Iberostar Founty Beach Reviews

My husband and I recently booked a Thomas cook holiday to the Founty beach Iberostar resort in Agadir, Morocco. Having stayed in many 4* All inclusive resorts worldwide, we were shocked to find that such a beautiful hotel with enormous potential was let down by poor hygiene standards and service. Having lived abroad in Asia for two years, I am more than familiar with usual procedures of brushing teeth in bottled water, avoiding ice in drinks etc. However my husband and I were both extremely ill with sickness and diarrhoea, along with many other guests. We normally travel long haul and have never been this ill on a holiday or complained about poorly cooked food. I was still unwell for 7 days after returning home.

In our welcome meeting the Thomas cook representative, informed us that some guests had been complaining about poor food hygiene and that Thomas cook took this matter very seriously. We were assured that all food was properly cooked and given advice on how to avoid stomach upsets.

During the fortnight we were there, Iberostar representatives came over to inspect the hotel in particular the dining room. All guests were asked to fill out questionnaires after they had eaten. There had clearly been a large number of complaints forwarded to Iberostar and the intention of the representatives was obviously aimed at improving standards and finding out if people would visit an Iberostar resort again after their experience at Founty Beach. I got an A4 piece of paper from reception and submitted a full list of areas to improve on in the ballot box. My husband and I had meetings with the chefs, service manager and bar staff.

One issue we spoke to the customer services manager about was the trays of runny and uncooked scrambled eggs, which remained untouched during breakfast. We were told that the chef could cook us individual portions if we wanted to queue. He seemed unconcerned with the fact that the eggs were a cause for concern and that guests were talking about the poor quality of food. We indicated the liquidity of the eggs to the head chef by signalling him over and lifting the spoon through the eggs. He was clearly upset with his staff, which he reprimanded in front of the hotel guests.

Similar complaints were being discussed in the evening regarding the uncooked raw beef, and unusual choice of dishes including calves brains, calves foot and shin of beef. Dishes in the dining room were often unlabelled and vegetable dishes were not indicated despite mentioning this to our Thomas Cook representative who said he had asked the hotel to do it in the past. I tried to ask the chefs what the dishes contained but they walked off. Each time I thought they had gone to find an English speaking person, but I would find the chefs again and they would utter 'No understand' before walking away. This is not acceptable in a 4* resort. The lunchtime menu at the pool bar was extremely poor and did not change at all for two weeks.

As a vegetarian, I expect to encounter problems with food particularly in a country where the term vegetarian doesn't exist. However, in 4* resorts, staff are usually aware of food hygiene and the separation of using different pans and utensils for vegetable dishes etc. The Bolognese sauce that accompanied the pasta was regularly transferred via the ladle into the vegetable only sauces and due to an enormous language barrier in the dining room, they could not comprehend the fact this is bad practice. We found out during our time there that there was no food hygiene specialist within the hotel.

Service was very poor. My husband and I had usually got to our dessert course before we were offered a drink. It was blatantly apparent that female only groups were quick to be served and that couples and families were low priority. I discussed this with one of the entertainment staff who spoke fluent English. He agreed whole heartedly that it was a problem and asked me to write it down so he could translate it to those concerned. We also went through a daily ritual of trying to find a laid table and regularly went in search of cups, saucers, cutlery, salt, and pepper. Staff would notice this happening and would regularly come over and give out cups with no teaspoons or saucers. On the one night the Iberostar representatives came, we noted that service improved dramatically.

The location of the resort 'SET on the golden sand beach' was also misleading. We noted that the Thomas cook brochure had no picture of the beach in the 2nd edition brochure so we had viewed the Iberostar brochure as well. This showed pictures where it seemed possible to walk directly from the hotel's private beach into the sea. In fact, there was a split-level beach, which meant that in order to walk into the sea, you had to climb down from the private beach onto the public beach containing camels, horses hawkers, and quad bikes. The uncombed public beach full of animal faeces made it unhygienic and unsuitable for families with children.

We took the contents of the Thomas cook brochure to be reasonably accurate and as a keen windsurfer, the fact that the all-inclusive option included windsurfing and sailing as part of the package, made the holiday resort very appealing. There were however no water sports in the all-inclusive package. The only water sport available were jet bikes and these were payable at hefty prices locally.

