Hotel Details
Dar Liouba
| Region: | The Atlantic Coast |
| Location: | Essaouira |
| Season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accommodation Type | Low | Mid | High | |
| Piment / Pourpre |
Red room, double bed, en-suite with shower
|
50 € | 60 € | 70 € |
| Arganier/ Olivier |
Green room, twin (can be double) or triple bed (price change for latter), en-suite shower
|
70/88 € | 80-98 € | 90-113 € |
| Océan / Ciel |
Large, blue-styled rooms. Double bed, fireplace,1st or 2nd floor, view over medina, en-suite
|
70 € | 80 € | 90 € |
| Lavande |
3rd floor, over interior patio, sitting room - fireplace, TV/DVD, dressing room, en-suite bath
|
80 € | 90 € | 100 € |
| Riad in Exclusivity |
Exclusive rental of entire riad (17 people)
|
415 € | 490 € | 580 € |
| Please note: All prices are per room per night | ||||
Check Availability
Special Offers
Free dinner for 2+ night bookings
Free dinner for bookings of 2 night or more between 16th January and 5th February 2011
Facilities
Swimming pool
Air-conditioning
Spa on site
Sunbathing area
Internet connection
Disabled friendly
Vegetarian food
Smoking
Child-friendly
Bar and drinks
In-house restaurant
OtherA guarded car park, (day and night) is situated in the entrance of the medina, 5 minutes from riad.
A laundry service is available.
Description
Originally owned by an academic scholar, this Essaourian riad was acquired by a French architect at the end of the 1990s who transformed it a seven-bedroom guesthouse owned by Brigitte & Jean Pierre, originally from the South of France. A pergola rises three floors from the central courtyard of Dar Liouba, this cedar-wood structure, hand-carved by local craftsmen, allows each bedroom a balcony overlooking the small garden.
The bedrooms stretch from the first to the third floor of Dar Liouba and are smartly decorated in colours to suite their names, fortunately this colour scheme is not overwhelming as the riad has kept its traditional white-washed walls in all rooms. “Piment” and “Pourpre” are double rooms subtly styled in red and orange whilst “Olivier” and “Arganier” boast shades of green, bronze and burgundy. The “Ocean” and “Ciel” rooms are larger rooms with a good supply of light on the first and second floors. They are decorated in blue, beige and white tones, reflecting the colours of Essaouria. Finally Dar Liouba’s only suite “Lavande” is located on the third floor and provides a private apartment with a double bed, (extra beds can be arranged) lounge area with fireplace, TV and DVD and its own dressing room, the en-suite also offers a bath-tub, unlike the former rooms that provide en-suite showers.
Read MoreAlso on this third floor is Dar Liouba’s terrace. Not only is this a comfortable place to enjoy the sun, but the terrace allows guests to discover views over the old town, the coast and even the island of Mogador. Breakfast is usually served here in good weather and includes Moroccan breads and pastries accompanied by fresh fruit and hot drinks. Dinner can be arranged on request and Dar Liouba offers Moroccan, French and Oriental cuisine created with fresh ingredients usually of local origin. In cooler weather meals can be served in the indoor salon/dining room decorated with local textiles, ceramics and a mix of traditional and contemporary local art.
Guests can ask for help in arranging activities around Essaouira, the most popular being water-sports on the coast (only a five-minute walk from the riad). Additionally, Dar Liouba will be happy to organise taxis for small trips to nearby sites or cities of interest, or transfers.
Where is it?
Dar Liouba is located in the medina: a 2 minute walk from the town centre, located near Bab Marrakech and a 5 minute walk from the coast and beach
Travel Times
| Airport | 20 minute drive from Essaouira airport |
| City | 2 minute walk |
| Beach | 5 minute walk |
Other useful information
Activities that can be organised include water-sports on the beach, golf, quad-biking, cooking classes, music classes, and massage.
Special occasions such as birthdays and anniversaries can be organised by the staff.
Rooms Pourpre and Piment only have one window facing onto the patio and guests may wish to avoid this as it is expected it will be quite dark.
Children aged up to four years old stay free.
The riad in exclusivity offers accomodation for up to 17 guests.
The hotel scores are aggregated individual user scores which have been audited as authentic and accurate through due enquiry by Morocco Gateway.
