Hôtel Marco Polo — Hotel in arrondissement de Tanger-Medina طنجة المدينة

Myself and Fiancee stayed here for 4 nights at mid-april 2015. Despite the fact that i had booked a double room we were presented with 2 single beds. We were also greeted by an elderly chap named Muhammed as soon as we arrived in the taxi. Muhammed then told us of the tour he will take us on so we could get some 'amazing couscous'. It was rather late at night and we were both starving hungry so we really just wanted food. Muhammed the proceeded to take us on a tour and took us to a restaurant. When there he tried to sell us something "good to smoke that is legal in this country". He then tried to con us out of more money by telling us that he usually gets paid lots for his tours.. Now what i expect of a tour and what he gave us are completely different. Nevertheless, we wanted to eat without the 3rd wheel and he wouldn't leave until i gave him some money. So we gave him 10 euros to disappear and told him we would give him more when we get some money as he wasn't happy with just 10. ||||However, I digress from the Hotel itself. It's a terrible, dark and dingy place. very dusty. However we thought that we'd just deal with it.. after all we didn't pay too much to stay here. However, i drew the line on the second night when i was greeted by two cockroaches when i went for a late night toilet visit. Immediately i closed the bathroom door, and we both pondered on what to do. My Fiancee went downstairs to see if the receptionist would do anything while i packed our stuff so it was tidy. However, he didn't speak a word of English which, being in his country, i certainly wouldn't expect him.. So by attempting to use google translate as a middle ground we managed to get a different room. ||||We only had 2 more nights left and so didn't mind changing rooms. However, on the last night we were again greeted by more cockroaches in the bathroom late at night. We managed to sleep through it without needing to use the loo. However, the thing that annoyed me the most was when it came to checking out. We had both decided that due to this experience we would try and get a discount on what we had paid as it was completely out of order. The manager refused to acknowledge the existence of the cockroaches and told us that nobody had ever complained before. and refused to budge on the price.. We wanted to be out of there as quickly as possible and so just paid the amount.. ||||The only regret i have of the entire visit is not getting...

For its actual quality and facilities etc. I should be giving the Marco Polo hotel a significantly higher grade. It’s actually quite nice. Its facilities are more than adequate, though it would do well to either downgrade its prices a little or upgrade its facilities a little – it has priced itself to be competing with mid-range options and it doesn’t quite cut it – it would do much better as an excellent budget option than as a B-grade mid-range. But again, if I were only reviewing quality of facilities etc., I’d give it a 3, maybe even a four. The reason I give it only one (and it is lucky to get that!) is the stunningly, extraordinarily bad service. I mean seriously, these guys take bad service to a whole new level. I have been travelling for 25 years and I have never experienced anything like it. At first I thought the check in staff was bad, but then I met the manager, who is seriously the most passive-aggressive appallingly rude person I have ever encountered working in a hotel. Expect to be met with a scowl and spoken to like you really are not wanted there. Anything you ask for will receive an aggressive response, in fact even if you are not asking for anything expect an aggressive response. Greet them warmly and you will receive a grunt (if you are lucky) and a foul stare. Even booking another night was met with angry scowls and huffing and puffing and rude muttering (yes, Mr. Manager, I do actually understand Arabic, so I know what you muttered!) because he had to look away from his TV soap for long enough to take my money!||I began to think ‘It’s almost as if they don’t want me here’….then I realized that is in fact exactly the case. I was sitting in the lobby using the wi-fi, withering under the usual dirty looks from the desk, when an Arabic couple came in and were treated wonderfully, given all the welcomes and assistance that one might usually expect of a hospitality business. These guys clearly really don’t want foreigners in their hotel. I suggest you grant their wish and stay elsewhere – there are certainly better options in Tangier. If you are absolutely certain that you will not need anything other than the room and the bed, then you could do worse than staying here. But if you would prefer to be treated with any degree of even the most basic civility,...

I have been travelling now for 6 months and I have submitted 5 Hotel reviews on trip advisor, all of them have been positive and unfortunately I have felt compelled to enter my first negative review.||||As accurately described by Lonely Planet this mid-range hotel is generic in appearance and character. The Hotel and the large room was adequate. The staff offered their hospitality in a detached but polite manner. They charge for use of the Safe and to purchase a poor quality map and there is no wifi.||||However, the major problem for me as a solo woman traveller was in the Hotel’s recommendation for a guide. As advised by Lonely Planet, I sought recommendation from my Hotel for a reputable guide for half a day to show me Tangier. Unfortunately my guide was unprofessional and unqualified. Although I did not expect an official guide for 200 Dirhams for a half day, I did expect that he would have some knowledge of the history of Tangier and be able to give me a tour in a professional manner. Mohammed failed to meet my expectations. He touched me physically in an inappropriate manner and whilst I did not feel threatened by this gesture it was unwelcome and I became wary. He also condescendingly called me his Darling when we had a disagreement about the location of a museum I wished to visit which was recommended in my guidebook and he could not find. (I managed to locate it without his assistance and he did not apologise for his mistake; rather he tried to lie to cover the mistake). He also made lewd remarks and used inappropriate language when we sighted two young Moroccan women who wore heavy make up and were in the company of men. He had no knowledge of the population of Tangier but he was able to tell me in great detail about the room rates and facilities of the major new hotels. (I did not have any interest in this information). He took me to visit an animal market so I could view the cats, dogs and birds in tiny cages. Mohammed and I parted company after I paid his 200DH, but we certainly did not part friends. ||||My advice to other travellers staying in the hotel is to seek a guide...