A gem of a hotel. Cool, calm and very beautiful, Villa Maroc has proved over the years to be a great place to stay whilst in Essaouira...
Claiming the distinction of being Morocco's first riad hotel, Villa Maroc was originally surfer-central, catering to the boarders who are such a feature of Essaouira. These days it’s much more serious, much sharper: a calm white-and-blue gem, run by a friendly couple and spread across three houses and courtyards deep in the Windy City’s UNESCO-protected rabbit-warren medina (old town).
ROOMS: Like the property as a whole, Villa Maroc’s 21 rooms are immaculately (and traditionally) styled, light and spacious, with plenty of mod-cons for good measure. White plaster floors, splashes of dark red fabrics, soft wooden furniture and the odd big colourful pot are par for the chic course. Some rooms also enjoy sea views and separate lounges; ask us to book these.
FACILITIES: After a day haggling in Essaouira’s boisterous markets, surfing the Atlantic waves or bartering in the daily port-side fish markets, Villa Maroc’s fabulous roof terrace is paradise. A small Oriental Spa provides alternative routes to relaxation while, if gardens or a pool are required, all guests have complimentary access to Les Jardins de la Villa Maroc, a beautiful, sister country villa only 15 minutes away via free shuttle.
MORE INFO: Guests can wake each morning to a traditional Moroccan breakfast served either in-room or up on the terrace. Creative, tasty dinners are served in the dining salons, with a fireplace standing ready for the winter months. There’s free Wi-Fi in all public areas.
The Lawrence of Morocco map displays the locations of the destinations and accommodation that we have selected and visited; for each item, hovering over or clicking the marker will display a short summary and photo of that place or hotel, and hotel pricing. Follow the links in the info box to the full page listing which has much more information.
Note that the online map offers both a satellite view (click satellite in the top right) and, for some locations, a street level view (Drag the person in the top left onto the map). These let you explore the country; and when you wish to explore in person, or if you have any questions about the places you see, give our staff a call, or request a quote. Our staff regularly visit the places and accommodation that we feature.
When you book a holiday with us we will provide full driving instructions for reaching your accommodation, where necessary; these can be used by yourself, or you could enjoy the luxury of a driver. Alternatively we will arrange private (car rather than coach) transfers for you; helicopter transfers are also possible for some destinations.
Dear Max,
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. It's only today I noticed that your email had wrongly reached my junk mail folder!
We had a wonderful holiday. Everything went smoothly from start to finish. Both Villa Maroc and Riad Camilia exceeded our expectations and were perfect places to stay both having very friendly, helpful staff and good food. Nicolas at Riad Camilia deserves a special mention for being the perfect host! We enjoyed a half day historic tour of Marrakesh with our guide, Nora, who was great. It was well worth the money as I did find Marrakesh, at least at first, quite a daunting place to get around, especially the medina. I would not normally book excursions/tours as I prefer doing things myself but having a local person showing us around and informing us about the culture and history was a godsend, and made me and my sister far more confident about exploring the city on our own.
I'm hard pressed to think of any negative points about the holiday as I think your team did an excellent job and everything fitted into place perfectly.Booking with Lawrence of Morocco took the hard work out of planning the holiday and I will certainly recommend the company to friends.
From what I have seen of Morocco so far, I think it is a very interesting country with a fascinating culture, lovely people and glorious weather! I think my only tiny complaint is that will did endure some low-level harrasment in the souks from shopowners desperate to sell us things.It did get very tiresome after a while and put us off staying very long. I completely understand the need to make a living but it was a bit offputting for me. On a return visit to the country I would be more inclined to visit less touristy places to avoid this.
I have 'liked' on Facebook. Many thanks to you, Emma, Souad and the rest of the team.
Best wishes,
Frances
Frances Davies who stayed here in October 2015.
Arriving at Villa Maroc was an interesting experience, walking through the city gates to reach the hotel just inside the second wall was like stepping back in time. We had a very light and airy room just below the roof which was very comfortable and just a flight of stairs away from the roof terrace where we enjoyed our breakfasts overlooking the harbour and very wide beach. Once again the staff and the owner of the hotel were very friendly and very helpful, that went from the maid that cleaned our room to the waiting staff and the receptionists. Once again, a safe in the room for our valuable would have been useful. The two dinners that we had at the hotel were very enjoyable as was the red wine. As you are aware, Essaouira can be very windy but we managed to cope with that and walked the length of the beach a few times.
Harry & Sue Carlton who stayed here in April 2014.
Villa Maroc was beautiful-loved exploring the riad's many little rooms. Breakfast was great. They went out of their way to set up breakfast inside with a fire going since it was cold. Location was great. Villa Maroc did have a menu and pricing for dinners, at the reception desk, which was good.
Mark Sloneker who stayed here in January 2014.
Excellent hotel, the staff all very attentive. When luggage was taken to Maroc Villa the porter demanded 100 Dirhams ,checking with the hotel they confirmed the rate was 20 Dirhams ! A very minor issue.
Nicolas C who stayed here in November 2013.
Essaouria is a truly charming place. Villa Maroc is charming to look at, although we feel their service lacks the attention and care if that received at Les Yeux Bleus. We weren't able to check in until three. We would suggest you let customers know this in advance. The customer service from reception was pretty poor and unwelcoming and we felt she was more interested in finding out if we wanted dinner. We sat In the reception area for about ten mins thinking we could check in only to be told we couldn't. They could have suggested to have a drink on the terrace. The suite was lovely, but didn't have the personal touch like Les Yeux Bleus. I suppose we're saying it's become too big and become detached from it's customers. The Porter from the car park was also a disappointment. We felt overcharged and when we were leaving we said we didn't need one. The receptionist didn't really listen and he walked with us to the car park, in the hope of getting some money.
Patricia N who stayed here in October 2013.
Villa Maroc, which is just charming, and we were given a suite which was a nice luxury though we didn't spend much time in it! We took the option of a day at Les Jardins, and though it absolutely beautiful. We loved Essaouira, and we also really enjoyed the trip to the mountains.
Wendy T who stayed here in June 2013.
The Villa Maroc was lovely, staff fab, food the best we had all holiday. All in all would certainly return.
Justine S who stayed here in June 2013.
Villa Maroc - stunning room & totally amazing food - brilliant!!
Deborah H who stayed here in November 2012.
Villa Maroc, Essaouira has been rated 8 times, with an overall rating of 4.38 out of 5.
We really know Morocco and have had the pleasure of making many people's dream trips become reality over the years. It has been our privilege to be asked to manage holidays, weddings and productions for so many fantastic and discerning clients. We remain small and dedicated to providing excellent honest advice to enable you to sit back, relax and enjoy the fun bits without having to manage the unpredictability of this fascinating country.
If you want it done right, look no further!
