THE GOOD

* The hotel has a Morrocan restaurant (Le Melkis) which, though somewhat expensive, is also very good.

* The rooms are big and clean and quiet.

* Cleaning of the rooms was to a very high standard.

THE BAD

* My stay was advertised as having “free internet in the hotel.” I bought this hotel SPECIFICALLY because I wanted free internet during my stay. However, once I arrived I was told that there was only free internet in the noisy lobby. If I wanted internet in my room, I should pay. And boy, would it cost me.

When I brought this up in the lobby, they denied it. When I showed them the screenshots advertising free internet, they agreed with me that it was “a bad situation” that the internet was only free in the lobby. The guy behind the counter told me that he too thought the management had made a bad decision in charging for internet in the rooms. WELL OKAY BUT WHAT I AM SUPPOSED TO DO WITH THAT INFORMATION? I am a paying customer. Not your buddy. (The receptionists in the lobby also kept answering the phone or conversing with other people *even while in the midst of a conversation with me.*)

Needless to say, no one felt obliged to make good on their promise. I was left with crappy internet in the noisy lobby during my entire stay.

* The food in the lobby / snack bar was very bad and moderately expensive. I tried their entry of Morrocan salads (bad) and a pizza primavera (even worse).

* Room service did not work as advertised. I had to call many times even to get through. When I got through, I spoke to a sluggish kind of person who had to get the order STRONG BLACK TEA explained in three (!) different ways. When he finally understood, he told me that I could not be allowed (!) to order strong tea, only normal tea. I then had to explain to him that he could charge me for 3 times tea if I wanted *one* strong cup. Even this he had trouble allowing me but the order finally got through. Or so I THOUGHT. When after 20 minutes, the tea hadn’t arrived yet, I called Room Service again. Guess what? NO RESPONSE. When I finally got through again, they denied that I had ever ordered anything, and I had to start over (!!!). It was so hard explaining to the man that I wanted no milk or sugar that I gave up trying to explain that I wanted it strong.

* The service in the lobby cafe was spectacularly inattentive. One time I asked for a coffee and a gin and tonic and then to see the food menu. The waitress brought me my drinks but never got around to showing me the food menu. I had to come down and ask for it. And when I got it, she didn’t return to take my order; I had to go back to where she stood and do her job for her. Then another waiter came and asked me if I wanted another gin and tonic. I said “No!” which apparently means “Yes,” since he immediately poured me another, which he *did* bill me for.