I'm not sure you could pay me to set foot in this hotel again.

I've deliberately waited a little while before writing this review to calm down and gain some perspective, but the extra time has done nothing to make the treatment we received seem any less unreasonable.

I must point out at this stage we didn't actually make it to the rooms in the hotel, so this review is purely an account of the welcome and the service we initially received at the front desk.

My girlfriend and I were touring Morocco, and had spent six hours on the train from Fes, to arrive in Tangier and had booked 3 nights at the Hotel Rif & Spa, having chosen it on account of it being close to the beach and fairly central. I was also a little enticed by the romance of the fact that it had some history and used to be a favourite of Churchill and the like back in the day.

We arrived at the hotel at 8.30pm, hot, tired and ready to relax, shower, have a drink and decent meal in what promised to be a grand hotel. On arrival the lady at the front desk seemed utterly bemused when we said we had a reservation, and despite examining a copy of our confirmation email very closely informed us that the booking was not valid as they had no rooms left in the hotel. Smiling, she then proceeded to helpfully inform us that we probably wouldn't be able to find any rooms anywhere in Tangier because it was weekend and everywhere was fully booked with holiday makers from Spain and southern Europe.

A little concerned I asked for the manager, and was told to sit down in the lobby where the manager would come and speak with us.

After 30 minutes of watching at least 3 other couples, some with very young children, be greeted with similar news that their bookings would not be recognised or honoured, and still with no sign of the manager, I returned to the front desk and, despite his rather embarrassing attempts to avoid me, managed to corner the manager myself.

He initially dismissed me saying he didn't speak any English, so wouldn't be able to help me. Fortunately I speak French, and had seen him speaking with his staff in French, so was able to engage him further.

In as quick an exchange as possible he barked at me that he has this problem everyday, that internet reservations mean nothing (even though we had paid in full) that he has no rooms left, and it's our problem, not his. He told me it was not his responsibility to hep in any way and refused to even let me use a hotel phone to call other hotels in the area to check availability. With a dismissive wave of his hand, he then took refuge in his office and left us, and the various other late arrivals in the reception to fend for ourselves.

By this time it was 9.30pm. It was obvious that the hotel had given our rooms away to opportunist holiday makers earlier in the day who had walked in and inquired about availability. It seems that this is their policy.

Every cloud has a silver lining etc and fortunately we were able to find a room in the wonderful Hotel El Minzah, where the staff received us with the warmest of welcomes, immediately set us up in a senior suite (heavily discounted) and explained to us that it's very common for them to accept distressed rejects from the Rif late at night. I'm thrilled that we ended up at the Minzah, and only wish we had booked there in the first place. I thoroughly recommend it and will write the most glowing of reviews for it.

FYI - our room was booked through asiarooms.com, who in turn used the agency Gullivers Travels. Gullivers have since attempted to explain to me that the experience was entirely the responsibility of the hotel, who had reneged the booking in favour of filling the room earlier. I am still awaiting a full refund and compensation.

Hotel Rif & Spa will not be concerned to receive a poor review on this site as they will happily fill their hotel every night with passers by. While we were waiting for a resolution to our problem, we watched at least 8 or 9 couples wander in looking for a room for the night. Hopefully though, this experience might serve as a warning for some of you, and I would urge you to give the Rif a very large swerve and enjoy a wonderful stay at El Minzah instead.