Beautiful Hotel
Just got home from a fantastic stay at this hotel. Had a wonderful time and would have given the hotel a five star review, but feel a few small improvements could be made. I will mention these, knowing that the hotel is still fairly new and may add extra features/services and improve on existing ones in due course as it gets more feedback.
Firstly, our room was fantastic - beautifully decorated, immaculate and very quiet. I noticed that some reviews mentioned noise from the pool. I deliberately booked a garden view room and we heard no noise at all so if you want peace and quiet choose your room accordingly. Lovely bath and shower. Minor additions to the room that might be good: Stocking the minibar with drinks/snacks as the restaurants/bars are not open 24/7 and there are no shops nearby; adding a Smart TV so you can watch Netflix etc. when relaxing. We didn’t have time to use the pool but it looked lovely and very quiet. Again, I deliberately booked outside of school holidays so if you don’t like children making noise, again choose holiday times accordingly or expect that children will be children. Breakfast was so-so. It had a huge array of choice but unfortunately I couldn’t eat most of it due to dietary restrictions and so stuck to eggs, tomato and boiled potatoes every day and they were barely lukewarm. It would be good to have condiments on the table without having to ask and on our last day we checked out fairly early and there was no juice available and the eggs etc. had not been prepared an hour after breakfast time began and we didn’t have much time so this was a bit frustrating. However the staff were lovely and very friendly and accommodating. In terms of lunch and dinner, what is on offer looks fantastic if you can eat it, but I do think there needs to be a better selection for people with dietary restrictions like myself. The only non-vegan food I could eat at any of the restaurants were eggs and veggies at breakfast and at dinner the only option I could see was an aubergine starter. I cannot tolerate dairy and struggle with wheat and also have to restrict salt. From the research that I did around dinner options in Tangier this issue is not unique to the hotel, but given that it’s a five star residence I was hoping for more variety for vegans and vegetarians. I had to eat pizza every night and am still in a lot of pain (although it was delicious!) - I’d like to mention Nizar as being especially friendly, welcoming, engaging and funny.
I have saved the best til last - the bar. Most of my Google reviews mention cocktails and my love for them. Without a shadow of a doubt I have never been to a bar with such an exquisite attention to detail. You’ll meet Rashid who is like a Dynamo/Heston of mixology. He is professional, polite and refined but also warm, personable, friendly, witty and so engaging - he was happy to spend every night with us mixing us the most amazing and unusual concoctions as well as keeping us entertained with his company. If you are after a simple G&T with no added flair then make it clear because he takes huge pride in being creative, and in his words, “Rash doesn’t rush”. His work is nothing less than art and if you are willing to be immersed in what he has to offer you’ll not only experience incredible taste sensations but witness something not unlike fireworks as he uses all kinds of devices to concoct new, experimental and experiential medleys. He has developed some unique recipes of his own, and if you allow him to take you on an adventure, will invent new combinations every night for you. It’s obvious that he not has untold flair, but also affection for his profession but also Morocco, and has many stories and interesting facts to share. This was 100% the most enjoyable part of our stay in the hotel, and is at least on a par with our trip to Chefchaouen - which obviously says a lot! Thank you again Rashid.
Also had a fantastic massage at the spa and would highly recommend choosing this hotel to anyone.