Villa De L'ô

Pleasant riad just inside the Medina walls close to the sea. The rooms on the top floor are better as they have more light. The beds are quite small though and there's nowhere for your luggage. Most riads we've stayed in have had a couple of bottles of water in the room but none here. Staff were very pleasant. Breakfast was also average- no yoghurt, olives or honey, just fruit, jam, butter and a small cream cheese with bread and pastries.

The building is absolutely remarkable. It's got some wonderful touches, amazing history, large rooms with big bathtubs, and a rooftop overlooking the ocean. The staff were truly the best. They were accommodating, friendly, and hard-working.||Our only suggestion would be that the owners – who we did not meet – invest in the place a little bit more. They've definitely done their job with making the rooms comfortable and beautiful but the rooftop, and small touches throughout the building in the way of repairs and maintenance, would go a long way. The monetary investment should match the investment in such an amazing management team there.

Superb Riad inside the fortified Medina of Essaouira. Great team on reception able to speak French and English. Capacious rooms with wonderful ensuite. Fabulous breakfast with different patisserie and egg options and very attentive service. Suitcases carted outside to waiting taxi as not able to enter Medina

Uninhabitable, stinky, mouldy - they didn’t change bedding and furniture for hundreds of years. It smells like dead people. I’ve got a severe allergic reaction to mould and had to leave. The receptionist refused to check me out. I wiped the desk that was covered in dust and mould and he looked at it and said “we cleaned”. I had to leave for safety reasons and booked another place. It took me over a week to stop coughing and recover from the mould. I have raised the issue with the travel agency, credit card company and relevant authorities about the condition of this property. It has to be shut down and the people running it will be held accountable for severe anti sanitary conditions they dare to call a 4-star hotel.

The manager Raedoumomd |And all the crew, including Smile and the kind lady that cleaned our room everyday are the such of important addition to the amazing Riad called Villa de L’O. They made our experience so pleasant and special! |The place itself is beautiful and full of character! Everything about it made me want to stay for longer time. I really like it that the place is at the beginning of the medina, not in the middle of the crowd. It has an amazing view of the beach from the rooftop! |Everything about it was delightful! |If you have a chance to stay here, do not waist it! |

Upon our arrival at Villa De L'Ô, we were warmly greeted by Nouredino, whose friendliness and helpfulness set a welcoming tone for our stay. Over the course of five days, we found the highlight of our experience to be the exceptional service provided by the entire team.||The hotel is at a prime location, just a few minutes' walk from both the main shopping areas and the beach.||Included in our stay, the breakfast was plentiful, ensuring a great start to our day. The rooftop area was fantastic, providing panoramic views of the sea.||The bedrooms at Villa De L'Ô offered comfort and a good night's sleep after days filled with activities. It's important to note that while Villa De L'Ô provides a lovely experience, it is not a high-end five-star establishment. Some imperfections are present, but they do not detract from the overall quality and charm of the stay.

We had the Prestige room overlooking the beach which was a spectacular vista to wake up to. It is huge with a bathroom the size of most hotel rooms. It had a beautiful sunken bath and separate shower. The building itself is full of French colonial artefacts and furniture. Lovely roof terrace where you can watch the world go by and all ages kite surfing, surfing or playing football on the beach. The hotel also has the benefit of been just inside the medina so easy to access restaurants, shops etc but at the same time also easy to get to the beach (200 yards away). Breakfast was good and included fruit salad. breads, cakes, omelette/ scrambled egg, freshly squeezed orange juice and coffee. Would definitely return!

We were greeted with smiles that continued all week. Redouane and his team could not have been more attentive, helpful and friendly and went out of their way to make our stay fabulous. It is a great location and we had a room with a view down the beach which was fantastic. I would definitely go back but we were lucky as there was no-one else staying there so I worry that it might have been very noisy if others were there. It had an old-faded charm but there is no doubt that it is more shabby than chic - it could be amazing if the owner gave it a little love. We are definitely going back to Essaouira but am not sure I would book again just due to the lack of love.