The lack of all-inclusive options was indeed a concern for many guests. One night I ordered Bailey's from the all-inclusive menu only to find out that it was a mistake and that while it was on some bar menus it was tippexed out of others. The Thomas cook representative said he was not aware of this point. There was also no cocktail menu (very unusual for 4*) and no local brand white rum available, although you could purchase this for the same price as many of the All-inclusive drinks. Having travelled extensively, I have to say the bar menu was extremely limited. Having paid 'All inclusive' it is disappointing to see an array of drinks that are available if you want to pay extra for them. We were also discouraged from going to the hotel bar directly, and the staff would ask you to take a seat and say they would be over. This usually took at least half an hour (longer if you were a couple!)

I had also looked forward to the whirlpool, which is a lovely treat when on holiday. This has not been completed, despite looking finished and containing water! We were told that when it is completed it would not be part of the all-inclusive package.

On a positive note the entertianment staff were wonderful and organised a plethora of activities in the day time. They also spoke excellent English and were extremely helpful.

Evening entertainment was Butlin's style where the entertainment staff thought up shows. They could have benefitted from some local entertainers to supplement the programme of events.

Due to poor hygeine, I would not return to this hotel. It does however have enormous potential to improve, and the resorts itself is beautiful with well kept grounds.

Just Back from the 4* Founty Beach Hotel Agadir Morocco.

This was the first visit Gayle and I had made to Morocco following a wonderful 2 weeks in Tunisia last year also at a 4* All inclusive hotel.

Travelled with Panorama as they appeared to be the only company who would fly me direct from Manchester Airport and the flight with Astraeus was fine, no delays, bags off very quickly and onto the coach to the Hotel.

We then got a surprise as our hotel was the 1st drop and we were the only ones on a busy bus getting off, Gayle mentioned this to our rep who advised us the hotel was mainly full of French and German and she was right. Anyway as this was around 2am we checked in and went to bed having been advised that we would be collected at around 11-30 am for the meeting at another Hotel.

The Founty beach is a very new Hotel and the room we had was very good, large and with a nice Balcony, however we did not have a very nice view, so next morning we asked at reception if it would be possible to move (at some time as we realised they would be full) to a room with maybe a poolside view, at first we were advised this would not be possible as they were fully booked on that side during the length of our stay but were then advised it would be possible if we paid 25 Euros a day, this we politly declined.

We went to the meeting but after chatting decided we would not bother with any of the trips as they either contained a very long coach journey or were not very interesting to us. We did however meet up with our rep when she made her visit to the Hotel later that day and she did her best to answer one or two queries we had. I do not wish to say very much about her as during our stay she was in a car accident and had rather serious injuries which probably means she is still in Hospital, both Gayle and myself wish her a speedy and complete recovery. However I do not think she new very much about this Hotel as she had very few customers in their.

One of the things Gayle and myself very often do when first checking in is have a word with people who have been their for a while who can give you tips on things around the Hotel, and general information which are not even things you would know to ask about but can help you settle quicker, our problem here was that both my German and Gayle's French are not good so this was not an option.

I must at this stage mention the main restaurant, which we did not consider 4* in any respect, when going in we very often had to sit at a table which was not made up and wait for the waiters to get to it, also the food was quite bland and repetative, but what really worried us was that it was not always hot and we were quite worried about backteria, also the cutlery was not always properly cleaned and you could see remnants from the last outing, my wife worked in catering for many years and has the badges so she knows what she is saying so we were very selective and did our own cleaning on occasions. I am pleased to say however that apart from some minor problems we did appear to escape unscathed and did not (except on 1 Day with Gayle) have major stomach cramps.

I would also like to point out one or two things which may help if you are planning to visit this Hotel, these are things we found out later and wished we had known sooner.

1) If you would like to have clean Towels every day go to reception give your room number and hand over 200 Dirhams, they will then give you a receipt, go to the hut in front of the pool they will then give you 1 clean towel per person, at the end of the day give them back your used towel and you will receive two new ones, at the end of your stay just ask for your receipt when giving back your towels go to reception with it and you will receive your 200 Dirhams back.

2) Do not worry on all Inclusive if when ordering a drink or snack they ask for your room number and get you to sign for your order, this is only for their internal use and you will not have a bill on check out, however if you order a premium spirit or champagne that will be charged but you would have to ask for it specially. This is a truly crazy system anyway as sometimes they ask and sometimes they don't so I do not know what they achieve.

3) On our check out which had to be before noon, we asked about a courtesy room as we were not being collected before 10-30 Pm for the airport. We were advised it may be possible to keep our room for longer (for a fee of course) but did not think this necessary until we found out that the courtesy room consisted of being given a towel to shower in the Public Toilets (With just a curtain) and that was it. This is the worst I have ever known.

