Essaouira bed and breakfast accommodation

This house is a home-from-home for ourselves, our friends, family and guests. In renovating the house we have tried to create a comfortable space which will act as a base for your explorations of Essaouira, and more specifically our neighbourhood, Chbanat. Chbanat is a part of the old town famous for its textile workshops, where weavers spin their yarn and produce beautiful cloth on hand looms, set back from the street in tiny workshops.

Here you can sit back and watch everyday Moroccan life unfold: children playing and collecting water from the communal well; women scurrying back and forth from the public oven; men spinning yarn, chatting on street corners or heading back from a fishing expedition. Overhead the seagulls cry and in the distance the slow march of time is captured by the muezzin’s calls to prayer.

The house is light and airy, and fuses old and new Moroccan and European styles, but without being slavish to any particular ‘look’ or period. Hand-built by local craftsmen, the house features beautiful, reclaimed Moroccan doors, floor tiles and furniture, complemented with a mix of European accessories and design features. Unlike many Moroccan properties let out to tourists, this house does not feature a central courtyard - which can be a big advantage if you value your privacy, as you won't be sharing the house or roof terrace with other guests.

The house has two double bedrooms, each with its own private shower room. There is a living room with wood-burning fireplace; the sofa in this room can be made up as a single bed if required. There is also a simple but well-equipped kitchen and dining area, and there are two terraces, with appropriate furniture, which overlook the medina and have sea views. We do not have a TV but there is an i-pod/mp3 speaker system for guests’ use. There is also an iron and ironing board and hair dryer if required.

Our house manager will bring evening meals on request (at additional cost) and will do guests’ laundry (again, at additional cost). We can also offer accompanied trips such as shopping, hammam etc and assistance with bookings for surfing, camel rides etc and baby sitting.

Family friendly: We aim to be very family-friendly, with under-fives staying free and children aged 5-16 paying a minimal charge of just £10 per night. We do not charge a premium for guests staying during school holidays, as we feel this unfairly penalises families.

We strongly feel that a holiday in Essaouira can be a fantastic educational experience for children, and have first-hand experience of European children sharing time with the local kids. We are building up a library of board games and books in the house and provide guests with a few suggestions of activities they and their children may enjoy in Essaouira.

The house is situated near Essaouira’s Bab Doukkala, and is easily accessible from both the CTM bus stop and the Supratours terminus near the Bab Marrakech. It is around 2-2.5 hours’ drive or bus journey from Marrakech and Agadir airports. Supervised public parking is available near the Bab Marrakech.