Beautiful medina riad in Essaouira with sea view
About the property
- House2152 sq. ft.
- Bedrooms4
- Sleeps10
- Bathrooms1
- Half Baths1
- Minimum Stay2 - 3 nights
4 bedrooms, sleeps 2-10, few minutes to beach and town
Dar Ettouahen is a beautiful, elegant, light and airy, newly refurbished riad on a quiet street within the walls of the historic Medina of Essaouira. It is just two minutes walk from the bustling souks, outdoor cafes and candlelit restaurants, and seven minutes from the beach. Cosy enough for two, but well-equipped and spacious enough for a whole family or group of friends, Dar Ettouahen has traditional stone arches, tadelakt (marble-dust walled) bathrooms, tiled floors, high thuya wood ceilings and a open log fireplace.
The ground floor is a wonderful spacious open-plan living space, and upstairs there is a cosy salon and four large bedrooms. On the roof are fantastic sea views - there is a large sheltered terrace with plenty of room for eating, drinking and relaxing and a second smaller upper terrace provides the perfect setting for watching the sun set over the waves crashing on the rocks below.
During your stay, you will be looked after by Fouad, our local caretaker who is there to make sure that you have a great stay. Not only is he able to help with any problems you may have (e.g. finding a doctor), but he can also give lots of advice and organise excursions for you, including transport to the airport (from 600 dhms) or your next destination. He will meet you when you arrive in Essaouira, take you to the house, and lend you a local mobile phone with which you can call him if you need him during your stay. He is kind, honest and very reliable.
The house is cleaned weekly and in between guests. Khadisha, our excellent cook, is also available to make delicious breakfasts and traditional Moroccan dinners for you at very reasonable prices. These meals are often described by guests as a highlight! She will also provide additional cleaning and washing for you on request for a small charge.
If you are travelling with young children we provide stair gates, a high chair, a travel cot (with additional mattress and cot bedding) and a baby bath. We are also able to organise babysitting during the evenings.
The medina around the house is pedestrianised, therefore there is no parking directly by the house but there is a large secure car park just a 10 minute walk down by the beach that many of our guests use. Fouad will be able to give you directions to the carpark on your arrival and will meet you there to welcome you and show you to the house.
Owner
Johan and Clare
- Response rate:
- 100%
- Response time:
- within one day
- Speaks:
- english, swedish
- Calendar last updated:
- Apr 05, 2018
About Johan and Clare
We're a family of five with three young children. We bought the riad in 2006. We love Essaouira and we go there several times a year. The rest of the time we rent out the house. It's great to talk to our guests about Essaouira and Morocco, and it's really nice to see so many guests wanting to come back to our house.
Johan and Clare purchased this House in 2006
Amenities
- Internet
- Pets Welcome
- Fireplace
- Satellite or Cable
- Kids Welcome
- Washer & Dryer
- TV
Bedrooms
- 4 Bedrooms, Sleeps 10
- Bedroom 11 queen, 1 baby crib
- Bedroom 21 queen
- Bedroom 31 queen
- Bedroom 42 twin/ single
- Travel cot provided. There are also additional sofa beds (2).
Bathrooms
- 1 Bathroom, 1 Half Bath
- Bathroom 1toilet, shower
- Bathroom 2shower
- Bathroom 3toilet
Location Type
- Beach
- Downtown
- Near The Ocean
- Ocean View
- Town
Theme
- Away From It All
- Family
- Romantic
Meals
- Catering available
General
- Local Activities Guide
- Baby Gate
- Firewood
- Hair Dryer
- Internet
- Iron & Board
- Linens Provided
- Living Room
- Fireplace
- Safe
- Sofa Bed
- Sunbed
- Toilet Paper
- Towels Provided
- Washing Machine
- Wireless Internet
Kitchen
- 4 Ring Stove
- Coffee Maker
- Dishes & Utensils
- Grill
- KitchenThere is a good range of cooking equipment, utensils, crockery, glasses etc. There is a four ring gas hob and a freestanding small oven. There is a large fridge with a small freezer compartment.
- Refrigerator
- Stove
- ToasterToaster oven
Dining
- Child's Highchair
- Dining Area
- comfy seating for 8 people
Entertainment
- Audio Tape Player
- Books
- CD Player
- DVD PlayerThere is a DVD player and a selection of DVDs for adults and children.
- Radio
- Satellite / Cable
- Stereo
- TelevisionThere is a TV and a satellite dish with reaches a Handful of English speaking channels (and a number of French and German channels).
Outside
- Beach Towels
- Deck / PatioThere is a large sunny, sheltered roof terrace with a small kitchen where there is plenty of room to eat, drink and relax. From two smaller upper terraces there is spectacular view over the sea.
- Terrace
Suitability
- Long-term Renters Welcome
- smoking allowed
- wheelchair inaccessibleThe house is only accessible by foot. Inside, there are lots of stairs which are quite steep.
Onsite Services
- Staff
Attractions
- marina
- restaurants
- ruins
Leisure Activities
- horseback riding
- scenic drives
- walking
Local Services & Businesses
- ATM/bank
- Babysitter
- groceries
Sports & Adventure Activities
- cycling
- fishing
- golf
- sailing
- surfing
- swimming
- tennis
- wind-surfing
Notes
- We have a longstanding relationship with a taxi company who offer a very reliable service at a reasonable cost. They can provide cars of different sizes from Essaouira airport (starting at 200 dhms), from Marrakech (starting at 700 dhms) and from Agadir (starting at 800 dhms). It is also possible to get from Marrakech and Agadir to Essaouira by bus. You don't need a car to explore Essaouira but cars can be hired from Marrakech (e.g. the airport) or Essaouira new town.
