Morocco With Young Children — An Honest Review

Hyatt Place Taghazout Bay | May Half Term | Three Kids Under Five

 

Let me be upfront about something. I am a luxury family travel specialist. I book holidays for a living. I research resorts obsessively, and I have strong opinions about what makes a family holiday actually work versus what just looks good in photos.

So when I say Morocco surprised me, genuinely surprised me, that means something.

We stayed at the Hyatt Place Taghazout Bay in May half term with three children. Our eldest was five, our middle was two, and our youngest was nine months old. Not a trip for the faint-hearted, as my husband pointed out approximately eleven times before we left.

Here is what actually happened.

 

Why Taghazout and Not Marrakech?

 

Most people thinking about Morocco with children think Marrakech. I get it. It is iconic, it is on every travel list, it has the riads and the souks and the drama.

But Marrakech with children under five in May heat is a different conversation. The medina is intense, the streets are not buggy-friendly, and the pace is relentless.

Taghazout Bay sits on the Atlantic coast, about 20 minutes north of Agadir. It is a purpose-built resort area with wide open space, sea air and a completely different energy. Calmer. More manageable. Still Morocco … but Morocco on a slightly lower setting.

 

The Hyatt Place Taghazout Bay — What To Expect

 

The Hyatt Place is a clean, modern, well-run hotel right within the Taghazout Bay development. It is not a five-star resort with seventeen pools and a waterpark. It is not that kind of holiday.

What it is is genuinely lovely. The rooms are spacious and well-designed. The pool area is calm and manageable with young children. The staff are (and I am not exaggerating here) some of the kindest, most attentive people I have encountered in a hotel with children. They remembered names. They brought things before we asked. They treated our children like they were actually welcome rather than a tolerated inconvenience.

There is a basic kids club that our eldest attended for an hour a day. It was simple rather than elaborate. No animation team, no entertainment programme, no scheduled activities every forty-five minutes.

For us, this turned out to be the point.

 

The Unexpected Thing Nobody Told Us

 

I expected to miss the big resort infrastructure. I expected to feel slightly at sea without a kids club to fall back on. What actually happened was the opposite.

Without the constant pull of activities and entertainment, we sat around the dinner table and actually talked to our children. We played with them. We were present in a way that a busy resort with scheduled entertainment quietly works against.

It was, genuinely, one of the most relaxed holidays we have had since having children. The pace was slower. The evenings were unhurried. The kids were calm because we were calm.

 

Morocco was warm and welcoming in a way I had not expected with young children. Nobody made us feel like we were in the wrong place. People went out of their way to help, to smile at the children, to make us feel comfortable. It caught me off guard and it was one of the things I came home talking about most.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Kasbah views are worth the drive. The kids thought it was brilliant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What We Did Beyond the Hotel

 

The Kasbah viewpoint above Agadir is a short drive from the resort and the views over the bay and the city are genuinely dramatic. Worth doing, even with a toddler. Especially with a toddler, actually, because children find ancient ruins endlessly interesting.

The fishing harbour and local beach nearby gave us a completely different side of Morocco.

Agadir itself is easy to navigate with children and felt comfortable and safe throughout. The souk is worth a morning — chaotic, colourful and the kind of place where children's eyes go wide. We managed it with a buggy, just about.

 

The Food Situation: What I Would Do Differently

 

We did half board, which included breakfast and dinner at the hotel. The food was good, genuinely good, not just fine for a hotel restaurant. The breakfast spread was excellent, and dinner was well-executed every evening.

If I were doing it again, I would switch to bed and breakfast only.

Not because the hotel food was lacking. But because eating out for lunch gave us a completely different experience, local restaurants, fresh fish, the rhythm of Morocco rather than the bubble of a resort, and I wished we had more of that in the evenings too.

The hotel location within the Taghazout Bay development means you are a short distance from some excellent restaurants. Next time, we will make more use of them.

 

The Practical Things Worth Knowing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flights: Agadir has its own airport (Al Massira), about 35 minutes from Taghazout Bay. Easy Jet and Ryanair both fly direct from multiple UK airports. Flight time is approximately three and a half hours. Very manageable with young children.

Best time to go: May half term worked well. The heat was warm without being oppressive - mid-twenties most days. July and August would be significantly hotter and busier.

The beach: Taghazout Bay has a beach but it is an Atlantic beach, which means waves and surf rather than calm, sheltered swimming. Fine for older children and brilliant for adults. For very young children or non-swimmers, the hotel pool is the better option.

Buggy-friendliness: The resort development itself is very manageable. Agadir city centre is doable but the souk requires a bit of patience.

The vibe: This is not a party destination. It is a surf destination that has grown into a resort area. The energy is chilled, the pace is relaxed and the clientele reflects that.

 

Would We Go Back?

We have already rebooked. That is the most honest review I can give. We went, we were pleasantly surprised at every turn, we came home more relaxed than we arrived, and we immediately looked at dates to go back.

Morocco with children under five is absolutely doable. Taghazout Bay makes it straightforward. The Hyatt Place makes it genuinely lovely.

If you are considering Morocco for a family holiday and want to talk through what would work best for your family's ages, travel style and budget, I am happy to help. This is exactly the kind of decision I help families get right.

 Get in touch at www.letsgo-travel.co.uk

 

*Jenny Willcock is a luxury family travel specialist and founder of Lets Go Travel. She travels regularly with her three children and books family holidays across Europe, the Middle East and beyond.*