Riu Palace Tikida Agadir

A big beach hotel, refreshed in 2025

The Riu Palace Tikida Agadir opened in 2012 on the seafront of the tourist zone, on Chemin des Dunes. It belongs to the partnership between the Spanish chain RIU and the Moroccan Tikida group, founded in 1968, which together run six hotels in Morocco: three around Agadir (this one, its neighbour the Riu Tikida Dunas, and the Riu Tikida Beach), two in Marrakesh and one in Taghazout Bay.

The hotel reopened in early 2025 after a renovation covering the rooms, public areas, restaurants and entertainment. It now has 456 rooms. All have a shower; the suites also have a bathtub. The former lounge bar has become a theatre with a large stage, table service and an opening onto the terrace.

This is a large hotel designed for week-long stays: 24-hour all-inclusive, daytime activities, shows and live music in the evening, and a kids' club. In March the hotel requires a five-night minimum stay.

Days between the beach and the pools

Only the seafront promenade separates the hotel from Agadir beach. On the sand there is a reserved area for guests, with free sun loungers and parasols.

There are three outdoor pools set in gardens, including the main pool, heated in winter, and a children's pool. A heated indoor pool completes the set for cooler days; it closes in summer. From December to March, when the sea stays below 18 °C, these two heated pools are where children actually swim.

For exercise: a gym for guests aged 18 and over, RIU Fit group classes, and two clay tennis courts at the neighbouring Riu Tikida Dunas. The spa offers massages, beauty treatments and a hammam.

Five restaurants, fixed sittings

The all-inclusive plan covers five restaurants, two of them à la carte with two evening sittings. Times are local:

• Le Santal, the main buffet with live cooking: breakfast 7.30 to 10.30 am, dinner 7 to 10.30 pm. Its terrace has been extended and covered with a retractable pergola.
• Krystal, fine dining with fusion touches: dinner in two sittings, 6.30–8.30 pm and 8.30–10.30 pm.
• Marrakech, Moroccan à la carte: dinner in two sittings, 7–8.30 pm and 9–10.30 pm.
• The snack restaurant, a buffet by day (late breakfast 10 am to noon, lunch 12.30 to 3.30 pm, afternoon snacks 4 to 5.30 pm), which turns into a grill, the Steak House, in the evening.
• Pepe's Food, a daytime grill by the pools, noon to 6.30 pm.

The bars work the same way: a swim-up bar, the Lobby Bar, the Plaza Bar terrace, a 24-hour sports bar with big screens, and the Capuchino café for pastries.

Our advice: both à la carte restaurants run in sittings. With young children, the first sitting (6.30 pm at Krystal, 7 pm at Marrakech) fits better with bedtime.

Which room for a family

Most rooms have a balcony or terrace; for a family, the choice depends on how much privacy you want. The two-bedroom family room puts a door between parents and children, connecting rooms give everyone their own bathroom, and the Junior Suite is enough for a couple with one child.

On ages: from 13, a child is charged as an adult; a cot is provided free up to age 1 on request, and the hotel does not offer extra beds. Choose a room that sleeps everyone when you book.

Sabaro's view

Who it suits: families with children, grandparents travelling with grandchildren, couples who want an all-inclusive on the beach.

Strengths: the beach a few steps away, with a reserved area; a heated indoor pool for winter; five restaurants to vary a week's meals; a Booking.com score of 8.2/10 from more than 1,500 reviews.

Good to know: this is a very large, lively hotel where you book your à la carte dinners; the indoor pool closes in summer; the gym is off limits to under-18s.