I have always wanted to visit Morocco and when a friend found an amazing deal I jumped at the chance! And I dragged my brother along with me. It was an all inclusive deal with fleet way for £399- 7 nights in a luxury gold and spa resort in the coastal town of Essaouira. This included accommodation, flights, airport transfer, breakfast and dinner and spa discount. I went with three school friends, my brother and the cousin of one of my friends.
The Hotel
We stayed at Sofitel Mogador. We arrived at 3am so I couldn't really register how amazing the place was but my sleepy self was still in awe. When Christianne and I woke up 10mins before breakfast ended we didn't fully register our surroundings til we had eaten.
Oh my god. The breakfast buffet. There were pastures, pancakes, all egg varieties, cold meats, cheeses, breads, cereals, fruit, bacon, tomatoes, flavoured honey, Moroccan dried fruits and a juice bar! Also self service espresso coffee. We were waiting on, I fell in love with one of the servers who was just ridiculously lovely. He drew a star in my coffee and made great mint tea and brought us juice.
The hotel had two pools. One chlorinated and one natural. The main pool could be seen from reception was very busy and windy. It had an amazing view of the golf course and the distant coast though!
On our first day we tried to walk through the golf course to get to the beach but soon found that the course was fenced off and we were trapped. I was feeling a bit trapped in the hotel as it was so was not impressed by being fenced in, though of course it's to keep people out rather than in... I have never stayed in such luxury and was a bit overwhelmed. Everything was so comfortable and I was worried everyone would want to stay at the hotel all the time. I like to explore and keep busy when abroad so this did not appeal to me! However, I soon settled into my surroundings and found my brother and Christianne were eager to keep busy also. Christianne turned out to be my ideal travel companion as we both liked a similar balance of activity and pool time. She also joined me for early gym sessions a couple of times.
I was eager to keep gymming while away so as not to fall off track and I knew I would feel better in my bikini if I was working out. I was right, I felt good! It was lovely walking across the hotel early in the morning. The gym was in the same building as the spa which was gorgeous and tranquil, though very hot! I mostly had the gym to myself also!
We came to favour the natural pool. The wind kept me out of the pools mostly because it wasn't swelteringly hot. The natural pool was green and had slime on the walls and made my skin feel soft so it was lovely to swim in. It was also more sheltered from the wind so all together more pleasurable.
Dinner was also a buffet. An equally amazing buffet. Tagines, salads, fresh veg, grilled meat and fish, pizza, Chinese stir frys, risottos, potatoes, roasted veg, and the most incredible desserts and biscuits which we practiced zero self control with.
There were a few bars in the hotel but it was ridiculously expensive. Bottles of water were £2.80 each and we had to buy them as the tap water isn't safe there. It was £6 for a 25cl bottle of beer at one bar! We soon cottoned on and bought water from town. We also found service inconsistent at Sofitel. Sometimes we would have all the towels replaced, sometimes they would only give us one. Sometimes they gave us water in our room, sometimes not. Overall it was very enjoyable and the staff were lovely even if communication was difficult at times. The location was stunning and it was all very clean.
I can't get over how amazing the food was. I miss it so much! I did feel bad stuffing my face when the staff were observing Ramadan but Christianne and I did fast between breakfast and dinner, we just had a much later breakfast than the locals would have.
I enjoyed my luxury hotel experience very much but would like to try a Riad next time ;)
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