House Rules
Check-in: 2:00 PM
Check-out: 11:00 AM
Cancellation Policy
Canceled bookings will not receive a refund
13 Reviews
Latest reviews
Delightful house in the centre of the Medina. Khadija cooked fabulous breakfast every day.
We spent a week here. Everything is very local and it's very easy to go out and buy food to cook. House is immaculate. It has everything you need. Fouad was helpful if we needed advice.
Lovely house.
Superb property and excellent local help
A truly beautiful property with the advantage of Fouad to phone taxis / organise trips - he is a mine of information. Kadisha will cook for you and we'd recommend taking her up on that. The logistics worked very smoothly with Fouad organising the taxi from the airport then meeting us outside the Medina with a porter for the luggage (the Medina being traffic free). We were a little unfortunate in that consistently windy weather kept us from enjoying the sun terrace with its lovely sea views. Other than that we had a great time - local restaurants are very reasonably priced (speak to Fouad for recommendations).
Dar Ettouahen
Just returned from a lovely holiday at this Riad in Essaouira. The roof terrace with a view of the sea was a magically place to sit in the evening watching the sunset. In the heart of the Medina close to the hussle and bussle with a variety of resturants but once inside a quiet relaxing space. The owners were extremely helpful arranging taxis and meals which were excellent. All the arangements went smoothly and the caretaker Fouad was there to answer any queries. What more could we ask.
Lovely spacious old house, beautifully renovated.,
We loved the house, its location was quiet and secluded up a little alleyway. The house was comfortable with plenty of great beds and even a chill out space for the 4 boys who loved the TV and the wifi. Roof terrace much used despite the wind. Kadisha cooked a wonderful meal. Fouad did all he could to make our stay all that we wanted with help and advice and arrangements for transfers. We would love to come back.
Unlimited toilet paper, bin bags and some bottled water there for our arrival would have been generous.....but we managed once we worked out where to get things. The advice in the folder was really helpful. Thank you
Thank you for your positive review, we are really pleased you had such a good time and we would warmly welcome you back in the future, we will also pass your kind words onto Kadisha and Fouad.
We apologise if there was no bottled water when you arrived, we always ensure there is water and fresh fruit for arriving guests so we will make sure this does not get missed in future. We will also ask Fouad to explain to future guests how to get hold of more toilet paper and bin bags in case they run out.
Again, we are really pleased you enjoyed staying at Dar Ettouahen and we hope to see you again soon
Best wishes
Johan and Clare
Very good!
We had a wonderful time in Essaouira. Essaouria was very relaxing after a few days in Marrakech. The house is lovely and very clean, everything you need is there. Everything was very well arranged for us, the taxi from Marrakech, the camel riding, the quad trip and the massages. Fouad was very helpful and Khadisha is a wonderful cook. We enjoyed Essaouira very much and would certainly recommend the city and the house to other visitors!
Jan, Gerda and 3 daughters (18, 16 and 14), Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Nice place in the Medina!
We spent two weeks in this lovely place. Just open the door and you are in the middle of the Medina. On the 4 th floor you are far away and you can enjoy the view of the Atlantic sea and (when it is not too windy) relax in the sun. We filled all the beds (8 adults and 1 smaller child) but enough space to have different activities. Kadisha and her daughters made very nice traditional food and big breakfasts on demand. The house owner was very helpful and we felt everybody wanted us to have a pleasant journey and stay. And we had!
Location
Essaouira is a small historic fishing port on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, renowned for its laid-back and friendly atmosphere, souks stuffed full of local art and craftwork as well as local produce, its long sandy beach and its well-preserved old walled medina, named by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 2001. The weather is temperate and warm year-round and the bracing sea winds make it an attractive spot for windsurfing. The long sandy beach is also home to daily local football and basket ball games and at the south end are the ruins of Borj el-Berod, mythically said to have been the inspiration for Jimi Hendrix's 'Castles made of sand'. The old medina ramparts are a great spot to watch the waves crashing onto the rocks as the sun goes down over the 'Ile de Mogador', a group of tiny islands which offer sanctuary to Eleanora's falcons. Inside the medina, the narrow streets (from which cars are banned), are filled with bustling fish, spice, vegetable and pottery markets, art galleries exhibiting work of local artists, souks selling carpets, ironwork and local thuya wood craftware and children playing. Stop and stare in one of the local cafes or patisseries, selling strong coffee, Moroccan mint tea and freshly squeezed orange juice. Evenings are happily wiled away in one of the numerous restaurants, steeped in atmosphere and warmth, which serve traditional Moroccan fare: tagines, couscous and Moroccan and French wine. Within Essaouira, you won’t need a car (the medina is pedestrianised). You might want to take short trips around Essaouira, but taxis are cheap and easily organised through Fouad (our caretaker). It is also easy to hire a car by the day in Essaouira if you would like to explore more independently. Other Activities: camel-trekking, kite-surfing, kayak, quad-biking, hamams.
Rates & Availability
Additional information about rental rates
We ask for an additional £10/nights for groups of seven or more people. Breakfast and dinner is optional and costs 30/75 dirhams per person. Taxi to and from the airports can be organised. Babysitting available. Our caretaker can help organising excursions. Discounts may be available on last minute bookings and for long stays. Deposits are non-refundable