Hotel Tarek

Hotel Tarek is a clean, cute place with 23 rooms spread over four floors and a one-person lift. We spent the first of our 14 nights in Morocco here. It’s about a half-kilometer walk to Chefchaouen town, and breakfast was pleasant enough.

The front desk guy was incredibly helpful, but breakfast was a letdown. When I asked the waiter about it, he replied, “Do you know what time it is?” I was confused, even though it was apparently bread time, so I ended up eating breakfast outside. The food in Chefchaouen and the North region is known for its lovely breakfasts and hospitality, and I didn’t get that feeling from this waiter. I was so disappointed that I didn’t try anything, so I can’t comment on the food itself.

It’s around a 10-minute walk to the old Medina and the square, and the location is fantastic. The hotel is clean, beautifully decorated, and has cute, lovely rooms with well-equipped washrooms. Staff were friendly, kind, and accommodating. There was plenty to choose from at breakfast.

The building is lovely and fits the style of the town, about a 10-minute walk from the Medina. We arrived as a large group. My room was fairly tight but in better shape than some places I’ve stayed recently. Staff were pleasant, though I didn’t have much interaction with them. Some rooms had no towels, and I had to track someone down to get one. Friends next door also had trouble convincing staff their room was missing towels. There was no remote for our room’s air conditioning. Reception said guests had stolen them and that the whole hotel only had two. Someone came up to switch on the unit and set the temperature, but couldn’t leave a remote, so we couldn’t adjust it ourselves. The TV had many German channels but none in English, and construction next door was going on during the day.