Hotel Riu Tikida Palmeraie review: "A low-fuss all-inclusive base with easy access to central Marrakech"

Hotel Riu Tikida Palmeraie | Check availability at Booking.com or TUI

My verdict

We’d originally booked to return to Dubai this summer, where our eldest was born. Then a few powerful men in the world decided they couldn’t agree to disagree, so we moved that booking to next year and, in a fairly dramatic holiday pivot, ended up landing in Morocco instead. Not quite the holiday-planning process I’d recommend, but there we are.

I’m glad plans changed. Morocco gave us a new country and a new city to explore together, rather than a repeat of somewhere we already knew. Marrakech felt different: busy, colourful and occasionally chaotic, with enough going on to tempt us away from the safety of the buffet and swimming pool.

Hotel Riu Tikida Palmeraie made a very easy base for that first family visit. The rooms are spacious, the children’s facilities are good and most of the staff are exceptionally warm and attentive. We could spend a low-effort day beside the pool, then take the hotel shuttle into the Medina when we fancied seeing more than the inside of the resort.

The main entrance to Hotel Riu Tikida Palmeraie, around 40 minutes from Marrakech airport.

The repetitive food, sunlounger politics and unhelpful reception staff stopped it from feeling like an unequivocal five-star experience. Still, it got the important things right: functioning air conditioning, enough space for four people, happy children and straightforward access to Marrakech. During a 47°C heatwave, frankly, the air conditioning alone was doing some fairly heavy lifting.

Would I recommend it? Yes, with a few caveats. It suits families who want the reassurance and convenience of an all-inclusive resort but still intend to explore the city. If you want polished luxury, faultless service and endless dining choices, this probably isn’t it. 

If you want a comfortable base where the children are entertained and somebody keeps bringing you coffee, it makes a convincing case for itself.

How we tested Hotel Riu Tikida Palmeraie

We visited Hotel Riu Tikida Palmeraie for 11 nights during the second half of July 2026. Marrakech happened to be experiencing a rather cosy heatwave at the time, with temperatures reaching 47°C.

This wasn’t a press trip. We booked and paid for the family holiday ourselves through easyJet. We’re a family of four: two working parents and two primary-school-aged children who really need to get better at carrying their own luggage. Our boys were six and four when we travelled.

The spacious main lobby has plenty of seating, which came in handy while we waited for our room.

We stayed on an all-inclusive basis in a standard double room with twin beds and a sofa bed that our DC shared. We ate in the hotel restaurants, used the pools and kids’ club, watched the evening entertainment and travelled into the Medina twice.

Where in Marrakech is Hotel Riu Tikida Palmeraie?

The hotel sits just outside central Marrakech. It took us around 20 minutes to reach the Medina using the hotel’s free shuttle bus, while the journey from the airport took roughly 40 minutes.

We booked private transfers between the airport and hotel in both directions through easyJet. It cost more than joining a coach transfer, but being able to leave without waiting for a coachload of other passengers was considerably easier with two children in tow.

Reception, the ATM and the hotel gift shop are all located just off the main lobby.

I liked the location. We had the space and facilities of a resort, but Marrakech itself was still within easy reach. We booked the shuttle through the RIU app, which was straightforward and removed one potential source of faff.

Uber was also very easy to use for journeys to and from the hotel. Our existing account worked as normal so long as we had mobile data. Local taxis were considerably cheaper, understandably, but with two children in tow we preferred being able to see our driver’s details, track their ETA and know roughly when we’d arrive. Sometimes paying a little more to remove another holiday unknown is money well spent.

Staying in an all-inclusive resort can sometimes leave you feeling as though you could be anywhere in the world. I didn’t want to travel to Morocco only to spend the entire holiday beside the buffet, so having easy access to the city mattered to us.

Check-in and checkout at Hotel Riu Tikida Palmerai

We arrived before midday, fully expecting our room to be ready. That was probably a little ignorant of us, although previous package holidays and convenient flight times had perhaps lulled us into a false sense of security.

Check-in at Hotel Riu Tikida Palmeraie is at 3pm. There was a bar where we could sit with our all-inclusive drinks and a deck of cards, but a relaxing post-flight nap wasn’t on the cards. I later met another family who had arrived at 8am and also had to wait until 3pm. Now that would have really annoyed me... The silver lining is you have access to the restaurants and facilities until your room is ready.

