Reviews For Essaouira Holiday house - Property 98591

Holiday Rental Location: World, Africa, Morocco, Marrakech - Essaouira Region, Essaouira
Spacious holiday home with large private roof terrace and panoramic views
Spacious holiday home with large private roof terrace and panoramic views
4 bedroom house to sleep 8 in a quiet and pedestrianized area outside the Medina
Dar Doughri is a 4 bedroom guest house, for short or long-term holiday rental, in the Moroccan coastal town of Essaouira. The UNESCO World Heritage site town of Essaouira is 21/2 hour drive west of M...
 5/5

Excellent value for money.
MLSL   London, UK.
Date Submitted: October 12, 2009   Date of Stay: August 2009
The Dar Doughri was a real treat. We never imagined it to be that huge! It's well maintained, well equipped and very homely. Furthermore the location is perfect, just a short walk to the Medina. It's nice to be away from the hustle and bustle of the Medina especially after spending the whole day there and come back to
a very peaceful Dar Doughri. We especially love the rooftop terrace,
so much privacy as there are no other buildings over looking it. We
had all out breakfast prepared by Karima up there. We absolutely love the Dar Doughri and have recommended it to all our friends. Karima was very pleasant to have around and we thoroughly enjoyed her cooking. Though a little shy, she is ever so polite and cheerful. Foaud was very helpful too and often offered a brief history and cultural information about Morocco whenever he pops by. Excellent value for money and we would not hesitate to stay there again should we find ourselves heading that way.

Recommended for: Families with Teenagers, Families with Young Children, Girls Getaway, Tourists without a Car

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 5/5

June/July '09
Agent C.   Birmingham.
Date Submitted: July 17, 2009   Date of Stay: June 2009
I had visited Essaouira 7 years ago and was looking forward to returning for the World Music Festival.

Dar Doughri did not disappoint. It's a great house, comfortable,clean and well-equipped. Stairs (4 flights to the roof terrace) might be challenging for elderly or disabled visitors.
The Staff were great; helped to organise excursions and the (optional) breakfasts and evening meals were a real bargain.

So much for the good news....

I appreciate that this is supposed to be a review of the Dar, but for me, it's not possible to separate my experiences there from my experiences in the town during the Festival. I have no wish to be negative or put anyone off, but feel compelled to offer some observations on the effect the Festival has on the town.

Essaouira has a population of 80,000. This apparently expanded to over 200,000 for the Festival period. Not everyone was there for the music. I had my pocket picked on the first night and nearly suffered the same fate a couple of days later.

The Festival itself was professional in terms of staging, lighting & sound but policing and crowd control were totally inadequate.

At several of the concerts, the atmosphere was just not conducive to enjoying the music. Groups of young boys were constantly passing through the crowd in 'conga lines' and clearly had no interest in anything happening on the stage. There were outbreaks of trouble in the crowd at another concert and the atmosphere became quite intimidating - and I speak as a veteran of such events.

In these circumstances, Dar Doughri became a bit of a refuge. This was good, but if I'd just wanted to sit on a roof terrace in the sun, I could have gone to Torremolinos.

It's a shame that the atmosphere at the concerts was not more relaxed because it has the potential to be a great Festival.

To sum up, Dar Doughri is a great house and the Staff could not have been more helpful. Essaouira is still a beautiful and atmospheric place, but there are logistical problems with the Festival which need to be resolved - largely in terms of crowd control and policing. I would happily visit Dar Doughri and Essaouira again - just not while the Festival is on.

