Sofitel Agadir Thalassa Sea & Spa

A hotel built for thalassotherapy

The Sofitel Agadir Thalassa Sea & Spa opened in 2012 on the Bay of Palms, in the Founty district, about 2 km from the city centre. It is the second Sofitel on the bay, next to the Sofitel Agadir Royal Bay Resort. The Moroccan architect Jamal Lamiri Alaoui designed the buildings and the French designer Didier Rey the interiors; the hotel has since been renovated.

Its reason for being is the Thalassa Sea & Spa institute, the Accor group's thalassotherapy brand (treatments based on seawater). The rooms, the private beach and the gardens are arranged around it. The Sofitel is the only 5-star hotel in Agadir in Sabaro's selection built on this model.

The institute: what to know

The wellness area is organised into five parts:

• treatments: 25 treatment rooms, including a duo room and two seaweed-wrap rooms, a jet shower, an Iyashi Dome (a Japanese infrared sauna) and two seawater hydromassage baths;
• the marine circuit: a heated seawater pool on four levels, with jet circuits and varied temperatures, a cryotherapy (cold plunge) pool, water beds and a relaxation room facing the sea;
• the hammam, with two scrub rooms;
• the gym, renovated and equipped with Technogym machines, plus a shaded terrace in the garden for yoga, Pilates and meditation;
• beauty treatments, using the Thalassa Sea & Skin (marine ingredients), Themae (tea-based) and Nectarome ranges.

Our advice: treatments are charged on top of the room; for a wellness-focused stay, book them together with the room so the appointments fit your days.

A day at the hotel

Breakfast is a buffet of Moroccan and international dishes. The day is then spent between the private beach and the two outdoor pools, one of them heated all year.

There are four places to eat and drink:

• Le Market, on a terrace above the pool and the beach, world cuisine made with local produce;
• Côté Piscine, the pool bar, healthy food in a Japanese garden;
• La Plage, feet in the sand, Mediterranean fish and seafood;
• Le Corail, a tapas bar facing the Atlantic, for evening cocktails.

Every Saturday from 12.30 to 4 pm local time, a seaside brunch brings together a seafood buffet, salads and pastries, with live music; booking is required.

For the more active, the hotel's water-sports centre offers paddleboarding, bodyboarding and surfing, and there is a tennis court, a padel court and a pétanque pitch. The hotel has banned single-use plastic from its rooms and public areas.

Which room to choose

The range runs from the Superior room to the villa. The choice is mainly about the view. On the garden side, the Superior and Deluxe rooms offer quiet on a gentler budget; on the pool and sea side, or with a partial view in the Prestige rooms, you see the ocean from your room. The suites all have a terrace, and the Opéra Suite a panoramic sea view; the Villa Prestige, with two bedrooms, access to the private beach and a heated pool, sleeps a family or two couples.

For a wellness programme, a suite with a garden-side terrace keeps things calm between treatments; for a beach holiday, the sea view is worth the extra.

With children

The Petit Prince kids' club, inspired by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's book, offers games, creative activities and adventures. The family offer gives 50% off an adjacent room for the children, with breakfast and late check-out.

Sabaro's view

Who it suits: couples and travellers on a wellness programme; families who want a beach hotel with a kids' club, without an all-inclusive plan.

Strengths: the 25-room institute and its four-level marine circuit; the private beach; the Saturday brunch; a Tripadvisor score of 4.5/5 from more than 4,500 reviews.

Good to know: with 173 rooms this is a large beach hotel; treatments and programmes are charged on top of the room.