Finding ways to entertain two children while waiting for check-in. Standard family-holiday behaviour.

Our own wait was only 90 minutes or so, but the check-in time hadn’t been made especially clear before we travelled. If you have an early flight, pack your swimming things and anything else you’ll need in your hand luggage. Don’t assume you’ll be able to get straight into your room.

Standard checkout is at 11am. We paid 650 Moroccan dirhams to keep our room until 4pm, which made our final day considerably easier. Late checkout was subject to availability, however, and reception would only confirm it 24 hours before departure. It took a fair bit of persuasion to arrange ours, so I wouldn’t rely on it as a certainty.

Hotel Riu Tikida Palmerai: what are the rooms like?

Our standard room was much more spacious than I expected. With twin beds for us and a sofa bed shared by the children, I’d worried that four people and 11 nights’ worth of belongings would leave us climbing over one another. In reality, there was plenty of room.

The room was clean and tiled throughout. Most importantly during the heatwave, it had effective air conditioning and a large ceiling fan that helped move the cooler air around.

The twin beds were comfortable too. We have a super king at home, but pushing the twins together still gave us enough space to not touch each other and sleep comfortably. 

The standard room comfortably accommodated two adults and two children, with twin beds and a sofa bed.

Our private balcony was another big plus. Nobody could see directly into it, so we could sit outside with a morning coffee or an evening drink after the children had gone to sleep.

The bathroom was spot on. Its walk-in shower worked particularly well for our boys, who are now old enough to wash their own hair and bodies without much help. Storage was generous, with wardrobes and a table providing ample space for four people’s belongings.

There were plenty of plug sockets too, including USB ports. A small thing until four people arrive with several devices and the collective charging requirements of a branch of Currys.

Housekeeping was consistently good. Towels, bedding, bottled water and other essentials were replenished daily.

The rooms are spread across several blocks and we stayed on the first floor of block one. I was glad we’d requested an upstairs room. We had visits from a cricket and a gecko, but other guests staying on the ground floor told us they’d had cockroaches in their rooms. Though I suspect that’s largely due to the small gaps beneath the bedroom doors… 

What are the Hotel Riu Tikida Palmerai’s grounds like?

The grounds looked exactly as I’d hoped: Moroccan-inspired landscaping, well-maintained paths and plenty of attractive planting. Despite the resort’s size, we found it easy to navigate.

The only significant maintenance work we saw happened on our final day, when staff had dug up a small area of tiling and grass beside the pool. Otherwise, the gardens and shared outdoor areas looked well cared for throughout our stay.

The landscaped grounds were attractive, well maintained and easy enough for the children to navigate.

The pools were a little less polished in places. The indoor pool had the cleanliness level of your local council swimming pool, complete with a clump of hair spotted beside the water. It still provided welcome relief from the heat, but nobody was confusing it with a pristine spa retreat.

Some of the lights around the main pool also came loose from the side of the pool at times. Neither issue ruined our stay, but they did take a little shine off the hotel’s four-star presentation.

What are the pools and sun loungers like at Hotel Riu Tikida Palmerai?

Ah, an important question. Getting a prime sun lounger beside the main pool required more commitment than we were prepared to give it. We weren’t desperate to sunbathe, mainly because holidays with young children don’t tend to involve much lying down, so we usually just needed somewhere to leave our towels and belongings.

The main pool looks wonderfully peaceful before the daily sunlounger negotiations begin.

Only once did my husband secure the coveted spot beside the shallow ledge where the boys wanted to play. He achieved this by putting our towels out at 11.30pm the night before. Apparently this is a known trick once staff have cleaned the pool area and are less likely to remove them. A bit sad, really, when you think about it. We did it once to stop the nagging from our DC who wanted to spend a day by the big pool. Didn’t do it again! 

Instead, we spent most of our time beside the two children’s pools. These sit inside a fenced area next to the kids’ club, but they aren’t part of the club and parents can use the surrounding loungers freely. Lots of guests seemed not to realise this, so we often had the area largely to ourselves.

There’s plenty of room in the main pool, although it can become busy during the day.

There isn’t an adults-only pool. The main pool can get lively, so if your children are old enough to sit still and entertain themselves while you enjoy a bit of peace, you might find it too busy at times. This isn’t really the hotel for a silent swim and an undisturbed chapter of your book.

