Hotel Bab Mansour

The bathroom didn’t have a bidet sprayer (shattaf), which may matter to Arab and Muslim travelers. The bigger issue was being charged extra at check-in because I had booked a room with two twin beds but entered one guest. I don’t think the number of beds is an unreasonable way to judge occupancy, and many hotels seem to accept that. Besides, the room would have cost exactly the same if I’d selected two guests, and no extra services were provided. They wouldn’t make an exception or show any understanding, insisting on the fee. It felt completely unjustified, and left me with a disappointing experience I won’t repeat. Some hotels try to help their guests; others look for reasons to add hidden fees.

The bar music went on until 4 a.m., so I couldn’t sleep at all. The food was mediocre too, especially the eggs, which tasted like they’d been left sitting out forever. Very disappointing, and I definitely wouldn’t recommend it.

The room felt more like a cave than a hotel room, with old furniture and pillowcases that had seen better days. The bathrooms seemed stuck in 1978, not 2016, and the fridge in my room didn’t work. There was paint smell filling the whole floor, and I even found a spider behind the bed. The elevator was already stuck when I arrived. I took the stairs to the sixth floor every day, while the receptionist kept saying it would be fixed tomorrow. When it did run, it stopped at every floor instead of going straight to the one you requested. The corridors had no lights unless you pressed the button, and then the light only stayed on for 30 seconds. This hotel was a nightmare. If you have medication that needs to stay refrigerated, look for a better quality hotel. I recently stayed at Malta Hotel, which was modern and well furnished as expected.

I’d only use this as a break during a journey, not as a place to stay and relax. My scores out of 10: location 9, room quality 3, lobby 3, cleaning 2, services 2, Wi-Fi 2, buffet 2, room service 0.