Dar El Marsa is exactly what you want in a boutique hotel. Great location, arty vibe, cool rooms, helpful staff, a popular bar, a restaurant with fantastic food, and a superb spa.
This luxury boutique hotel is right across the street from the wide beach in the La Marsa suburb of Tunis, next door to famous Sidi Bou Said. The neighbourhood has a beachy vibe and a selection of restaurants and shops to make you feel welcome.
The hotel features an ever-changing roster of artists. During my visit the paintings of Anna Latreille Ladoux, of Polish background but living in El Marsa, were featured in the lobby. The clean lines of her beach and ocean scenes were the perfect match for both the sleek design of Dar El Marsa and the sandy beach below it.
Sitting on your balcony you can admire the view of the beautiful sea. While not huge, the rooms are well-designed and well-equipped. They feature a super comfortable king size bed, a small desk area, and a chair and low table near the glass balcony doors. The TV is a smart one (though the internet connection wasn’t strong enough to watch YouTube without delays). The Sony Music player is of the 30-pin variety. Rooms have lots of closet space. There’s a Nespresso machine for excellent coffee. Bathrooms are bright and mirror-filled, and have an extra deep bathtub (up to my neck sitting up!). Showers are by Grohe, my favourite. The toilet is in a separate room.
A buffet breakfast (included in rates) with eggs made to order is served in the lobby bar. Throughout the day and evening the lobby bar is very popular with guests, locals and expats for hanging out, admiring the art, chats, meetings, and enjoying drinks and snacks. Deeper into the hotel is a top notch restaurant where I had one of my best meals in Tunisia.
There’s a lot to do in Tunis, but it is difficult to leave Dar El Marsa. You’ll want to lounge around their rooftop pool and there’s a spa which can’t be missed. In fact, you should make plans to visit more than once.
From US$175 (inclusive of breakfast)
– Wonderful spa — featuring Thēmaē products — with a hammam, excellent massage and beautiful relaxation room
– Rooftop pool with great views of the sea (great views from your room too!)
– Bright lighting exactly where you need it: the bathroom and the closet-lined hallway
– Wifi requires you to re-login every few hours, and your code is good only for one device
– The bathroom sink is large and beautiful, but a bit awkwardly placed if you have two people maneuvering in the bathroom at the same time
Johanna Read
Contributing Editor
The Golden Tulip Carthage was my perfect introduction to Tunisia. The hotel prides itself on its international standards with local flavours. It had just the right mix to make me feel comfortable in my first days in a new country (particularly as my visit was one month after the attack at the Bardo museum), but also introduce me to the charms and wonderful people of this beautiful Mediterranean country.
The hotel is located in a forested area near the sea, with complete security which controls not only who enters the complex, but what they bring with them (via metal detectors, x-ray machines and under-vehicle screening). No, this was not a response to the terrorism attacks in Tunisia, but was put in place at the time of the revolution. As the complex also houses the homes of many of Tunisia’s ambassadorial community, more security makes sense.
The setting for the Golden Tulip Carthage is beautiful. The complex overlooks the Mediterranean Sea, which takes on an almost Caribbean blue colour here. Catering primarily to the upscale business traveler, you don’t need to leave the hotel complex if you don’t want to.
On-site are several restaurants, one with international cuisine, a great Italian, an Irish pub, and a top-notch Indian one (I’m still craving the lamb and was impressed with the chef’s ability to get my desired level of spice in my chicken exactly perfect). Drinks, snacks and teas can be taken in different areas, you can choose your pool bar, and there’s even a hookah lounge. The complex has a full spa with a wonderful hammam, a large indoor pool, huge health club with individualized fitness programs, a dance/yoga studio, tennis, and several outdoor pools too. Having a meeting? The Golden Tulip has lots of space to meet your needs.
If you need a service, the Golden Tulip can provide it or arrange for it. I was particularly appreciative of the currency exchange desk, which provided good rates — so useful in a country with a closed currency (i.e. you can’t bring Tunisian money out of the country or exchange it abroad). The Carthage Executive Lounge is the place to go for breakfast and snacks throughout the day (especially Tunisian pastries).
Whether you’re in Tunis for business or relaxation, the Golden Tulip Carthage’s 243 rooms and 21 suites and its very hospitable staff will suit your every need.
From US$150
– Tunisian hospitality at its best, staff, residents and fellow guests made me feel extremely welcome.
– Super fast wifi.
– Several great restaurants on site.
– Hair conditioner would be a nice addition to the bathroom amenities.
Johanna Read
Contributing Editor
A member of Relais & Châteaux, Riad Fès has four different wings, beautifully catering to the decor tastes of a wide variety of guests.