The great thing with this place is that you can bring your own inflatables to use in the pools. The hotel gift shop sold them, but the choice wasn’t great and they cost more than buying them at home. I’d order some cheaply from Amazon and pack them in your suitcase instead. The entertainment team will inflate them when you arrive, saving you from passing out beside the pool with a half-blown crocodile in your hands.

We weren’t too bothered about prime sunloungers, but the boys had firm opinions about where they wanted to swim.

We took a shark and a croc, then passed them on to a family we’d befriended before heading home. That’s an unofficial holiday rule, surely. 

In the kids’ pools, our DC could play safely together while we sat in the sun and actually relaxed on a family holiday. Imagine. There was even a shaded playground nearby that they could play in while still in sight. 

What activities are available at Hotel Riu Tikida Palmeraie?

Most of the daytime activity centred on the pools. There were organised pool classes, adult activities and RIU Fit sessions, although taking part in energetic exercise during a heatwave wasn’t high on my personal agenda.

The hotel also has an indoor pool and spa. We used the indoor pool on one particularly hot day and it was a lifesaver. We didn’t try the spa or gym, but my husband reported that the gym had a “decent selection of weights and machines”.

Evening entertainment included a children’s disco followed by a main show every night.

There’s a tennis court, live entertainment and evening shows. We also spotted an art club, although it never appeared to be open during our stay, which became one of the hotel’s smaller mysteries for us. 

Evening entertainment took place every night. The children’s disco started at around 8.30pm, followed by the main show at 9.30pm. A highlight of our holiday was watching England beat France in the World Cup - in a room surrounded by French tourists. 

What amenities are available for children at Hotel Riu Tikida Palmerai?

The Mini RIU kids’ club is next to the baby and children’s pools. This was only the second hotel kids’ club we’d ever used, so leaving the boys somewhere unfamiliar in a new country felt slightly nerve-racking. It turned out I was being daft.

The quieter children’s pool was our best discovery. They played safely while we actually sat down for once.
We set up our towels beside the children’s pool, immediately outside the club. The staff knew where we were if either child needed us, which made the whole thing feel much less daunting.

The kids’ club staff were lovely, although they appeared to be members of the hotel’s entertainment team rather than dedicated childcare professionals. That’s worth knowing if you’re expecting a more formal nursery-style setup.

The covered playground provided some much-needed shade when temperatures climbed.

There’s also the covered playground mentioned above. The shade and breeze made it particularly welcome when the temperature climbed, and the nightly children’s disco gave the boys something to look forward to after dinner. Though, at 8.30pm, this might be a little late for some children.

What’s the food like at Hotel Riu Tikida Palmerai?

The food was generally good quality, but the selection became repetitive over an 11-night stay. There was plenty of Moroccan food, plus dependable child-friendly options such as pizza and chips, but not a huge amount in between.

Breakfast included the usual continental choices, with bread, cheese, deli meats and cooked options. One major advantage of the all-inclusive setup was that food seemed to be available for most of the day. If we slept through breakfast, pancakes and other snacks bridged the gap until lunch.

The poolside terrace hosted daytime music and activities, although energetic participation wasn’t high on my heatwave agenda.

The same applied in the afternoon, when snacks were served at the poolside restaurant between lunch and dinner. This was particularly useful with young children, who tend not to respect internationally agreed mealtimes.

The hotel has Italian and Moroccan specialty restaurants. Both need to be reserved via the RIU app, but guests aren’t limited to one visit per stay. We could return as often as we liked and neither restaurant appeared particularly full while we were there.

The themed restaurants made a pleasant change, but both operated more like buffets than traditional à la carte restaurants.

I should clarify that they’re not à la carte restaurants, though. Both operated more like themed buffets and offered food similar to the selection in the main restaurant. They made a pleasant change, but don’t expect a lengthy menu and silver service.

On days when we couldn’t be bothered getting the children dried, dressed and emotionally prepared for lunch, we could collect plates from the poolside buffet and take them back to our loungers. Chips beside the children’s pool hit differently, particularly when the alternative is a poolside tantrum while trying to get them dressed again while damp.

Hotel Riu Tikida Palmerai: what are the drinks like?

Drinks were plentiful, although the alcoholic options were rather weak throughout the resort. My husband conducted some important holiday research and calculated that five of the small beers amounted to roughly one pint.