Please do not for a moment think it was all bad, the pool was fantastic with plenty of beds and umbrellas, and the private beach with a bar which did a barbercue every day just behind you how could you go wrong. The girls and boys in the animation team were great and worked really hard with games and entertainment all day, and then did a show every night, while this may not have been our cup of tea I am sure it gave great pleasure to many. The main bar was fine and the waiters pleasant along with the guy on the organ, who was O.K. although after two nights you had heard his repotoire.

Agadir itself was a disapointment to us with very little in the way of shops, we also found that although we are quite used to bartering they were quite rude and would snatch the goods off you if they did not think yiou were going to pay what they wanted you to ( Suited me I just came home with my cheques). We went to the Arab Market (Souk) which I enjoyed but the hassle was overpowering after a while and Gayle got quite nausious with the smells and we ended up running out, however it was quite an experience.

To sum up: The founty Beach has great potential, the location is great and the building and surrounds fine, they must however sharpen their act on the catering as I am afraid they will have a lot of complaints, I suspect in a couple of years they will ahve sorted this and will have a 1st Class 4* Hotel on their hands.

Please note that this review is based on two previous holidays to Tunisia in the last 12 months, both all inclusive, we had assumed that a 4* Iberostar Hotel opened in 2003 in Morocco was a step up from our previous 3* experience.

As we taxied towards the terminal building in Agadir the Captain of the Astraeus Air flight (very good) told us that the temperature outside was 44 Celsius and as the doors opened it was like opening an oven door.......fantastic.

We arrived at the hotel after a short 30 minute transfer from the airport at Agadir, our first impressions were fantastic. The architecture in the main reception is a real ";wow"; and the reception staff were very efficient and bags were taken straight to our rooms.

The rooms are big and well equipped with a fridge, phone, hairdryer and full bathroom. The air conditioning however is virtually non existent. We often woke up during the night and opened the balcony doors as it was cooler outside than inside with the air conditioning on full. When we queried if the air conditioning was working properly we were told that it was but it was controlled by the hotel and was only on part time.

Remember, we have been away at the height of the holiday season at the most expensive price band.

The location is very good, right on the sandy beach. The pools are extremely good. In general you cannot fault the buildings or location in any way. The staff are friendly and in most cases helpful, if a little slow with service. Make sure if you are travelling in high season and you want sun beds, get there before 7.00am otherwise you will be disappointed.

Our problems started within 24 hours when members of the group started to get severe stomach cramps and diarrhoea, within 72 hours 10 out of the 13 in our group had the problem. Diocalm and Imodium worked on a temporary basis. By the end of the first week we were all beginning to get ill again, more cramps, diarrhoea and fever, several of us remained in our rooms for days at a time. We spoke to the Thomas Cook rep about the illness and he said that this was a bug going around the whole of Agadir including the locals and that it only lasted 48 hours.

We started to notice issues of hygiene in and around the hotel that gave cause for concern. Dirty cutlery and crockery, dropped cutlery picked up and reused without a thought, cracked and chipped glasses, tepid/cold food served from Bain Marie's, raw and cooked food cross contaminated and worst of all a rotisserie chicken unit where cooked chicken was at the base and cooking chicken was above dripping juices onto the ";about to be served"; cooked chicken below.

This was now the second Tuesday of a fortnights holiday and we still had people being ill, getting a bit better and then getting ill again, mainly cramps and diarrhoea. We made an official complaint to the rep who said he would come back to us with official forms. By Thursday, we were going home the next day, we had heard nothing and asked him again. Forms appeared and we were invited to a meeting with the assistant manager. Two of us attended as requested and we made the points to him as above we were surprised that no one from Thomas Cook was there and we were astounded by his candid and frank replies. Here is what we were told -

The hotel has only one large dishwasher, a new Zanussi Industrial machine that has not been working properly, he machine is under guarantee and cannot be touched by the hotel and they have to wait 24 hours for a call out from Casablanca, this is why some things were not as clean as they should be. The hotel was suffering from being full and they had 50 temporary staff who he admitted had training issues.
He said that the hotel had been trying to recruit a food hygiene specialist in Morocco for 4 weeks now and that they could not find one, they were now widening their search to Tunisia. This was to deal with the issues that they knew they had but especially for staff training in hygiene.
He said that the rotisserie chicken complaint was not valid as the chickens were all part boiled before being placed into the unit.
We asked specifically about illness and he said that they keep very careful records from the doctor and reported illness from the reps. He said that the hotel was aware that the doctor was called about 3 times per day and that on average about 50 people per day were ill due to ";La Touristique"; (tourist tummy) he said this was normal in a hotel with 1200 guests!
Finally he advised us not to use the water even for tooth brushing, he doesn't himself as it gives him stomach cramps.

