortable and unwelcoming. Instead of being greeted as returning hotel guests, we felt as though we were being questioned simply for entering the property.

Our car even had a visible newlywed decoration with our names on it.

As we entered the hotel, a security employee followed us and instructed the receptionist to request identification from my wife.

We had already been checked into the hotel since the previous day. We had our room keys, provided our room number and were simply returning to our room at 06:00, exhausted after a night out.

I repeatedly asked why identification was required under these circumstances.

The receptionist tried to handle the situation professionally, but the entire process took several minutes while my wife was extremely tired. What disturbed me most was not simply the request for identification; hotels obviously have security procedures. It was the manner in which we were approached, followed and treated, despite being registered guests.

If this was a mandatory security procedure, it should have been communicated professionally, respectfully and consistently.

I expressed my dissatisfaction immediately and later raised the incident with Guest Relations, where I was told that it would be taken further.

Unfortunately, the problem was not limited to this one incident.

Repeatedly poor treatment at the entrance

Throughout our stay, the attitude from parts of the security and valet team repeatedly fell far below what I consider acceptable for a five-star property.

When a car arrives at the entrance of a luxury hotel, I expect basic hospitality: greet the guests, assist them, open the door when appropriate and take care of the vehicle professionally.

Instead, on several occasions I had to get out of the car and actively look for someone to take the key.

Staff frequently did not greet us. Some employees did, and I want to be fair about that, but far too many simply looked at us without saying anything.

A guest should not have to initiate every basic interaction.

Whether someone is staying at the hotel or simply arriving at the property, “good evening”, “welcome” or “good morning” is the absolute minimum standard of hospitality.

For the security/valet experience specifically, I would genuinely rate our experience 0/5. I cannot remember being treated this poorly at a hotel positioning itself at this level.

A particularly uncomfortable contrast

Another incident made the situation even more difficult to understand.

At approximately 05:00 on 17 August, we returned to the hotel again.

Another male guest arrived at approximately the same time accompanied by a woman whom we had seen earlier that evening at the same nightclub.

Their arrival appeared completely different from ours: assistance at the car, doors opened and a welcoming approach. They subsequently entered the hotel without the kind of uncomfortable interaction we had experienced.

Once again, nobody opened our car door. I had to seek assistance myself, and there was little or no greeting.

I cannot know the circumstances or status of other guests, nor is that my concern. My point is simply the visible inconsistency in how guests appeared to be treated.

After our previous experience of being followed and having my wife’s identification questioned despite already being registered hotel guests, witnessing such a contrasting reception was extremely uncomfortable.

Hotel security procedures should obviously exist. But they should be professional, respectful and applied consistently.

The hotel can review the entrance and reception cameras from approximately 06:00 on 14 August and 05:00 on 17 August if management wishes to understand exactly what I am describing.

Pool and beach service – outstanding

It is equally important for me to acknowledge what was excellent.

The service around the pool area and the Nazca/beach area was outstanding.

There, we finally experienced what we had expected from a five-star hotel.

The staff were attentive, friendly, proactive and genuinely interested in helping. They moved quickly, anticipated requests and created a wonderful atmosphere.

For this part of the hotel, my rating is unquestionably 5/5.

A sincere compliment to everyone working around the pool and Nazca area. They demonstrated exactly the level of hospitality that the rest of the property should aspire to.

Checkout – another missed opportunity

Our final interaction unfortunately reinforced the overall impression.

We checked out on 17 August at approximately 13:00.

There was no meaningful conversation about our stay. No genuine “How was your experience?”, “Did you enjoy your honeymoon?” or “Was everything satisfactory?”

The interaction was essentially transactional: checking whether everything was settled, completing the checkout and saying goodbye.

There was no crowd or pressure at reception that would explain the lack of engagement.

Considering that I had already raised a serious service complaint with Guest Relations during our stay, I find it particularly surprising that nobody followed up at checkout.

Again, management can review the cameras and records from approximately 13:00 on 17 August.

My overall impression

This is what makes our experience so frustrating.

The View Agadir is a beautiful hotel in a fantastic location. The pool and beach areas can absolutely deliver a five-star experience, and several employees deserve genuine praise.

But a five-star hotel is not defined only by its architecture, pool or location.

Luxury hospitality is ultimately about how guests are made to feel.

From security and valet to reception and management follow-up, the experience needs to be consistent from the moment a guest’s car enters the property until the moment that guest leaves.

For us, it was not.

What should have been a memorable part of our honeymoon instead left us feeling unwelcome and, at times, uncomfortable in the very hotel where we were paying to be guests.

We ultimately decided that this was not where we wanted to continue celebrating our honeymoon and returned to Fairmont Taghazout Bay, where our experience of five-star hospitality has been on an entirely different level.

The difference was enormous.

I am not writing this review because of one employee, one delayed room or one bad interaction. Any hotel can make a mistake.

I am writing it because we experienced a repeated pattern involving the entrance, security, valet service, reception and lack of meaningful management follow-up.

I sincerely hope the ownership and senior management of The View Agadir review these incidents, including the available CCTV footage, and ask themselves whether this is the standard they want associated with a five-star hotel.

The property itself has tremendous potential.

Unfortunately, during what should have been one of the most memorable trips of our lives, the service culture at key guest touchpoints failed to match it.

I stayed at The View with my daughter for a week and had a wonderful experience overall.

The hotel is beautiful, the rooms are spacious and comfortable, and the location is excellent. Throughout our stay, most of the staff were exceptionally friendly, professional, and genuinely focused on providing great service.

A special mention goes to the team at the pool, especially Osama. They truly understand what hospitality means and consistently went above and beyond to make guests feel welcome.

The only disappointing aspect of our stay was the reception staff in the lobby. In contrast to the rest of the hotel, they came across as arrogant and unfriendly. Having stayed at many five-star hotels around the world, I have rarely encountered this level of poor customer service at the front desk. It's unfortunate because it doesn't reflect the high standards of the hotel and detracts from an otherwise outstanding experience.

Despite this, we thoroughly enjoyed our stay and would definitely recommend this hotel. With some improvement at the reception desk, it would be close to perfect.