During our stay, we enjoyed cold beverages primarily from the entertainment room, the lobby bar and also the terrace bar. We didn’t spend too much time near the poolside bar, but it is a second option if you want to avoid queuing for a beverage. 

We overheard other guests complaining, but it didn’t bother us. We were travelling with two young children and were quite happy drinking slowly without becoming accidentally plastered beside the paddling pool. Responsible parents and all that.

Where can you buy snacks and supplies while staying at Hotel Riu Tikida Palmerai?

Naturally, as Brits, we also wanted to know where we could buy extra snacks and a few bottles for the room. All-inclusive or not, balcony drinks after the children have gone to sleep are always on the agenda for us.

The hotel’s gift shop sold emergency essentials such as toiletries, crisps and pop, along with souvenirs, clothing and children’s inflatables. It was also, as you’d expect, overpriced. When guests don’t have many other convenient options, prices have a funny habit of wandering upwards. It’s useful in a crisis, but be prepared to pay more.

The view outside our room door - can you spot my husband lugging a suitcase full of water and snacks back?

If you’d rather not blow the day’s budget in the gift shop, there’s a petrol station around a 15-minute walk from the hotel. I wouldn’t recommend taking children. The route follows a main road with cars, bikes and the occasional donkey flying past, so it isn’t exactly a relaxing family stroll.

If you’d rather avoid the walk altogether, there’s also a supermarket, KFC and McDonald’s a short taxi ride from the hotel. Handy for a bigger restock or when everyone has reached their personal limit with the buffet.

If you or your spouse don’t mind slightly risking your life in the name of reasonably priced snacks, it’s a handy place to stock up on bottled water, crisps, biscuits and the usual holiday supplies in one go. Take a small suitcase. That’s my tip. It sounds ridiculous right up until you’re carrying the entire haul back to the hotel.

Is Hotel Riu Tikida Palmerai noisy at night?

Our room was very quiet, possibly because of its location. We could sometimes hear music drifting across the resort while sitting on the balcony, but it was never loud enough to bother us or wake the children.

We did acquire a cricket house guest, which set up home beneath an empty suitcase. That led to an entertaining 20 minutes spent locating it and kindly escorting it out of the room.

One of the hotel’s outdoor seating areas, with plenty of space for a drink away from the pool.

Hotel Riu Tikida Palmerai: things to do nearby with children

We travelled into the Medina twice with our six- and four-year-old and returned with both children, all limbs and all belongings intact. I’m counting that as a success.

We also booked a hot-air-balloon excursion with the help of Debbie at Yalla Go Travel. Having Debbie arrange it took some of the faff out of organising a rather more ambitious family outing.

Our hot-air-balloon trip was an early start, a little nerve-racking and completely worth it.

We also visited M Avenue. If you’re familiar with the UAE, it’ll feel instantly familiar, with a much more modern side of Marrakech on show. It’s also home to the Pestana CR7 Marrakech, the hotel created through Cristiano Ronaldo’s partnership with Pestana. One for the football fans, or anyone who enjoys pointing at a building and announcing who owns it.

Marrakech with young children requires a bit more planning and a little extra wit about you, but it’s doable. I’d avoid taking a pushchair into the Medina if possible. Its narrow lanes are shared by pedestrians, bicycles and fast-moving mopeds, so a baby carrier or toddler backpack would be much easier to manage.

We tackled the Medina with a six-year-old and a four-year-old and returned with everyone, and everything, intact.

We taught our children to say “la” for no and “shukran” for thank you. That helped them respond politely to persistent sellers without looking at us every few seconds.

We visited at around 10am and found the Medina calmer and more manageable earlier in the day - we avoided it entirely later on in the day and nighttime. It was also cooler, although “cooler” was doing a lot of work during a 47°C heatwave. As much as I would have liked to see it at night, the UNESCO World Heritage Site Jemma Al F’na with young children at night wasn’t top of the list for me during this trip. Maybe when they’re 16 years old. 

Is Marrakech family-friendly?

Yes and no. If you stay entirely inside an all-inclusive resort, it’s very easy. You’ll find pools, food, entertainment and children’s activities in one place. The downside is that you could be almost anywhere.

I prefer to make some effort to explore the local culture and history, regardless of how young the children are. Marrakech can feel intense, particularly in the Medina, but we managed it with a six-year-old and a four-year-old.

