Barcelo is a basic no-frills business hotel that offers decent amenities for an affordable price in central Casablanca. It’s located off the busy D’Anfa Boulevard and is close to many great restaurants and shops. There are 14 floors of standard rooms, along with several suites that have a great view of the Hassan II Mosque.

The lobby has a simple elegance with black and wood grain walls that you would expect in a hotel of its stature. There’s a small cubicle for internet, along with some couches that are perfect for meeting people, having a coffee, or waiting for a taxi to arrive. There is a restaurant on the first floor that serves continental and Moroccan cuisine, and when I visited, it was packed with people watching a football game.

Unfortunately, the room I stayed in didn’t quite match up to my initial impressions of the hotel. It was in need of some rehab and had very basic amenities. The decor was very simple with not much personality, including orange walls, and one painting of an olive on the wall. The bed linens were lumpy and didn’t cover the whole bed, so you could see the sheets hanging off. Pillows were extremely small and seemed really old and limp, like a bunch of cotton balls were thrown inside.

The walls and bed needed some serious dusting, and there were handprints on the headboard. The windows looked like they hadn’t been cleaned for a while and were covered in a layer of grime. My view was nothing to look at — just a noisy construction site across the street. There were also stains on the hardwood floor where somebody spilled a drink, which had then gathered dirt.

The bathroom was basic with a toilet and a bidet, but the seat needed repainting, as did the yellow walls of the bathroom. A metal push button toilet handle fell off the wall as soon as we entered the bathroom and I had to reattach it as it wasn’t secure at all.

Most hotels rooms in Morocco provide water bottles, but this one did not have any, nor was there any coffee available, only the basics: shampoo, conditioner and soap.

On the other hand, the staff was extremely helpful and nice, so that made up somewhat for the quality of the room. They also made a phone call to help me find a restaurant, recommended several places to go in the area, and were prompt about bringing my luggage to my room.

If you are on a budget and need to stay in the area, this hotel will make do, but for a bit more money you can get something much nicer and better situated to the CBD and Old Medina.