Hotel Perniagaan di Dar El Beida

We picked this hotel on advice of our local travel agent because it's located nearby a shopping center. We planned to stay there for 2 nights. Check in went smoothly. The front desk ladies were nice. When we entered the room, it's hot. Tried the aircon button, nothing. Called the front desk, they sent a housekeeping lady who explained in somewhat limited English that the hotel aircon is off so we had to open the windows. WHAT??? We talked to the front desk about it and they said, ”If after returning from your tour the room is still hot, we'll change the room”. Off we go on our tour. When we returned, sure enough the room was still hot . They had a new shift at the front desk and they knew the issue, so they helped us find another room. Three rooms later, now they put us in a suite, we thought it was not as hot as the previous 3. All this time, a front desk staff took us around to check all the rooms. Later the Duty Manager called and explained that for the months of March-April-May the hotel's central aircon is switched off. Why? The management's policy. WHAT??? We're tired so we settled but couldn't sleep that night, the room was too warm for us. Opening the windows didn't help a bit. The room was depressingly dark, not enough lighting. The furniture was old and the leather on the sofas is already torn. Reminds me of cheap motel, certainly not a Mercure. Bathroom lacked of good lighting. Entering the bathtub is dangerous due to its weird design and position. throughout of this the hotel staff did their best to make us feel comfortable, they were really understanding and helpful but can't do nothing about the aircon. Their gym, on the other hand, was well-lit, cool enough and had complete equipment. First thing in the morning we spent calling nearby hotels, including the nextdoor Marriott Bab Ezzouar, and asked if their aircon was also switched off. Answer: ”No, ours is on!”. After a sad breakfast with very limited menu, we checked out and moved to next door Marriott where we were given a beautiful and cool room.