Hyatt Regency Casablanca in Morocco [In-Depth Hotel Review]

This is one of my favorite hotels in Africa, and possibly in the entire world. It’s not the newest property and could use some renovations in a few areas. However, the hotel shines in service and little extras — like literally rolling out the red carpet.

The employees and breakfast keep drawing me back. It’s also in an extremely convenient location, has comfortable rooms, and I’ve never had a bad experience during my 4 previous visits.

This became my fifth stay at the Hyatt Regency Casablanca — all within the past 3 years.

I spent 2 nights here in early July 2023, received a complimentary upgrade, and had another positive experience. Here’s what it was like.

Booking

The Hyatt Regency Casablanca is a Category 3 property. Thus, you’ll pay anywhere from 9,000 to 15,000 points per night, based on World of Hyatt’s peak and off-peak calendar.

During my stay, the hotel was using standard pricing, so I paid 12,000 points per night for a 2-night stay.

The nightly cash price was $307. This gave me a redemption value of nearly 2.56 cents per point — well above the average value of World of Hyatt points.

It’s also possible to book this hotel with a Category 1-4 free night award. You can receive these in a few ways: World of Hyatt Milestone Rewards, the Brand Explorer perk, or through The World of Hyatt Credit Card. Cardholders can earn a Category 1-4 free night certificate each year on their account anniversary and can earn another by spending $15,000 on their card within a calendar year.

Location

The Hyatt Regency Casablanca is located near the United Nations Square (Place des Nations Unis) in central Casablanca. It’s also a few blocks from Casa Port train station, offering direct trains to the airport and locations throughout Morocco. One-way tickets cost 42 MAD (~$4.25) for the 45-minute ride to Casa Port.

While the hotel is close to the train station and can be walkable, it’s not simple if you’re touting a lot of luggage or even a large roller bag. You’ll likely have difficulty lifting over the multiple railings at the cross streets. If you’re in this situation, a 5-minute taxi is probably the better option.

If you arrive in Casablanca after 10 p.m. and before 5 a.m., taking the train from the airport isn’t an option. You’ll need a taxi to the hotel. Unfortunately, you should expect price gouging late at night and will likely pay over 200 MAD (~$20), but this could go much higher, depending on your negotiations with the driver.

Uber isn’t available, though Careem works the same and is used in Casablanca. Unfortunately, drivers near the airport can be sparse late at night.

The hotel’s location puts it right in the middle of numerous shops, cafes, currency exchange offices, restaurants, and bars. It’s also just across the street from numerous tram stops, allowing you to reach countless points in Casablanca via public transportation.

An always-present line of taxis outside also can take you anywhere you want to go. Hotel staff regularly help passengers negotiate prices and destinations when there’s a language barrier.

Checking In

I arrived at 2:30 a.m., weary from a long day. From the bellhop at the front door to the employee at the desk, employees greeted me with warm smiles without overdoing it. There’s a fine balance to being friendly with tired people, and I think they nailed it.

I never fail to appreciate the fact this hotel still has an actual red carpet to welcome guests. It makes a great first impression.

Hot Tip:

For those looking to avoid steps, there’s a ramp located to the left of the entrance. It’s just beyond the frame of the photo showing the red carpet.

And the bright, marble lobby lets you know that this hotel aims for greatness.

The desk agent said the hotel had been expecting me and thanked me for visiting once again. “As you’re probably tired and have been here before” was a great way to shorten the check-in process.

The agent wrote the most important information on a piece of paper: breakfast hours, what floor the Regency Club is on, and the password for the events and meetings Wi-Fi network (the hotel provides this to elites as a way to get a better internet connection, rather than using the public network).

He asked if I wanted help taking my belongings to my room, but I declined. The night manager came to greet me by name and thank me for my continued visits to the hotel, but none of these gestures were belabored. It struck a perfect balance between saying “thanks” and allowing me to get to my desired destination: the bed.

Elite Benefits

As a World of Hyatt Globalist (the top tier), I’m eligible for numerous perks on stays across Hyatt’s brands. These include 30% bonus points on paid stays, waived resort fees on paid stays (other tiers only get this on award reservations), upgrades at check-in (including suites), 4 p.m. late checkout, the ability to make Guest of Honor bookings, and access to either a Club or free breakfast, which varies by property.

Some hotels do better than others in honoring these benefits. During my stay, the Hyatt Regency Casablanca provided a confirmed upgrade to a suite, which I saw in the app before arriving at the hotel. I also got access to the Club (plus the ability to get free breakfast in the main restaurant) and late checkout. Other benefits, such as points earnings on paid stays and resort fees, didn’t apply to this stay.

Amenities

The hotel’s size allows it to offer numerous amenities to guests. Here’s a look at what you can enjoy during your stay.

