Late last Spring, I was able to spend a few weeks traipsing around Morocco. After a couple of days exploring Casablanca, my wife and I took the high-speed train up to Tangier, where we spent three nights in the new-ish Hilton Tangier City Center that’s almost directly across from the major Tanger-Ville train station. Somewhat to my surprise, this ended up being one of my wife’s favorite hotels of our trip and was a delightful base from which to explore Tangier.
Hilton Tangier City Center Bottom Line Review
Both my wife and I really enjoyed the Hilton Tangier City Center. I was a bit apprehensive about the location, about two miles from the historic center, but it was perfect. The main intercity train station is across the street and there’s a strip of lovely beaches a couple of blocks away that are always humming with activity from tourists and local families alike. There’s oodles of restaurants and shops within walking distance, and it’s an easy hop to the medina via taxi. Overall, this is a solid property in a city that’s not overflowing with good points options. Thumbs Up
- Price: During our dates, awards were pricing around 35,000 pts/night, while cash prices were ~$180/night. In general, point prices oscillate between 35K-50K per night, while cash prices seem to hang out ~$130-$180.
- Value: Using points, it’s usually a decent deal, ending up right around our reasonable redemption value for Hilton Honors points of 0.48 cents each.
- Location: The Hilton Tangier City Center is conveniently located steps from the Tanger-Ville train station, where the high speed TGV trains terminate. It’s ~2 miles away from the medina, which ends up taking around 110-5 minutes or so via car or ~45 minutes on foot. There’s a plethora of restaurants and shopping nearby, while the two largest municipal beaches about a 5-10-minute walk away.
- Room: We booked a standard king guest room and, when we arrived, found out that hotel was sold out due to a Jazz festival in town…so no upgrade. We were moved to high floor with a peek-a-boo view of the water. The room was quiet, spacious and in great condition, with lots of light from the windows.
- Parking: Complimentary valet and self-parking for all guests.
- Resort/Destination Fee: None.
- Internet: Excellent throughout the property.
- Service: Very friendly and efficient across the board. When we checked in we were proactively offered late checkout and the front agent apologized for not being able to upgrade us. Restaurant staff, housekeeping and door/bell service was all top notch.
- Turndown service: Nightly.
- Dining:
- La Kasbah: The hotel’s main restaurant, located on the 15th floor and open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The views are stunning and the service, at least for breakfast, was very good.
- Kasbar: Posh cocktail lounge with suitably over-the-top interior design. This being Morocco, it’s almost always filled with smoke when open.
- La Terrasse: Rooftop pool bar with magnificent views of the Strait, Tangier and the surrounding area. Open seasonally.
- Spa: None, although there’s a beautiful, rooftop pool with a sea view (that was unfortunately closed for the season when we were there).
- Fitness Room: There’s a small gym that’s passable for cardio and also has a few weightlifting machines.
- Hilton Diamond Benefits:
- Room Upgrade: The hotel was sold out, but our king room was upgraded to a high floor with somewhat a view.
- Free Breakfast: Breakfast buffet served daily at La Kasbah. It’s a good spread, with a mixture of Middle Eastern and Western options. Includes made-to-order egg dishes and a huge variety of pastries, as well as espresso drinks and of course, copious quantities of mint tea.
- Club Lounge: There is a beautiful club lounge located right next to Kasbar, with terrific views throughout. Drinks and snacks are served throughout the day, with a happy hour of hors d’oeuvres, cocktails, beer and wine in the evening. The low point of the service was here…the lounge attendants seemed a bit clueless and overwhelmed. Nonetheless, a great place to work or have a pre-dinner cocktail.
- Late Checkout: We were proactively given a 2pm checkout.
- Welcome Amenity: A couple bottles of water, fruit and Moroccan sweets were waiting for us in the room.
- Would I stay again? Absolutely. We really enjoyed this property and loved the location.
Pros
- Marvelous Strait of Gibraltar views from much of the entire property
- Excellent location across the street from Tanger-Ville station, a short hop from the beaches and a 10-15-minute taxi ride from the medina.
- The hotel is less than ten years old and in excellent shape.
- Good elite recognition and nice executive lounge.
- Breakfast won’t knock your socks off, but the views from the restaurant will.
Cons
- Rooms are fairly standard Hilton fare.
- Subpar fitness area.
- A bit of a walk from the medina.
Image Gallery
Hilton Tangier King Room High Floor
Welcome Amenity
Hilton Tangier Club Lounge
La Kasbah
Kasbar
Hilton Tangier Fitness Room and Public Areas
Want to learn more about miles and points? Subscribe to email updates or check out our podcast on your favorite podcast platform.
