On rare occasions when travelling, one finds a lodging where one feels completely at home. For me, it has only happened a couple of times. Once at an Inn on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State, after a secret nuptial ceremony, and once in a picturesque Haveli in Pushkar (famous for its camel races) in Rajasthan. But then, we discovered La Maison de Tanger in Morocco, and there it was again – this feeling of having come ‘home’. My husband and I have returned several times since, and when we finally met the rock musician owners, it became clear why this North African refuge is so unique. So, if you are looking for that special home away from home, join me on a trip across the Strait of Gibraltar to our ‘home’ in Tangier.
What is a home, anyhow? It’s where someone lives – a house, a flat, a castle or a tipi. But beyond a physical dwelling, a home is a feeling. Subtle elements such as colours, smells, sounds, and the general vibe contribute to this sensation, which is sadly lacking in most public lodgings. Hotels are usually too big, which disqualifies them from being homey. With their uniformed staff, endless hallways, muzak and that universal hotel smell, they are too impersonal. Yesteryear’s Bed and Breakfasts would often be cosy and home-like, but I always felt like I was staying with someone’s nosy aunt. Airbnbs are usually far too generic with their anonymous proprietors and exterior key boxes, which means that perhaps boutique hotels are the closest one can come to a welcoming home away from home. And that is what we found in Tangier.
The city of whispers
It is described as a city of whispers. A place where the past meets the present and poetry lives in the very air you breathe. Much has been written about Tangier, especially by the Beat Generation, a group of writers, poets and artists who lived here in the 1950s and 60s. Though they are all gone, new artists have arrived in their place, ensuring that Tangier still exudes that explorer’s vibe. As for us, we are mere travellers coming here for a long weekend. Yet, we are always enchanted by this city, whose stories are carried by the coastal winds.
The ferry from Tarifa in Southern Spain brings us straight to Tanger Ville port, from where one can easily walk up through the gate of the old city wall and end up in the bustling streets of the Grand Souk. But we have not come here to haggle over carpets or Babouche slippers. We pass the lively sales stalls, the cake sellers balancing their heavy trays, the motorbikes zooming dangerously near lost tourists, and the bars filled with a mostly male coffee-drinking clientele. Soon, we exit at the other side of the Souk, crossing a couple of streets, passing the cemetery on the hill, turning right and left, and we are ‘home’!
La Maison
La Maison de Tanger is like a sophisticated traveller’s refuge, something one senses as one’s eyes meet the generous abode in a classic Moroccan style with that undefinable Tanger twist. There are no glaring hotel signs, merely a brass plaque by the door, enveloped by tropical trees and plants – another surprising thing about this North African coastal city. It is lush. In every tiny gap between buildings, even in the incredibly narrow streets of the Kasbah, you will find towering palms, flowering bushes, and trailing ivy.
As soon as we ring the bell, the door opens with a familiar Bienvenue! The staff is yet another reason why we love La Maison. All are multilingual Moroccans (Oussama speaks Swedish!) except the ever-helpful French-Canadian manager, Sandra. Today, Zakaria is at the front desk. He and I have been communicating to arrange my interview with the owners so that it won’t coincide with the band’s touring schedules and recording plans. And this weekend, it is about to happen!
Berber walls
But first, we go to ‘our’ room (one of nine), as we, like almost every guest who returns, want ‘our’ room back. It is just that type of place.
Our special room features a deep crimson ceiling and charcoal walls, accented with original framed art, evoking the ambience of a guest room in a globetrotting, artistically minded friend’s home. It is neither among their biggest nor best rooms, which usually face the jungle-like garden with the pool. But since our first stay here, it is as if we belong in this room with the picture of the Arab boy on the wall.
Speaking of walls, the entire hotel has a Tadelakt plaster wall finish – a beautiful, more than 2000-year-old Berber technique that leaves the walls smooth as silk yet hard as stone, with subtle colour differences. The choice is no surprise, as the original owners, a French architect and his partner, displayed excellent taste when creating their Maison. The feeling is embedded in the Moroccan hues and the carefully selected textures and pieces of furniture. The garden terraces, where I often bring my laptop to work, and the living room encourage relaxation. At night, the city beckons with its beautiful sunsets, but a date on la Maison’s rooftop is sometimes all one needs to sense the heartbeat of Tanger. As one guest perfectly put it, “La Maison de Tanger is the journey within the journey” (le voyage dans le voyage). Staying here is a journey in itself.
Only a few other guests are dining with us in the living room this evening. There is no menu, as Ilham, the cook, goes to the market, buys what is fresh and available and serves up a tajin feast that makes our mouths water. And thanks to the new owners, the playlist is chill, and there is wine to be had, which is not a given in this country.