Morocco Gateway reserves the right to exclude any reviews submitted by users which cannot be validated as authentic and accurate. Equally we will resist any request from any hotel to delist any negative review.
| Condition of rooms and the hotel | 6.7 | Food and drink | 6.3 | |
| Overall cleanliness | 7.3 | Relaxation | 7.0 | |
| Pool and facilities | 5.7 | Value for money | 7.7 | |
| Quality of staff | 7.7 | Overall rating | 6.9 | |
| out of 10 | out of 10 | |||
User Reviews on Dar Liouba
Below you'll find reviews written by our users, that have stayed in this hotel. The reviews are vetted and verified by us and may have been summarised by our editor to give you a meaningful summary.
The Editor's Summary
Recent guests who have stayed at Dar Liouba have called it a “homely riad” with a “perfect location” allowing guests who “want to explore on foot” only “a short walk to the beach and an ever shorter one into the markets” and town area with “cafes and restaurants”. Additionally, the location of Dar Liouba is easy to find as the riad itself is “well sign-posted” Guests have enjoyed their rooms, describing them as “very clean” and decorated in a “simple yet thoughtful” style. However the terrace has been described as not such a “comfortable, or picturesque, space” as guests have hoped. Additionally breakfasts “which didn’t appear particularly fresh” have disappointed guests. The staff at Dar Liouba are “friendly” and maintain an environment that is “laid back”, “comfortable” and “relaxing”. Reviews have pointed out that it may be useful for guests to learn some French before arriving, and that families may find the riad “problematic” due to the unavailability of sound insulation and lack of in-house entertainment for children.
Great riad with perfect location – couldn’t believe how easy it was to get from place to place, a short walk to the beach and an even shorter one into the markets, and streets with cafes and restaurants. After being in Marrakech last year and getting hopelessly lost, Dar Liouba came as a big relief. The riad itself id even well sign-posted and the fact its near Bab Marrakech means its even easier to remember.
We stayed in the Ciel room and really enjoyed it, it was very laid back and the staff really urged us to feel at home with mint tea and biscuits on our arrival and subsequent breakfasts which were lovely and fresh. The only thing that wasn’t quite so easy was the fact they don’t speak a lot of English here so best to read over some French before arriving to avoid any uncomfortable miscommunications!
| Condition of rooms and the hotel | 7.0 | Food and drink | 6.0 | |
| Overall cleanliness | 8.0 | Relaxation | 7.0 | |
| Pool and facilities | 5.0 | Value for money | 8.0 | |
| Quality of staff | 8.0 | Overall rating | 7.0 | |
| out of 10 | out of 10 | |||
Dar Liouba is a homely riad in the centre of the old town and therefore great for new visitors of Essaouira who want to explore on foot. We were definitely pleased by the guesthouse and its staff – all of whom were very friendly and did their best to make our stay comfortable and relaxing (whilst allowing us our own privacy too)!
Curious as to their cuisine we requested dinner and were met with a tajine that evening, which was not only delicious but reasonably priced for what it was at around 15 euros.
The rooms were very clean and as the profile mentions; the decoration was not overblown or exaggerated but remained simple yet thoughtful.
I would definitely think of coming back here and would recommend it to couples like ourselves, but perhaps not families as the lack of TVs in rooms as well as the sound tunnel formed by the pergola may prove problematic…
| Condition of rooms and the hotel | 7.0 | Food and drink | 8.0 | |
| Overall cleanliness | 7.0 | Relaxation | 7.0 | |
| Pool and facilities | 6.0 | Value for money | 8.0 | |
| Quality of staff | 8.0 | Overall rating | 7.3 | |
| out of 10 | out of 10 | |||
We were happy with Da rLiouba because of its location and helpful staff, however the house itself we were not so enamoured by. The terrace wasn’t such a comfortable, or picturesque, space as we’d hoped. This combined with the breakfast which didn’t appear particularly fresh, created a couple of dreary starts to otherwise fantastic days. Fortunately, we were able to speak French which gave us an advantage of two other guests staying at the same time as us who didn’t speak a word and had quite a bit of trouble making themselves understood. On the whole, we wouldn’t plan returning but travellers who are looking for a simple yet cosy base for really getting out and seeing the city should enjoy their stay.
| Condition of rooms and the hotel | 6.0 | Food and drink | 5.0 | |
| Overall cleanliness | 7.0 | Relaxation | 7.0 | |
| Pool and facilities | 6.0 | Value for money | 7.0 | |
| Quality of staff | 7.0 | Overall rating | 6.4 | |
| out of 10 | out of 10 | |||