Sofitel Agadir Royalbay Resort

Sofitel Agadir Royalbay Resort details

A plush 5-star retreat, the Sofitel Agadir combines an exotic beachfront setting with a great pool scene and dining.

The Sofitel Agadir is one of those hotels you sigh over in glossy travel magazines. Stylish and intimate, it’s got all the credentials for an exotic hideaway. Take the courtyard-come-lobby, for instance. The scent of rose bushes and the tinkling of water create a Zen-like atmosphere. Add swaying palms and oversized sofas to the mix and it’s likely you’ll want to spend a lot of time here.

But delve further into the hotel and it’s just as impressive. Just past the lobby is the outside pool area. There’s a huge swimming pool, but it’s the surrounding terrace that makes the headlines. Dotted with coffee tables, hammocks and loungers that resemble four-poster beds, it’s the perfect spot for soaking up the sun. From here, a private walkway leads you to the beach – a golden sandy stretch that snakes off into the distance.

Indoors, meanwhile, the hotel mixes old and the new. In the bedrooms, traditional mahogany beds and closets are off-set against white and peppermint green walls. In terms of mod-cons, you’ll find Wi-Fi, air-conditioning and satellite TVs.

Food-wise, the main restaurant serves up huge breakfast and dinner buffets. In the mornings you can fill up on fresh fruit, cereal and cooked-to-order omelettes, while at dinnertime dishes from Europe, Morocco and Asia fill the tables. It means you can tuck into a steaming bowl of special fried rice one night and enjoy a succulent joint of lamb the next. When you want to push the boat out though, pick one of the three à la cartes. One specialises in African favourites while the other offers up gourmet French cuisine with plenty of steak and seafood on the menu.

After-dinner options are in no short supply either. Kick off the night with cocktails and live music at Lounge Bar, or keep things more low-key with a glass of wine at So Zen. Later, the hotel’s nightclub, So Fun, belts out the tunes long into the night. With its indigo colour scheme, plasma-screen TVs and bright strobe lighting, it looks the part, too.