Hotel La Maison Blanche

We fell in love with Tangier the moment we arrived at La Mason Blanche. Aziz, owner, welcomed us in and after dropping our bags in the lovely rooms we went straight to the rooftop to take it all in. Our favorite moments were breakfast and tea time at the rooftop tables. Aziz was happy to chat about the history of the home turned hotel. We could walk all over old Tangier from our hotel and just loved coming back to cozy rooms and friendly staff. Excellent location. I'd highly recommend.

We stayed here solely based on the rave reviews on TripAdvisor and the fact that TripAdvisor rates it as the number one Hotel in Tangier. It was our last stop, after staying at Richard Branson's, Kasbah Tamadot, the spectacular Dar, Ahlam, Riyadh Fez, and Rid L'Hotel in Marrakech. Based on the ratings, I assumed this was a five star hotel, which is what we always prefer. This is strictly an average three star hostelry. Everything the reviewers say about the manager, Aziz, is accurate. He is as nice as he can be, and really tried hard, but this hotel falls way short on the details. We booked the largest room in the hotel, the Moulay Idriss, which the hotel website says is a suite. It is a bedroom and bathroom. The bedroom is very comfortable but certainly nothing out of the ordinary. Strictly three star, The bathroom is below average, because it does not have a shower. It has a bathtub with a handheld, but no shower curtain. Little details make a difference: no coffee maker in the room, a real negative. There is no Kleenex in the room or bathroom. We both had colds and needed a box of Kleenex, and they got us one, but we didn't get it until the end of our final day. They did deliver those little tiny pocket packs, but they didn't last long there was only half a roll of toilet paper. For some unknown reason they only supply one bathrobe; again, they bring you a second on request, but that should not be necessary. The room has no air conditioning. It was cool at night, which would've been fine, but the noise from the outside the hotel was loud until well after midnight so we had to keep the windows closed. I can't imagine what it would be like in warm weather. We had no hot water, which we discovered when I want to take a very rare afternoon bath. After claiming it was fixed, when it was not, I protested pretty strongly, and got the explanation that construction in the area had cut the electric line, and they had an order out with the utility company to get it fixed. That did take care of the problem, but we went a day without a water. When you arrive at the hotel you must exit your transportation down a steep hill. The Hotel provided no assistance in bringing the luggage. Apparently, the guy who could help was busy elesewher doing something else. One thing we noticed during our stay: the hotel is definitely understaffed with an older woman and a young guy tasked with doing everything. Breakfast is below average. They told us they serve breakfast on the roof, when we got there was 48° and windy, so we had it inside. A little bit of fruit, Moroccan, breads, and jam. They will bring eggs to order. They do not take credit cards,. You must pay everything in advance with a wire transfer. A few days before arrival, Aziz wrote to tell me that our payments were €20 short and then I have to pay that in cash on arrival. That €20 consisted of the two €10 payments his bank charged him for my two wire transfers. I suggested that what his bank c