Recommended for: Families with Teenagers, Age 55+, Girls Getaway, Tourists without a Car, Sightseeing, Romantic Getaway, Adventure Seekers

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 5/5

24 June-1 July
degsy500   Lune valley, lancashire, England.
Date Submitted: July 13, 2009   Date of Stay: June 2009
I was part of a group stying during the above period
The property was clean, well maintained and the descriptions accurate. Despite arriving late at night after delays on our journey from Marrakesh the guardian of the prpperty and the housekeeper were waiting for us with a hot meal on our arrival. The guardian coped well with our questions about the locality and trips out, whilst the housekeeper provided excelent breakfasts every day and quite a few evenings at our request, overall we were delighted with the property
Our only concerns were with the music festival we had come to see. It was experience was very varied. On occasion the music and ambience was excellent and all we expected but on occasion the event was over attended. The organisers observations of basic safety and crowd control were non existent, pick pockets were rife and there was a young element causing trouble within the crowds, principally but not exclusively after dark. On one occasion we almost had to fight our way out of the crowd to a place of safety. This did not in any way affect our enjoyment of the property and in general the holiday was amongst the best we've had

Recommended for: Age 55+, Families with Young Children, Tourists without a Car, Sightseeing, Romantic Getaway, Adventure Seekers

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 5/5

Open spaces very close to medina
Round birthday girl   kent.
Date Submitted: May 19, 2009   Date of Stay: May 2009
Lovely house, well cared for, comfortable. Good bathrooms, good size bedrooms, good storage. Great terrace.
Get Karima to cook for you in the evening and wonderful breakfast.Reliable but unobtrusive Staff on hand to organise anything you want, very well organised. Spent my 60th birthday with friends and family here and it was all I hoped it would be. Stroll to souk, beach and the best hamman ever. Brilliant evening at Dar Loubane, didnt have a bad meal anywhere and some of the best coffee ever!
Would I go back - definately.
Good value for money

Recommended for: Families with Teenagers, Age 55+, Families with Young Children, Girls Getaway, Tourists without a Car, Sightseeing

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 4/5

Thanks, Fiona!
Don'thaveanickname   Bristol.
Date Submitted: May 14, 2009   Date of Stay: April 2009
The dar is clean and spacious with plenty of bathrooms and a lovely sheltered roof terrace for sun bathing and relaxing. The kitchen is extremely well equipped too. There's much hilarity to be had with Karima, who speaks no English and only a little French, if you take a Moroccan Arabic phrase book, and engage her in conversation as she prepares a delicious meal. Foad was fantastically helpful when one of our children was ill - the hospital is just round the corner and the service would knock the average NHS A and E wait into a cocked hat! Lots of restaurants in the town too - and if you're travelling around, Essaouira is the place to buy wooden boxes etc. We didn't, and regretted it. Camel riding was a highlight for the children, as was simply buying a basketball and taking on some of the local children at the courts by the beach.

Recommended for: Families with Teenagers, Age 55+, Families with Young Children, Girls Getaway, Tourists without a Car

Owners Response: One of the main concerns from guests is what happens when there is an illness, crisis situation or minor ailment. We, and other guests both young and old, have had only praise for the efficiency of the medical service and pharmacies in Essaouira. The hospital and a pharmacy are both walking distance from the house and in the Medina many pharmacists speak good enough English to diagnose the ailment in question. Doctors can be called out to the Dar for minimal charge 24 hours a day.
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 5/5

5 Lovely days iin Dar Doughri
saldave   Warminster, Wiltshire, UK.
Date Submitted: April 22, 2009   Date of Stay: February 2009
David and I thoroughly enjoyed our days in DD. The house had a welcoming feel to it from the moment we arrived. Having the service of Fuad to arrange our daily schedule and iron out any language difficulties was invaluable. Charima the maid organised the breakfast daily which we had on the lovely roof top terrace. The facilities of the house were perfect for the 8 of us .The open plan kitchen come sitting area made for a friendly informal atmosphere.
We walked across to the medina ( the old town) which bustled with excitement and activity. The shopping involved some bargaining a skill which we developed quite quickly.From there we walked onto the seafront and admired the sandy beach.
We made the best of the activities available riding camels on the beach and Quad biking for 30 kms on the sand dunes.There is alot to do!
We very particularly enjoyed our evening meals at Le Chalet de la Plage, and Riad Al Madina though the choice of restaurants is plentiful.
Finally we would certainly recommend Dar Doughri to our friends for an alround wonderful holiday.

