Name: Sofitel Marrakech Palais Imperial
Price range: from £945.53pp (7 nights includes flights and transfers)

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I am outraged by the blatant racial discrimination my wife and I experienced at Sofitel Marrakech during our stay in March. As seasoned travelers, we have never encountered such deliberate bias and dismissiveness at a hotel, and I feel compelled to warn others about the unacceptable treatment we endured.

From the moment we arrived, it was clear that we were not a priority. The staff, despite being idle and available, made us wait for 30 minutes before even acknowledging our check-in. Meanwhile, a group of French white guests, who arrived after us, were immediately assisted and given rooms. To make matters worse, we were forced to wait until 3:00 PM before receiving a room, even though others were checked in well before us without delay. I understand that standard check-in time is 3 PM, but at this hotel, the color of your skin and the language you speak seem to dictate how you’re treated.

While we waited, the hotel staff offered tea to all the French-speaking white guests but completely ignored us. When we requested tea, they brushed us off, saying they would bring it soon. Fifteen minutes passed, and still nothing. We had to ask a second time before they begrudgingly served us. The staff member assisting us, Nabila, wore a forced, insincere smile but made it painfully obvious through her demeanor and body language that she had no genuine interest in helping us.

When we inquired about whether restaurants and hotels would be serving meals during Ramadan, her response was both arrogant and offensive. She dismissively said, “I don’t know, these people have various unplanned timings, and I wouldn’t know because I’m French.” The condescension in her tone was undeniable—as if being French made her superior or excused her from knowing basic information about the country where she works.

Our frustration only grew when we escalated our concerns to management. The first manager promised to investigate, yet during our entire four-day stay, no one followed up. On the day of our checkout, we spoke to another manager, only to be met with a shockingly inappropriate and offensive remark. Instead of addressing our concerns, he stared at my wife’s diamond ring and remarked, “Oh, I’m surprised you had such an experience. Given the size of your diamond ring, you should have been treated very nicely at all restaurants and hotels here.”

This was not just poor service—this was systemic racism and classism on full display. The staff at Sofitel Marrakech made it abundantly clear that they prioritize white, French-speaking guests over others. Their attitude toward non-white, non-French travelers is disgraceful, and their lack of professionalism is appalling.

I strongly urge anyone who values respect, fairness, and dignity to avoid this hotel at all costs. There are many other establishments where hospitality is extended to all guests—regardless of skin color or nationality.

And of course, if you are a white French person, by all means, stay here. They will treat you like royalty. Based on our experience, I can only assume most of these glowing reviews come from French travelers who never had to face the discrimination we did.

Deeply Discriminatory and Unacceptable Treatment – Avoid This Hotel

Lovely and beautiful experiences!!!!!!!! We had a drinks in Palace Darkom had a great time with Ilham the manager and soulaiman. Will be back for sure, 

Retired and living my best life. I enjoy the best life has to offer.
Our next trip will be in May with the girls and for sure will be in sofitel Marrakech

Palais darkom experience

A wonderful hotel luxurious and clean. Employees very professional and they addressed my needs immaculately! My room had a spectacular view of the Atlas Mountains and it was clean and luxurious. Continental breakfast with the best ingredients. Deffo worth a visit again!

Good experience

We have stayed at Sofitel Hotels before, and this must be the worst one we have ever stayed in.  We had so many issues, especially with service and housekeeping, its difficult to know where to start.

The room was a decent size and the bed was comfortable.  The lighting in the room and the bathroom was very dim and that is probably to disguise the lack of cleaning.  The room and bathroom really needed a deep clean to rid it of all the dust and dirt that had built up.  The only mirror in the bathroom that had light around it was the shaving mirror and this would not stay in place to use.  We complained about this to Guest Services for 3 days, and speaking to 4 different people before they finally sent anyone to fix it.  The door handle to the separate toilet also kept coming off in our hands which also took more than 2 days to get fixed.

On arrival there were some small bottles of shampoo and shower gel supplied, but once these were gone, they were never replaced.  The same with the 4 tea bags that were originally supplied and we used our first evening and following morning.    They were never replaced despite us asking guest services 2 or 3 times a day.  Whilst everyone was very pleasant and said they would get them sent to our room, they never materialized. Eventually on our last day they did replace the tea bags but they cleared out all the remaining coffee pods.  Apparently, you can’t have both tea and coffee choice in the rooms!  Totally ridiculous and unacceptable for this level of hotel.

We also on many occasions when we requested a bucket of ice to have a cold drink when we returned from around the pool to our room waited excessive amounts of time.  One evening it was ridiculous we had to wait 50 minutes and make numerous phone calls for it to finally arrive. We were even told they knocked but no one answered so they left it by the door. Well if they did it wasn’t our room. 

The Buffet breakfast was a nice selection, but the table service was very hit and miss depending on where you were sat and who was serving you.  Whilst some were very efficient, if we had to sit in another part of the dining room it was not so good.  One morning we had our tea, hot water and our orange juice delivered to our table, went to get our breakfast from the buffet and when we got back to our table it had been completely cleared.  It was then a battle to get cutlery, napkins, drinks brought back to us to continue our breakfast.

We did eat in The So Lounge on our first evening. The food was not very good, especially for the high price and my Pad Thai (I don’t know why they don’t serve Moroccan food ??) was like eating a bowl of salt and my husband’s mixed platter was very underwhelming.  Add to that you have to look at a menu via a QI code, which we hated, especially as it was so slow to load on our phones.  Everywhere else we went outside of the Hotel managed to supply proper menus, so why can’t a 5-star Hotel?.  
It was so bad one evening we just walked out of the bar. When you mention to staff, that they should supply proper menus, they say we are always being told this. So, it is about time management listened to the customers.

They state they have 3 outdoor pools; however, the heated pool is for top tier members of its rewards club. The second main pool is not heated so unless you have had cold water survival training it is not for you as the water was always freezing cold. (Maybe its OK in July August?) We did not see anyone using it. The third pool is for Children, however it was always full as everyone is using it because it was the only one warm enough to swim in.

The other bugbear around both of pools is although it is very pleasant with plenty of beds they are constantly playing loud music through speakers dotted all around the pool areas.  So, if you intend to just relax quietly and read there is no pool area for this.  

Overall a disappointing visit to a Sofitel, which will make us think twice about booking a Sofitel again anywhere in the world.

Disappointing for a Sofitel Hotel

The hotel Service was not up to 5 star standard. The property is aesthetically lovely and the room was also nice. I just felt the service was not great and definitely not 5 star standard. The location is great and in a very. Ice area of Marrakesh. 

Not 5* standard 

Built like a Moorish palace, the 5-star Sofitel Marrakech Palais Impérial combines oriental hospitality and French lifestyle. Its lush gardens, carved ceilings, traditional mosaics, carpets and artefacts are a great invitation to travel. Offering comfy rooms and spacious suites, this beautiful hotel promises unforgettable moments in its outdoor pools, spa, fitness center, gourmet restaurants and bars.

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Sofitel Marrakech Palais Imperial