Regency Club

Guests booked into Club rooms or those with elite status can access the Regency Club on the seventh floor. For access, you can pay to book yourself into a Club room, use Club upgrade awards (earned through World of Hyatt’s Milestone Rewards), or be a Globalist for guaranteed access regardless of room type.

While it could only hold about 25 people at a time, the Club had an efficient seating arrangement, large windows to let in copious amounts of natural light, and complimentary drinks and snacks available throughout the day.

The Club also offered breakfast from 6:30 to 10:30 a.m. daily. A friendly employee at the check-in desk verified names and room numbers for access on arrival.

Outside breakfast hours, the Club is a great place to work on your laptop or have a small chat with others when you don’t want or need to rent a meeting room.

Fitness Center

If you think you’ve gone too far, keep going to get to the fitness center. That’s where I found it, at the far end of a hallway on the ground floor.

Past the Bissat restaurant (which also serves breakfast; more on that below) and meeting and event spaces, I turned a corner and finally saw signs for the fitness center and pool.

Using stairs and another winding hallway to get to the gym was possible, but taking the elevator (indicated by the sign) was simpler.

The fitness center was open around the clock. While I technically should’ve needed a key to swipe in, I’ve found the door not fully closed quite often, so it’s easy to get in.

The gym offered a wide range of weight machines, free weights, and cardio equipment.

Shelves near the door held medicine balls, rollers, and mats for additional workouts.

There was also a large outdoor space. Employees said I could do any types of exercise I wanted out here, utilizing the extra space that the indoor area can’t provide. A covered area in the far corner held punching bags.

Pool

At the end of the same hallway as the fitness center, a sign for the pool points down a half dozen steps. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a way to get here without using the steps, so this could be problematic for some visitors.

The large pool was flanked by lounge chairs on every side, and umbrellas located near every other chair provided ample shade.

A pair of large sofas could seat half a dozen people each; these were located on the near side of the pool, closest to the walkway from the hotel building.

Guests could use this outdoor shower by the pool’s edge, located next to the toilets.

However, the pool area’s most unique feature was the Hyatt-branded wicker bags available for guests to put their belongings in, rather than placing them on the ground. You could take these to your lounger, use them throughout your time at the pool, and simply return them to the shelves when departing. Genius.

Shopping

Many hotels have a gift shop on the ground floor. Not this one. Instead, you’ll find a Cartier store selling luxury jewelry and watches.

Parking

The Hyatt Regency Casablanca has a large, gated parking lot with 24/7 security patrols. Parking is complimentary for guests.

One area for improvement at this hotel is that it does a great job maintaining its most-visited and most-seen spaces but doesn’t do well with spaces guests don’t look at regularly. This wall on the back of the shopping area that faces the parking lot needs both repairs and cleaning.

ATM

I love hotels that have an ATM in the lobby. You don’t have to hunt for one, and I have more confidence in these than random ATMs on the street in foreign countries. There was an ATM next to the reception desk and another at the end of the hallway, past the Cartier store on the ground floor.

Internet

As I was able to use the meeting network, rather than the public network, I had great Wi-Fi throughout my stay. The connection was reliable wherever I went throughout the hotel’s giant footprint.

I got average download speeds of 28 Mbps and average upload speeds of 45.4 Mbps.

Elevators

The hotel has a pair of elevators to access guest floors. These are immediately next to the reception desk.

The interiors feature wall-to-wall mirrors on 3 sides, and they’re spacious. I’ve never felt cramped in these elevators, even when full of people.

I didn’t need to tap my room key to access guest floors. It’s a safety concern when hotels don’t do this. Here, I’m more accepting, given the handful of security guards you pass before entering the elevator and the metal detectors at the front entrance.

Small tables next to the elevators had tissues and hand sanitizer.

There was no seating near the elevators on the guest floors.

Spa

Open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, the spa offered everything from body wraps and scrubs to numerous massages.

Night Club

The Black House Discotheque had music from live DJs nightly from midnight to 4 a.m. The dress code required semi-casual clothing.

The Room

Since I would be arriving after midnight, I used the World of Hyatt app early in the afternoon to notify the hotel of my late arrival. It was here that I noticed a complimentary upgrade to a junior suite. I’ll point out a technicality, though: It’s not a suite, as the bed wasn’t in a separate room with a door that closes.

I stayed in room 1018, a junior suite located on the hotel’s 10th floor. While my room was immediately next to the elevators, I never heard them; they didn’t disturb me when I was in my room.

Safety information on the back of the door was provided in Arabic, French, and English.

A panel of switches next to the door controlled lights in the entryway and the bedroom, and there was a master switch that controlled everything. There was a spot next to the door to insert my room key; the lights wouldn’t turn on without the key sitting present.