Recommended for: Families with Teenagers, Age 55+, Families with Young Children, Tourists without a Car, Sightseeing, Adventure Seekers

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 5/5

Fabulous Holiday - Highly recommended
ali123   Oxfordshire.
Date Submitted: April 10, 2009   Date of Stay: March 2009
My husband and I visited the Dar with our 5 year old, and stayed for one week. The house was great, well located, just a short walk from the medina and beach, or a 50p taxi ride seemingly from and to everywhere when little legs got too tired. We had dinner cooked for us in the Dar on a couple of nights and the food was excellent, and it was such a treat to have breakfast prepared each morning for nominal charge. The house was spotlessly clean with all the facilites one would expect for a top notch stay. Nothing was too much trouble for Kareema, who cooks cleans, washes and irons!! It is a little like staying in your own exclusive boutique hotel.
We went horseriding down the beach, lots of shopping, and checked out the local five star hotels' swimming facilities as the sea was pretty chilly. With v young children try the Ocean Vagabond boutique hotel, we were able to use their small, but heated pool as long as we had a v reasonably priced lunch (with Kids menu). The Atlas Hotel has an enormous pool but charge 200 dhm pp (approx £20), including a sandwich lunch and a drink. The tip of the holiday was the berberes massage, 2 hours for £35!! Book as soon as you arrive and instantly relax for the rest of your holiday.

We highly recommend the Dar, and will be going back with a group of friends in future. Also would be very good for people with slightly older children as there is a such a diversity of activities on offer.

Recommended for: Families with Teenagers, Age 55+, Families with Young Children, Girls Getaway, Tourists without a Car, Sightseeing, Adventure Seekers

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 5/5

Super week over Christmas
Sue F   Isle of wight.
Date Submitted: January 19, 2009   Date of Stay: December 2008
Dar Doughri is a perfect place for a stay in Essaouira. There were seven of us plus 18month old baby and it was ideal. Everyone had their own bathroom and all the paraphernalia for a toddler was provided which was a huge plus. Karima provided the most wonderful breakfast each day, juice, eggs, croissents, fruit, cake and coffee for an amazing price. The weather was lovely, but chilly at night, so we lit the fire in the main room and it was so cosy, perfect for the obligitory chrismas silly games. The town is lovely, busy and colourful but small enough not to get lost and we all felt very safe. Huge range of cafes and restuarents at all prices. The house was very clean, comfortable and the housekeeper really helpful. Fiona was brilliant with tips and information beforhand and with arranging taxis for us all at different times from Marrakesh. Thouroughly recommend Dar Doughri, it's amazingly good value and in a very good position in the town. As with all riads, there are quite a lot of steps so might not be ideal for anyone elderly or disabled. We loved it and would do it again, if we could ever pursuade the family to spend a whole week together again!

Recommended for: Families with Teenagers, Age 55+, Families with Young Children, Tourists without a Car

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 5/5

Wonderful Stay in Beautiful Dar Doughri
sophie h   london.
Date Submitted: November 19, 2008   Date of Stay: November 2008
We had a wonderful stay at this beautiful house, if anything the pictures didn't do it justice! The house is huge, and well equipped with everything we needed for our stay, with lots of amazing character touches like the open fire in the lounge and the cave shower in the main bedroom! The housekeeper was incredibly helpful organising excursions for us and always on hand when we needed advice. There's a lot to explore in the local area and activities like horse-riding, camel riding and quad biking but the roof terrace also provided us some calm and privavy in the sun when we needed it. The town was a lovely introduction to morrocco for us, but when we got to Marrakech we wishes we'd stayed in Essouira longer! Its well located with the medina, with all its shop, cafes, restuarants and Hammams a 5-10 minute walk and visible from the rood. Fiona was extremely helpful in helping us to organise our trip from advice on flights to organising a taxi pick up from marrakech. The house is incredible value for money for the size and facilities, we are so happy we chose this over one of the local hotels. We really hope to return to the house and to Essouira and would recommend this to friends, thanks so much for a perfect holiday!

