Nobu Hotel Marrakech

We visited Nobu Morocco twice, and unfortunately, both experiences were extremely disappointing, particularly when it came to the service and the way we were treated. First visit – evening The food, entertainment and overall ambiance were enjoyable, but the service was incredibly poor. When we first arrived, we were essentially ignored for around 30 minutes before anyone properly attended to us. Throughout the meal, it was extremely difficult to get a waiter’s attention whenever we wanted to order something or needed assistance. We were also seated near the pool, where part of the wooden flooring was visibly damaged. We witnessed another customer, as well as members of the waiting staff, trip over the damaged area several times, quite close to the pool. This seemed like a serious safety hazard that should have been addressed. What was particularly frustrating was that, towards the end of our dinner, the staff suddenly became very attentive when it came to asking for tips. We were nevertheless kind enough to leave a tip. However, when we then asked a waiter to take a photo of us after tipping, we were once again left waiting for approximately 30 minutes. Eventually, we simply gave up and left. The experience unfortunately left us feeling as though the level of attention we received was dependent on whether there was something to gain from us. Second visit – afternoon Despite our first experience, we decided to give Nobu another chance and made an afternoon reservation. When we arrived, we were initially seated at a dirty table that still had glasses and visible food stains from previous customers. Naturally, we declined to sit there. We were then directed to a seat directly in the sun, despite there being numerous apparently unattended tables in shaded areas. We raised our concerns with a waiter, who kindly moved us to a more comfortable table. We were happy with the new seating arrangement — until the hostess and manager came over and told us that we had to leave because the table had apparently been reserved for another customer. At this point, we were extremely frustrated. We had already been moved multiple times, and rather than feeling welcomed as paying customers with a reservation, we felt that we were being treated without consideration or dignity. The response we received was particularly disappointing. We were told that the restaurant had “no control over the sun.” While that may be true, the restaurant does have control over where guests are seated and could have taken reasonable steps to ensure that we were seated somewhere comfortable from the outset. What made the situation even worse was the manner in which the manager addressed us, including raising his voice in front of other customers. Being spoken to in that way was humiliating and completely inconsistent with the level of hospitality I would expect from an international luxury brand such as Nobu. We ultimately decided to leave and went to another establishment, where we had a wonderful experience and were treated with the courtesy and respect we expected. I am particularly disappointed because this was not an isolated incident — we gave Nobu Morocco a second chance after the problems we experienced during our first visit, only to encounter another very poor experience. I also want to raise a more serious concern regarding our perception of the treatment we received as Black customers. I cannot speak to the intentions of the staff, but I can speak to our experience: we felt singled out, poorly treated and made to feel unwelcome. I did not observe non-Black customers being treated in the same manner during our visits, which made the experience particularly uncomfortable and concerning. For a globally recognised brand, this was far below the standard of service and hospitality I would expect from Nobu. There are certainly aspects of the venue that are enjoyable, but good food and ambiance cannot compensate for being made to feel unwelcome or disrespected. Based on our two experiences, I would not recommend Nobu Morocco and, unfortunately, I have no intention of returning.

Wonderful staff, ready to serve at all times and in all departments. Our stay in Marrakech has been unforgettable as a whole and especially by Nobu’s team members.