Immediately upon entering, I found a large closet to my left.

Inside, I had a safe, slippers, laundry bag (plus price list), iron, ironing board, and hangers. There was also a folding luggage rack next to the closet, leaning against the wall.

The entire wall in the entryway was covered by a massive mirror.

Living Room

Beyond the entryway, the room opened to the bedroom area on the left and the living room/work space on the right.

It contained 2 armchairs, a glass coffee table, and a sofa flanked by 2 small wooden tables.

On the coffee table, I had a large spread of fruits and local sweets as a welcome gift, thanks to my Hyatt Globalist status.

At the far end of the living room, there was a desk next to the large windows and curtains.

The wooden desk had a glass top; it also had a notepad, phone, and lamp in the corner.

On the opposite side of the living room, near the entry hall and bathroom, there was a thermostat. It didn’t do anything fancy; a dial set the temperature, and you could adjust a few settings (heat/cool, on/off, high/low fan).

Bedroom

The left side of the suite was the bedroom area.

It was separated from the living area by a dresser (with an incredible 9 drawers, all empty) with a TV on top. As mentioned, there was no door to the bedroom area.

A king-sized bed sat in the middle of the bedroom. The sheets were incredibly smooth, and I always sleep well at the Hyatt Regency Casablanca. On a “firmness” scale, where 1 is “nothing” and 10 is “rock,” I’ll rate the pillows as a 5 for support. Not great, but the 2 pillows together were pretty good.

Each side of the bed was flanked by large wooden tables. I wouldn’t call them nightstands because they didn’t have drawers and were much larger than standard nightstands.

The table on one side held a bottle of water and a drinking glass. On the other side, the table also held a glass and bottle of water, plus a phone and notepad. Each side of the bed also had light switches, including reading lights, a master switch, and a “night light” switch to turn on a floor-level light next to the bathroom.

Near the window, there was a pair of chairs and a round wooden table.

Minibar

Along the wall, on the bedroom side of the suite, a waist-high wooden cupboard served as the minibar.

On top, I found complimentary bottled water, tea supplies, and a kettle. At the other end of the counter, I had a coffee machine, single-serving pods, and cups with saucers. Most of the cupboard was empty, though it had extra glasses and mugs.

There was also a minifridge with juices, sodas, snacks, and beer.

A warning sticker indicated that I’d be charged automatically for picking up any items, so I was careful not to touch anything.

Bathroom

The bathrooms in the suites at this hotel are unique. I’ve stayed in other suites at this property, and they all feature a split bathroom. The toilet is in its own closet, immediately next to the entry. There’s no sink in here, though; you’ll need to use the main bathroom to wash your hands.

Within the main bathroom, there’s no toilet but there is both a tub and a shower.

The spacious, glass-enclosed shower had a rainfall shower head and a small glass shelf for toiletries.

The toiletries were travel-size Pharmacopia products with an Argan oil scent. I love these. I had bottles of body wash, shampoo, and conditioner, as well as a bar of soap.

The door to the shower held a mat, and an adjacent space had a box of tissues and a hair dryer.

On the edge of the tub, I had towels and a bathrobe.

The marble sink and counter were flanked by mirrors. At waist level, 2 hand towels hung on loops.

Along with washcloths and a small bottle of lotion on the counter, a glass jar held additional toiletries that were individually wrapped. These included a shower cap, cotton swabs, makeup remover pads, and a manicure set.

Under the sink, a small trash receptacle could be opened by stepping on the pedal.

Views

My room looked over the market across the street and toward Mohammed V Mosque in the distance.

Areas for Improvement

I’m not a big fan of plush carpet in hotel rooms. It’s dated and also hard to clean thoroughly, and thus I assume the floor isn’t very clean when I stay in rooms with carpeting. Good thing I always travel with a pair of flip-flops (though this suite also had slippers to use).

Another area for improvement is that some rooms in the hotel still allow smoking. If you take a deep sniff of your towels, they may have a faint cigarette smell (not always). This happens when laundry gets mixed together during loads, and I’ve asked for a change of towels at this property before. I’ve never had this issue with sheets or pillows, though.

The need for refurbishments is another issue. I had this cracked tile in the bathroom.

Food and Beverage

I’ve saved my favorite amenity for last. The hotel had 4 restaurants and 1 bar.

Bissat

Bissat, located near the lobby, served a daily breakfast buffet. This buffet is a huge part of why I keep coming back to the Hyatt Regency Casablanca. It’s one of the best breakfast buffets I’ve encountered. Breakfast is included for Globalists but costs 290 MAD (~$29) per adult otherwise. You may want to explore rates that include breakfast (at a discount) if you don’t have it included via status.

The seating was laid out in a circular pattern under a central dome.