If you go to this hotel and get a problem, please go straight to the pharmacy, the lady there speaks very good English and told us that we needed stronger medicine than Imodium, we were prescribed Ercefuryl 200 and Intertrix, they have taken about three days to work but fingers crossed all seems ok now.

One last thing, the barbeque on the patio is completely unprotected and children and adults alike walk within inches of it all afternoon. Please advise any of your party to take care as I feel an accident here is inevitable this summer.

Our holiday was ruined by ill health, however, without this I think we would have had a good time and would have been able to recommend the hotel. As things stand, I would give it a miss for a couple of years whilst they sort out their teething problems and are able to cope with peak season.

Departed from Gatwick with delays. Finally arrived at midnight with no where to get a drink. Never mind though, bottled water was provided in our room.

Our room was spacious, clean and with a sea view....Fantastic. We were told the air con only worked by the hotel at certain times but if we put a card into the door card slot and keep it there at all times, the air con would be constant. We used an old AA card which we had managed to take with us and it seemed to work. Each day got hotter and found that we couldnt sit in the 2-6pm sun, instead we took ice cold drinks to our room and sat in the balcony area.

The meals were often the same thing done in different ways (I wasnt aware that cucumber could be done in so many ways....shredded, chunks, grooved with cream on etc) and we had a few occassions of uncooked food and all in turn had upset tummy's (some which continued even when returned home). We did try to speak to the Manager, as did a few others and we noticed inspectors the following day in the barbeque area testing and trying the food. The food did improve by the end of our 2 weeks but it was too late for us.

The entertainment team were absolutly fantastic and we participated every day in practically every event from the kids club, darts and water polo to the mini disco and evening entertainment. Does anyone remember the MAD ENGLISH GUY (dressed as a woman with a thong on????). We were a little dissapointed when we found there were no water sports included in the holiday when the brochure actually stated these were included. We were however, told this was due to the sea being dangerous and could invalid our insurance if taken up. Fair comment i suppose.

The swimming pools were great. The kids loved it with all their water lilos and balls etc. We probably came back rich and skinny cos there was nothing to buy and lost weight from having the runs. Setting those aside, we had a fantatic holiday...mostly credited to the room cleaners and the entertainment team...remembering Kamel inparticular who was absolutly bonkers, but we thought he was great.

Just returned after two weeks all inclusive at Founty Beach. Went with two other families, totalling 13 people in all. Hotel itself is fantastic- brand new, well built, rooms and toilets scrupulously clean. Grounds, swimming pools and beach fantastic and safe.

Weather was gorgeous, possibly too hot (44 degrees!) to start with, but we coped well (could do with more permanent shaded areas around the pool).Also, the air conditioning was not up to 4-star standards and is only switched on by the hotel from 3pm until midnight- even then it is hardly the best air conditioning we've ever come across.

The bad news is that 10 of us suffered severe stomach upsets of varying length in duration, many of us more than once. This was more than just ";la touristique"; (tourist's tummy) as the hotel manager implied when we finally had a meeting with him. Immodium had no effect at all and we resorted to attending a local pharmacy for some medication, which was some help but not a cure (we are still affected even five days after returning home).

During our stay we became somewhat obsessed with what could be causing the continued problems, and noted many hygiene-related issues around food preparation and service, any or all of which may have contributed. Official complaints have been registered over this. One possible cause which we were only warned about the day before we came home- the hotel manager (a Tunisian) told us he didn't even trust the local tap water for cleaning his teeth! A bit late for us, but do use bottled water even for this little daily chore.

Also, beware pushy cab drivers who would like you to go to the location of their choice rather than your intended destination- they always claim to know someone who can sell you something for the best price in Morocco! Stick to Plan A and insist on going where you want to go- take no nonsense from them.

All in all, this hotle has the potential to be up there with the best of them, but until they sort out food hygiene and staff issues (not enough of them and poorly trained / managed) then they will not be recommended by anyone who has hoildayed there.

We will not be returning there.