Meet the band
The following day, the Canadian owners, Alex Henry Foster Band (formerly Your Favourite Enemies), appear. The band members willingly assist in serving coffee and clearing tables – quite a surprise for what many would describe as rock stars. But then again, they are not your garden variety band. Alex, their visionary leader, has a brief hour for me before it is back to work on two albums coming out later this year. I am curious about how they ended up as hotel owners. However, to understand this, we must start at the beginning.
Alex grew up in a humble family on the east side of Montreal, where they “moved ten times before I was seven”. The one thing the family didn’t lack was music, and in 2006, Alex started the world-renowned band Your Favourite Enemies (YFE).
-We were just a bunch of friends who became professional musicians, touring the world.
Every time they did a show, the band reinvested the proceeds in recording equipment, editing software, and video equipment, eventually becoming completely independent. This is how the church they brought as their home and musical headquarters helped them during Covid, when most musicians “played the ukulele in their bathtubs”. Eventually, the band established their record label, Hopeful Tragedy Records, a merchandising company and even a vinyl pressing plant. But, as Alex points out, the main objective always was and still is to commune with people.
YFE’s last album, Between Illness and Migration, became so successful that they could have kept touring forever based on that record. But the hectic life had taken its toll on the band leader, who needed a change. He brought the band to Morocco, where they travelled around for several months. And when Alex was supposed to go to Barcelona to write their next album, he decided to stay in Tangier.
-I just felt I had to be here. I was a bit lost and confused, and just like anyone who is lost and confused, I was probably the last to know. But here in Tangier, I was able to find some balance and perspective.
That was the beginning of their new adventure. What was originally a couple of months ended up being almost two years, during which time Alex grieved the loss of his father and wrote on the roof terrace of the place where he was staying. The band encouraged him to release what he had written, and it became a very personal and intimate record called Window in the Sky.
-Nothing was planned, which is how all the magic happens with me. I didn’t want to be ‘famous’ again, but the album received a lot of attention.
The original six band members were back together, this time as Alex Henry Foster Band, playing what they call “cinematic, Prague-style experimental rock”.
Buying a hotel during a pandemic
When the world shut down due to the global pandemic, the band was quarantined in their large recording facility outside Montreal while Alex composed in his home in Virginia. It was also around this time that he started thinking about buying a place in Tangier.
-There is a real spirit here that you don’t find anywhere else.
Friends recommended they look at La Maison de Tanger, which the band viewed via Zoom from their bases in Montreal and Virginia. Between lockdowns, Alex, Jeff and Isabel from the band managed to travel to Morocco to see the hotel in person.
-We walked in and loved it, exclaims Isabel, who has joined the conversation.
In addition to managing their record label, this vibrant Montrealer sings and plays keyboard, flute, clarinet, trumpet, and saxophone with the band.
-Thankfully, the hotel had an excellent reputation and staff who helped us from the get-go. As artists, we have very little interest in renting rooms, whereas creating an experience is something we like to do, she explains.
Hospitality was completely new to the band, but they knew how to work with the public and make people feel welcome.
-When we arrived to sign the papers, the owners just gave us the key and said, “You’re in charge now”, and left, recalls Alex.
They immediately needed to regroup. Isabel took the front desk, Jeff, who is a French chef, took the kitchen, and Alex walked around with a glass of wine, talking to the guests.
– It started like that! We had to learn fast, as borders were opening, and we were already fully booked.
Since the hotel was busy, they ended up buying a house in the old Medina, where they established their Moroccan home base, combined with a smaller recording facility. But Isabel admits that being a musician is a very nomadic lifestyle.
-When you are in a band, your identity is just that. It is almost like a marriage. But music is our tool to impact the world and our calling. And if it isn’t music, we try to impact the world positively in some other way – like with a hotel …
Part of their small contribution to Tangier is that they can hire local staff and support a little ‘ecosystem’ of families. They like to live like and with the locals, and most of their friends are Moroccan. It might surprise some that the band still has not performed in town, but the band leader prefers it this way.
-I like to be Alex around here. I know how quickly things can change when people see you in a different environment. That is why I never want to mix those two universes.
I am just happy to be the guy who feeds the dogs.
My time is up, and the band is off for other engagements. The final recordings for their upcoming album will be done in their facilities in Montreal before they go touring, once again.
We have one more night in La Maison before we head back across the Strait to Spain. But we hope to return to our Tangier ‘home’ soon to spend another evening on the roof terrace listening to the Muezzin’s call to prayer while gazing over the rooftops towards the Mediterranean.
