There’s no better location in Tangier than being perched high in the Kasbah where the Straits of Gibraltar tickle the Spanish mainland. Anne Igou knew that when she bought this richly decorated former pasha’s townhouse and filled it with her eclectic collection of treasures snaffled from around the world.
Unlike most of the ancient walled old city, the Kasbah allows taxi access through impossibly narrow arches and cobbled streets right to the door of the hotel. Once ensconced you’re spitting distance from some of the city’s top sights, bars and restaurants. Gen up on Paul Bowles at the American Legation, browse the souks of the Petit Socco, go 100 per cent organic at Café À L’Anglaise, sip cocktails at El Club Morocco, splurge on contemporary Moroccan homewares at Las Chicas, and haute kaftans at Topolina.
Tangier’s Kasbah is where the world’s socialites, poets, artists, musicians and vagabonds gathered during the Fifties and Sixties, and the Nord Pinus retains some of that intellectually glam air. Not so much designer as timeless, Igou creates a similarly eclectic interior with classic Moroccan decorative details, Berber carpets and beaten brass lanterns with lacquered Chinese cabinets and antique Indian charpoy, pulling it all together with a panache that feels worldly and comfortable.
Many of the staff have been here for years and you’ll find them happy, willing and helpful, if not always speedy. You’ll need to push a little bit for advice on local restaurants and bars (like most places they’re keen for you to eat in), but they’re great when it comes to insider knowledge for the best local music, beaches and trips out of town, and they can hook you up with a greatly original hammam for a scrub down and massage.
Four double rooms, one suite and La Maison de Jean Luc (an independent two bedroom house), ooze very different vibes. Mine was La Chambre de l’Espagnol: a small, uncluttered room that’s big on details including an beautiful antique Indian textile on the bed, dark wood floors and Azilal rugs, matched by a marble bathroom with lacy drapes, candles and flowers by the tub.
The in-house restaurant serves solid classic Moroccan salads, tagines and almond-laced desserts. But it’s the carved cedar doors, black and white tiled floors and glittering Iraqi stained glass of the dining room that make it a must-do on the foodie circuit.
Breakfast or lunch on the breezy roof terrace, where a shady crows nest offers views across the water to the Spanish mainland, is a desubtle.
Difficult. Stairs are steep, there are no ground floor rooms or lift.
Yes, but better for couples or friends.
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