Utmost care has been taken in designing and furnishing both the public and private rooms. The Moroccan style is typical of what you see elsewhere in Fès, with zelige mosaic floors and carved plasterwork, but much more finely done. The Oriental and Baraco-Andalous wings are more subdued, the former featuring gorgeous dark wood.
My room was in the contemporary wing, overlooking the spa and lap pool. It had warm neutral colours and clean modern lines. The glass door, protected by curtains, kept sound and light out of the bedroom, giving me a very refreshing sleep. Open to the spa courtyard, my separate area with couch and table, desk and Nespresso machine was more susceptible to noise and was outside of the wifi zone. Rooms are well equipped with comforts, including a big bathtub with separate shower, heated towel bars, lots of bathroom amenities, a flat screen tv (8 channels, mostly news), and a Bose 30 pin music player.
Riad Fès provides a complimentary breakfast buffet from 7 to 10 am in the restaurant, but don’t arrive late because they start to put everything away at 10:02. There’s a selection of eggs and crèpes to order, and a variety of pastries, fruits, yogurt, cheese and charcuterie on the buffet. The juices — carrot/orange, beet/orange and plain orange — were vivid and delicious.
Evenings should be spent in the rooftop terrace bar which overlooks the medina and the hills beyond. The smiling server who manages the bar goes out of his way to make sure every guest has exactly what they want and will even snap photos of you in front of the beautiful view.
There are many choices of places to relax throughout the hotel, including several patios and courtyards. Several are even accessible by elevator, as are some of the rooms. I enjoyed complimentary mint tea and coconut cookies in the sumptuous lobby. L’Ambre restaurant seats 70 for lunch or dinner. L’Alcazar bar hosts cocktails indoors overlooking the pool or on the Andalusian patio. There’s also a wine bar.
Riad Fès has a spa with hammam by Cinq Mondes, also open to outside guests. Several treatment rooms have a lovely view of the pool. There’s a fitness centre above the spa and the pool is great for cooling off and for laps.
From US$250 inclusive of buffet breakfast
– Beautiful buildings with different decors catering to a mix of tastes.
– Not only local beauty products beldi soap and rhassoul clay, but instructions on how to use them!
– Even if you have the 6:00am flight to Casablanca, you’ll enjoy a light breakfast brought to your room.
– Wifi isn’t the greatest, and wasn’t always working during my stay (and completely unavailable in the office area of my suite).
– Service was inconsistent — sometimes great but sometimes indifferent.
Johanna Read
Contributing Editor
It was surprisingly quiet at Riad Tizwa, a small boutique hotel in the Batha region of Fès’ medina. Riads and medina living can be a bit noisy, but not so at Riad Tizwa.
Before I went to sleep in my large room I closed the glass windows and wooden shutters, and through the night and morning I heard no call to prayer and no kitchen noises. If a good sleep is important to you (and isn’t it important for everyone?!), Riad Tizwa is a great choice.
I took tea in the courtyard with its beautiful ceiling decorations (covered for the rain), and poked my head in the salon with fireplace. Riad Tizwa has seven bedrooms, all different, and all but one with ensuite bath. Two rooms are on the small side, with a lower ceiling — pick what suits your price range and preferences. The entire house can sleep up to 16 people.
My room had a fireplace as well as two heaters, but I didn’t need them inside my curtained king size bed. There was A/C too, for when the weather turns hot. I had a day bed near the fireplace as well as a couch to stretch out on. My bathroom with copper sink and a shower was up a flight of stairs, next to a room which acted as a giant closet. There was a small toilet room too, just a few steps up from the door.
Though the staircases are steep (like in most riads), Riad Tizwa unusually has handrails to help you get up and down safely. Be sure to climb the staircase to the roof and you’ll be rewarded with a multi-tiered terrace complete with lemon trees, on which I had a fabulous breakfast.
Riad Tizwa puts a lot of effort into their delicious breakfasts, and you can eat them anywhere you’d like in the riad and at any time you’d like too. How luxurious! The staff put a lot of effort into service too. They are extremely kind and professional, and work hard to make your stay completely enjoyable.
To the front door of Riad Tizwa, you only need to walk 50 meters from where a taxi can drop you off. It is easy to find, though there are many neighbourhood boys who politely insist on walking you there (no need to pay them if you’ve been clear you don’t want their help).
There’s a sister Riad Tizwa in Marrakech too.
From US$100-120 (spring), including breakfast and tax
– Extremely kind and helpful staff (and there is already a high standard in Morocco)
– Good wifi (for Fès), even on the roof terrace!
– Great breakfast, especially lovely on the rooftop terrace
– When the rain cover is over the courtyard and the salon fireplace is lit, it can smell a touch smoky inside the riad
Johanna Read
Contributing Editor