Watching Jemaa el-Fnaa from above proved considerably calmer than navigating it at ground level.

Go early, keep children close and stay alert to bikes and mopeds. If your child can’t walk far, bring a carrier rather than a pushchair. 

A good local guide also takes some of the stress out of navigating the city with children - but make sure you research ahead and book a reputable guide. You’ll be hounded by ‘tour guides’ once you step off the shuttle bus, so if you’re wanting one, plan and book ahead. 

What are the staff and service like at Hotel Riu Tikida Palmerai?

The restaurant, bar and entertainment staff were among the best parts of our stay. They were friendly and attentive with us, but just as importantly, they were lovely with the children.

By our third day, the waiters knew our usual breakfast drinks. Coffee, milk and apple juice would appear at the table without us having to ask. It was the sort of thoughtful, personal service that made the hotel feel much warmer.

Unfortunately, our experiences with reception were very different. Staff there could be unhelpful and occasionally rude, particularly when we tried to arrange a late checkout.

This became more serious when our youngest jumped from the bed and split his chin on the tiled floor. We called reception asking for medical help, but a language mix-up meant that a maintenance worker arrived around 15 minutes later carrying an ice pack.

My husband eventually spoke to the hotel’s on-call doctor by phone and, thankfully, we avoided a hospital visit. Still, reception’s response during an already stressful incident was far from reassuring.

We’d researched local services before travelling and had saved the contact details of someone who could collect and deliver pharmacy items, supermarket items and takeaway food. That preparation proved unexpectedly useful when he brought us medical supplies (steri-strips and antibac spray) and a much-needed McDonald’s.

What about food allergies?

We didn’t travel with any food allergies, so I can’t judge the hotel’s allergy procedures from personal experience. 

However, looking at the buffet layout and labelling, I did wonder how comfortably someone with coeliac disease or a serious allergy would manage. 

I’d contact the hotel directly before booking rather than assuming the buffet would be suitable.

The main buffet offered plenty of choice, although dishes started to feel repetitive during an 11-night stay.

Good to know before travelling to Marrakech

• We drank bottled water throughout our stay, both in the resort and while exploring.

• If you want help planning local trips or getting around Marrakech, I highly recommend speaking to Debbie at Yalla Go Travel. Having a trusted local contact made exploring with two young children feel considerably less daunting.

• Med Amine’s delivery service (+212 699-828837) is another contact worth saving. He collects and delivers fast food, pharmacy items and groceries around Marrakech. After our youngest split his chin, he brought us the pharmacy supplies we needed and a much-needed McDonald’s. A kind man providing an extremely useful service when leaving the hotel is the last thing you fancy doing.

• The hotel has several Facebook groups where you can ask questions with fellow guests - I found this one particularly useful. 

• It’s also worth saving details for an English-speaking or international hospital before travelling, particularly if you’re visiting with children. Nobody plans for a split chin on holiday, but children do enjoy keeping things interesting.

Final verdict on Hotel Riu Tikida Palmeraie

Hotel Riu Tikida Palmeraie gave us the easy family holiday we needed, with enough access to Marrakech to stop the trip feeling like 11 days in an anonymous resort.

Our room was spacious, comfortable and properly air-conditioned. The children enjoyed the pools, kids’ club and evening entertainment, while the friendly restaurant and bar staff made a real effort with all four of us.

The repetitive food, main-pool sun lounger scramble and poor reception service prevent me from giving it five stars. The handling of our son’s accident was particularly disappointing and showed that communication could fall apart when we needed help quickly.

Even so, the good outweighed the bad. For families who want a low-fuss all-inclusive base with easy access to central Marrakech, I’d give Hotel Riu Tikida Palmeraie four out of five stars. I also highly recommend a hot air balloon during your stay if you’re brave enough! 

About the author 

Rebecca Roberts is a Leeds-based writer and editor at Mumsnet. She commissions, writes and edits the sort of no-nonsense content parents actually need. While typically focused on lifestyle and home, she’s a mum of two young children - making her well equipped to try out trips on behalf of Mumsnet. 

Plus, as a mum herself, she’s very familiar with the reality of travelling with small kids - including the logistics, the snacks, the “where’s the nearest loo?” and the question of whether something is genuinely worth the money. She looks at places through a practical parent lens: what makes the stay easier, what’s good for kids, what’s bearable for adults, and what you’ll wish you’d known before you booked.

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