Hotel Medina

For one night, Hotel Medina was totally okay, though I wouldn’t have wanted to stay longer. Our room was VERY simple and small, with no windows, and the beds were a little uncomfortable. The rooftop terrace was a lovely extra, very pretty. Service was great too: the man at reception was friendly and arranged a taxi to the airport for the next day.

For Dh160, less than 13 quid, the place was much better than I expected for three people. The beds were comfortable and the room was clean, and the guy at reception was friendly and very helpful. There’s a great roof terrace too. It’s a lovely little hotel right in the Medina, ideal for the one night we stayed before travelling on. The room was small with little storage, and the toilet and shower are on the landing, but I’d definitely stay again.

Our first reaction was doubt because we’d paid so little, and I was ready to find somewhere else if it didn’t work out. Turns out there was no reason to worry. The place is clean and looked after, better than I expected from a 2-star hotel in such a central spot. The facilities are basic for the price, but that feels fair. There’s one toilet and shower room on each floor apart from the ground floor, where another toilet sits under the stairs. The cleaner works incredibly hard to keep everything spotless. Free WiFi was a nice extra. The market is close by, which makes the location really convenient. The main annoyance was some guests talking loudly on the phone, loudly enough that you could hear both sides of their conversations.

We only stayed one night, and the staff were welcoming and helpful. When we realized late at night that we had no cash and could only pay by card, they spent hours trying to find us another hostel that would take a card. They weren’t asking for money for helping us. They just wanted to make sure we had somewhere to sleep, even if it wasn’t their place.