al liwan - marjan island resort & spa

we were in house guest and took breakfast anddinnerbuffet. i will give 4 out of 5 to breakfast. variety of dishes with good taste. staff was very helpful specially a lady name roomi. she was very helpful.
i will give 2 out of 5 todinnerbuffet. taste wasnt good at all. need lots of improvement. salads and main course options were limited and taste wsnt good. i am giving 2 rating only because staff were helpful. i have been to different buffet restaurants and charm is always live stations, grills and salad options. no live stations, bad taste of grill items not juciy and chicken was very hard, and very limited salad options. i hope management read this and take appropriate step. in marjan island there are not many options for food so guest had to take in house restaurants..

we did full board at our stay at in the hotel and had breakfast, lunch &dinnerat this restaurant.

it has lovely views and outside seating is near the pool area so can get a bit noisy.

they do a buffet and offer a variety of cuisines but it’s very similar every time especially the desserts & salads.

service is hit & miss with having to ask for things a few times.

this was my first ever visit to the marjan island resort & spa located on marjan island to attend a corporatedinnergathering at the liwan restaurant.

dinner was at 8pm on a weekday but the restaurant wasn't that full so it served our purpose. initially we were seated outside but the elements (strong winds) forced us to go back indoors although the outdoor seating had a nice view of the pool.

seating area was spacious but i can imagine the restaurant being a bit difficult to negotiate on a busy breakfast service when the hotel is at a decent capacity.

dinner was the usual buffet. salad bar was ok with some decent raw and cooked salads. nice range of dips and breads. main course was limited to a few dishes but well prepared ones. loved the fish dishes and there was also a live pasta cooking counter.

desserts were ok, wish they had more options. the waiting staff were excellent and very prompt. overall it was a decent experience and i enjoyed it more than a similardinnerat the hilton garden inn.

first day of buffet bfast was really not good. super crowded,most of the food dishes are empty,no coffee cups,no staff to clean the tables,the manager seems clueless on what was happening,until one guest complained.
though the varieties are acceptable.
fordinnerbuffet, less choices and varieties of food. they said it was continental but they focused more on middle eastern and indian cuisine.
i guess the problem is the choices of food and the readiness during busy times.

how was the food?

average. there was a wide spread of food with different cuisines but taste wise wasnt that great 

how was the ambience?

very casual as its a buffet. most guests were in flip flops

how was the staff?

still learning. mostly its self service

how was the price?

paid 150 for a promotional offer of breakfast lunchdinneras a guest at the hotel

will i recommend it?

if you are staying at the hotel, its the only restaurant for the full board option

i purchased a buffet package for this restaurant during our stay at marjan resort. on a weekend, the restaurant can be quite full atdinnertime and plan some waiting time before you can get a table. the ambience is not particularly special, but the place is neat and seating is spread out with some spacing allowing for some level of privacy.

the food variety was good ranging from starters (fresh raw vegetables to variety of salads) to desserts (fresh fruits and cakes). the main dishes had a good balance of arabic and asian dishes but lacked authentic taste. beware- the buffet lunch anddinnerpackages usually does not include any beverages (including water).

the breakfast spread was quite impressive and even has good choices for vegetarians. the live egg station is a bonus. the service was just average. rating - 3.0

during our stay at al marjan resort, we had bothdinnerand breakfast from this restaurant. i wasn't huge fan of thedinnerthey served but the breakfast was just one of the best i have had so far and hence the rating. the penne pasta was the best to mention at thedinnerand for the breakfast i loved their variety breakfast dishes on eggs. desserts served are more on the arabic morrocan side and had nothing with chocolate (depressing) customer service is just average. overall 3.5 stars!