Recommended for: Families with Teenagers, Age 55+, Families with Young Children, Pet-friendly, Girls Getaway, Tourists without a Car, Sightseeing, Romantic Getaway, Adventure Seekers

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 5/5

The perfect holiday pad...
Beazer   Guildford, Surrey.
Date Submitted: August 16, 2008   Date of Stay: July 2008
What a wonderful holiday! Dar Doughri provided the perfect base from which to explore this exciting, beautiful city. Spacious, immaculately clean, and tastefully decorated, the house was a delight to stay in for the whole family. It was a relief to have accomodation just outside of the hustle and bustle of the souks within the medina.

As for Essaouira, there were lots of places to explore and things to do to keep us busy. However, there are not many 'official' tourist attactions, and subsequently the best things to do in the medina are shop, explore the winding alleyways, and take in the atmosphere at a local coffee shop/patisserie. We also enjoyed quad biking, surfing lessons and going to have a hammam. I would say though that we hadn't quite anticipated the wind in Essaouira. While this is apparently normal at this time of year, and I will be taking a couple more jumpers for evening strolls along the beach next time I go!

Overall we had a fab time, were never short of anything to do, and felt very well catered for throughout our stay. The house really made our stay, and we couldn't have wished for more. We will definitely be going back for more.

Recommended for: Families with Teenagers, Age 55+, Families with Young Children, Girls Getaway, Tourists without a Car

Owners Response: The wind in the months of June,July,August give Essaouira the title of The Windy City but ensure fabulous kite and windsurfing conditions for those who want a challenge. Once you are inside the Medina walls or on our roof terrace you can still relax, eat or shop and watch the world go by protected from the warm Moroccan winds.
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 4/5

Moroccan travels
SalT   France.
Date Submitted: August 14, 2008   Date of Stay: July 2008
We had a wonderful time in Dar Doughri. It was interesting for me to be a 'guest' because I have had my own flat on ownersdirect - FR2228 for the last year.

You've asked me for comments, so here goes...

It was great to find tea, coffee, sugar and milk. The house was very clean.

Omar was fantastic - meeting us, taking Pierre to the nearby market and showing him where to buy things. We also bumped into him in the medina and he helped me buy a few bits of china - a more serious shopper would have have made excellent use of his local knowledge. - and he helped us leave asking a man with a cart to carry our bags.

All that said, I repeat, we had a great time and I would have no reservation about recommending your clean pleasant and well situated house.

We came to the coast from the valley of the Ourika using a very discreet and prudent young taxi driver, I meant to give his details to Omar but forgot- when I find them I will pass them on to you. He brought us to you for 800 DH - Over 4 hours drive I think that's his daily rate.

With my very best regards,
Sally
Owners Response: Any tips and contacts given to us by guests are always welcome and added to the holiday information file in the house - I now have the name and number for the "discreet young taxi driver". We now have Fouad to welcome our guests to Essaouira and, like Omar, he has an invaluable local knowledge and speaks English, French and Arabic!
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 5/5

Essaouiran Heaven

RILK   Wiltshire.
Date Submitted: June 04, 2008   Date of Stay: March 2008
We had a fabulous stay in Dar Doughri. The bedrooms were spacious and comfortable and we enjoyed taking in the huge views of Essaouira from the roof terrace. Great for sunbathing too as it is not over-looked! Every adventure we had was only a short walk away - it was lovely not to have to use a car to get around. The local pools were a bit chilly and a wetsuit is definatley needed at this time of year in the sea but we had some great beach walks to the camels. There are too many restaurants to list but the information file at the Dar gave us great ideas for a differant taste bud experience every night. Cant wait to visit again.

Recommended for: Families with Teenagers, Age 55+, Families with Young Children, Girls Getaway, Tourists without a Car, Sightseeing, Romantic Getaway, Adventure Seekers

Owners Response: If you would rather sunbathe all day on our terrace and not have a day off from the markets then please ask our housekeeper, Karima to cook delicious traditional dishes for lunch or dinner such as a tagine with produce fresh from the souks and she can also rustle you up a delicious continental breakfast on the terrace.
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Reviews are the subjective opinions of Holiday-Rentals travellers and not of Holiday-Rentals Limited.