There was food in every nook and cranny along the walls. One small room off the hallway had multiple hot dishes inside traditional tagine clay pots, including beans, potatoes, sausages, and eggs. An employee could whip up French toast, omelets, and pancakes here, as well.

Another small room had salads and numerous types of olives.

Journeying into another room, I found abundant fresh fruits and juices.

Against the wall, there were seeds, granola, and oats to add to the yogurt.

Against the far wall, I had numerous options for types of bread, cakes, and pastries.

Near the pastries, this tray of traditional sweets was tempting. I tried the dates with sesame seeds, and these were delicious.

Staff could bring coffee, lattes, and cappuccinos to your table, and a bar had carafes of orange juice, a green mixed juice, and fresh milk.

Rather than hunting for jams and jellies, these came in miniature jars on each table.

Food was abundant and varied across traditional Moroccan and Western offerings, ingredients were fresh, and the flavors were fantastic. While there’s no charge for breakfast for Globalists, I did have to sign for breakfast on both mornings to acknowledge that I’d eaten (this would prevent me from getting free breakfast twice or someone else attempting to use my benefit).

Café M

Café M was located on the ground floor, past the Cartier store. The outdoor terrace extended from the front of the hotel and had ample umbrellas and trees to provide shade.

Café M served French cuisine for lunch from Monday to Friday and dinner from Monday to Saturday. It’s closed every Sunday. Café M also had its own wine and cigar cellars.

Dar Beida

This eatery includes menu options like couscous, tagine, numerous soups, and desserts, as well as choices from the grill. It was closed on Mondays but served dinner from Tuesday to Sunday, 7 p.m. to 2 a.m.

La Pergola

La Pergola was open daily from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. near the pool to serve salads, snacks, and desserts. It also had a bar serving wine, beer, and cocktails in this airy space, but staff could also bring drinks to your pool lounger.

Note: This space is closed during the winter.

Living Room Bar

Adjacent to the lobby, this aptly-named bar served more than just alcohol. It also served afternoon tea, pizza, salad, and dessert in a homey atmosphere (the menu is available online).

The Living Room Bar was open daily from 11 a.m. to midnight and was a popular spot for informal meetings. And if you needed a solid spot to work on your laptop, these long tables were a better option than the low chairs and sofas.

Service

Service excels at this hotel. It’s why I keep coming back to the Hyatt Regency Casablanca.

I wouldn’t ever go out of my way to stay somewhere that doesn’t fit my travel plans. However, needing to choose a city to pass 2 days while waiting for infrequent connections during a trip in Africa, booking this property was an easy decision.

The staff warmly greet guests at the entrance gate, the front door, the reception, and all meals. You know that feeling of going to a friend’s house after not seeing them for a long time, and your friend’s mother is just super happy to see you again? That’s how it feels every time I check into this hotel — but I felt it even the first time I stayed here.

The reception makes you feel like the hotel is a second home.

The staff at breakfast is impressive. I’ve never waited more than 2 minutes to get a table, despite routinely staying at the hotel when it’s at or near capacity. That’s a testament to the staff’s ability to clean and flip tables quickly, without the experience feeling rushed for guests.

Staff always allow me to take my time, give a warm welcome, and magically appear out of nowhere to anticipate my needs if I want more coffee or am ready to sign for my breakfast and depart.

I rarely get housekeeping service, since my stays here are usually 1 or 2 nights. However, interactions with housekeeping have always been positive. Housekeeping slid a note under the door saying they came by but saw my “do not disturb” sign on the door. The note indicated I could call the front desk if I needed anything.

The ability of the staff to anticipate guests’ needs is what I love most about this hotel. If you look like you have a question, someone will show up next to you to help you resolve it — whether that’s finding the fitness center, hailing a taxi, or getting a good recommendation for a restaurant. The staff here have always given the type of service that covers everything needed without hovering or smothering.

And I loved that I saw signs the hotel is evolving its service. This QR code in my room, from which I could order room service, was new on this trip.

Final Thoughts

I had a late flight, so I asked for a 4 p.m. late checkout on the last day. “Not a problem” was the response. When I went downstairs to check out, I asked the staff to hold my bag while I went to an early dinner. The friendly desk agent summoned a bellhop, who gave me a claim ticket and quickly whisked away my belongings while another employee prepared to hail a taxi until I told him I didn’t need one.

I returned over an hour later, claimed my bags, and thanked the staff for another excellent stay. Rather than thanking me for my stay, the staff asked if I needed a taxi or help with my bags and bid me farewell with a “See you again soon.” These small touches are what continue to draw me back to the Hyatt Regency Casablanca.

It’s not the newest hotel. It doesn’t have the most mind-blowing features. In fact, it could use attention in a few areas. However, the service, location, and killer breakfast keep drawing me back.