We to took the fast ferry from Tarifa to Tangiers for a quick break between Christmas and New Year wanting to stay somewhere luxurious and special.

The average price of a very good high end hotel in Tangier is around euro 80 to euro 140 per night but the Hotel Nord-Pinus charges between euro 225 to euro 390 per night, however with the above criteria in mind, using on-line reviews and the hotel’s own web site we decided to book the Hotel Nord-Pinus.

A big mistake, we were severely disappointed.

The good points:

The room was large, clean, tastefully decorated (but nothing special or as opulent as on the hotel’s web site), we had a very big sumptuous bed\mattress and the hotels driver met us from the ferry terminal thereby allowing us to escape the worst of the hawkers & rip-off merchants that plague you at the ferry port.

Bad points:

The toilet seat was broken and the bathroom contained none of the usual things you would find in an up market boutique hotel i.e. Shower cap, hair conditioner, fluffy towels, dressing gowns, nice soap etc (indeed the soap was a very cheap liquid and the towels & dressing gown provided were more suited to a budget roadside hotel).

The room was damp, the cushions & furniture on the heavily marketed roof patios were tatty and need replacing.

On Monday night they closed the restaurant without telling us even though the hotel looked full.

The service was mediocre at best, cold coffee both mornings for breakfast, no bottled water in the room until the 2nd night, no bar available until 7.30 pm, drinks amazingly expensive e.g. euro 6 for a local beer.

In fact we could find nothing that justified the price tag, a similar hotel in and expensive European city such as Paris, Rome, London would be around Euro 150 per night.

Only go there is you have more money than sense! Instead we would suggest go to the La Tangerine next door, same sized roof terraces, nicer decor, trendier rooms and even has its own beautiful Hamam (which we used).

While walking near the Kasbah in Tangier my friends and I stumbled upon this Riad and fell in love with the roof top lounge area. Despite having a bird use me as it's bathroom we returned the next day to have cocktails on the roof and dinner. The staff were fabulous and so thoughtful. Although we didn't stay there we did tour the rooms and fell in love with the entire Riad including the fabulous food.

As we stayed in a private home, I cannot comment on the hotel itself but we visited the hotel before having dinner there. The Hotel is stunningly decorated in a mixture of maroccan and colonial styles and it has breathtaking views of the sea facing Spain. We had drinks on the terrace and the mojitos were fantastic. The personnel was friendly, polite and very attentive. On the other hand the meal was not worth the large bill we were presented. The traditional Ramadan soup was certainly the worst I have had in Morocco and the fish while very fresh was bland and unoriginal. We were very disappointed because the owners' other restaurant in France has an excellent reputation and we thought this would be the same. So I would recommend going for pre-dinner drinks and watch the amazing sunset, a real treat but I would eat elsewhere.

A lovely and charming place, beautifully decorated, just in the heart of Tanger.
Delighting cuisine and congratulations to the staff who is really caring and giving very good advice to discover Tanger and its wonderful region.