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Travel and Leisure / It List 2008 / Morocco Hotels / → All Tags

T+L's It List 2008: The Good+The Bad

Where: 11 Rue du Riad Sultan, Tangier, Morocco

Travel+Leisure just released its "It List 2008: The Top 30 New Hotels in the World" and overall it's pretty feh. Some of the selections are just downright obvious, like the Regent Bal Harbour in Miami, London's The Connaught, Paris' Le Meurice and The Plaza in New York. However, there are a few choices for which T+L editors deserve credit for venturing outside the safe zone ...

One particular standout is the Hôtel Nord-Pinus Tanger, in Tangier, Morocco. We visited Tangier recently (though we stayed a short jaunt across the Mediterranean in Tarifa, Spain--at a hostel, ahem) and the destination hardly struck us as something that would fall on any travel editor's radar, unless the next travel trend is constantly being harassed by guys selling Moroccan tchotchkes.

T+L says Tangier is "fast recapturing the glamour of its glory days," and with the opening of this riad, "the Old Town finally has the chic little inn it deserves." The hotel possesses just one double room and four suites, which are decorated with bronze, marble and Indian silks. During high season, the prices start at about $440, which includes breakfast, dinner and shuttle to the airport.

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Have Your Couscous and Eat it Too at Riad Tanja

Where: Rue Du Portugal, Tangier, Morocco, 30000

Morocco can elude a truly exotic feeling and conjure images of a brilliant sun over dusty streets with a background of stimulating Arabic tunes.

Alright, enough poetic waxing here. Morocco in some places is really an extension of France where local flavors remain. Tangier is like its famous dish tagine, a stewing pot of hot, colorful, and beautiful elements.

Staying in Tangier is best done at the Riad Tanja. You'll soak up in luxury without losing the flavor of your host culture since this is not a major hotel chain and the originality lives. But the luxury is still there and for much less a price:

This was the most amazing hotel I have ever stayed in! We were the only ones staying in the hotel that night and the service was amazing. A hotel like this in the US would have cost well over $500 a night! The rooms were absolutely beautiful and the restaurant was amazing. They served us a five course meal that was perhaps one of the best I have ever had and I believe it was only about 30 euros a person. After the meal we had tea and wine on the restaurant balcony and listened to the sounds of Morocco at night. It was truly a magical experience and I recommend it to anyone and everyone!

Don't expect WiFi here or to get a lot of business done. For that you will have to go to one of the major hotel/casino complexes nearby but that might feel too much like Vegas. And let's face it, if you're coming all the way here, do it right and stay in a Moroccan Hotel and eat your damn couscous too.

Related Stories:
· Riad Tanja Hotel Reviews [TripAdvisor]