Villa Garance

Recent Reviews: 434

• User:BAM1113

  Trip type: Couples

  Appealing place in a noisy location

  31 Oct 2025

  My husband and I adored Essaouira and were happy to have 2 nights there! Villa Garance is located in the heart of the medina so it's convenient for wandering around in it, and walking distance to the seashore. The hotel has a lot of local charm. Our room was basic, but spacious and nicely decorated. There are lovely views from the terrace and it's a good place to relax and have breakfast. We needed to do laundry and the woman at the front desk told us about a laundry nearby. When we were ready to look for it, a helpful man at the desk actually walked us there and talked to the guy at the laundry place to make sure that we could get our wash back by that evening since we were leaving early the next morning. We were so grateful! They did a terrific job on our clothes by the way. When we checked out, another kind man at the desk helped us with our bags, which we didn't expect. What we most disliked about this place was the noise. Our room overlooked the front entrance and on Sunday there were boys in the alley right outside the entrance yelling and playing football for hours until nighttime. The sound of the ball hitting the wall repeatedly was annoying. People in the alley spoke loudly at all hours, including someone chatting on a phone for quite awhile just outside the entrance, so we were awakened a few times during the night. On weekdays there's a lot of noise from the school nearby. I'm not sure if it's possible in the medina, but a quieter location would have been better for us.

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• User:Arnaud R

  Trip type: Couples

  Lovely riad

  14 Jun 2025

  We spent 1 night in this riad after a few intense days in the Marrakesh region. We've been very glad to with the location and upon our arrival the personal has been very pleasant, respectful and accommodating with us. This, between other factors, made our stay in Essaouira lovely

• User:p b

  Trip type: Friends getaway

  Lovely place to stay

  01 Jun 2025

  This was our second stay here and it did not disappoint. The rooms are large and tastefully decorated in a Moroccan style. The staff are very friendly and helpful. Breakfast on the roof is pleasant with eggs, fruit, juices, yoghurt and breads.Location is great, just near a main shopping street and through a short alley to the busiest shopping street. Resaurants and coffee shops within a 5 min walk. 10 min walk to one of the gates for transport.I would definitely recommend this villa for a stay in Essaouria.

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• User:Susan A

  Trip type: Friends getaway

  Well appointed accommodation in a great location that’s genuine value for money

  06 Jan 2025

  I stayed at Villa Garance on the recommendation of a Tripdavisor regular contributor and her endorsement was sound. First of all, the position is excellent, right in the middle of the medina and the bustle of life. I stayed in a first floor room (#2) which had a gorgeous wooden ceiling and French windows that opened onto the street below; it was lovely to hear the chatter of families going about their business and the sound of the children playing (usually football!). Night-time on the street was generally much quieter, with no significant noise to disturb my slumbers! However, I struggled slightly with an outside light that was directly by my window, until I noticed that the window had shutters as well as curtains. Even with the shutters firmly closed, the light still entered the room, although I was less disturbed.The room was an average size and, for a riad in its category, it was extremely well appointed, with plenty of storage including a wardrobe, complete with a good number of hangers, and shelving. There was even a heater in the room, should it be needed. The bed was very comfortable and I slept well, once I’d adjusted to the light sneaking into the room. The only fly in the ointment was that I kept catching my toes on the end of the bed, due to the closeness of the bed to the wall, leaving me in considerable pain and hobbling for the week (partly my own fault but the space between the bed and the wall is extremely tight). I was impressed with the excellent lighting in the room, too, allowing me to read. More often than not, lighting in riads is really dim making it difficult to read but that definitely wasn’t the case here.There was plenty of hot water for showering, although the shower could be a bit hit and miss with the temperature fluctuating without warning but, again in my experience, that is not unusual for riads in Morocco. The good quality, complimentary toiletries, ‘Les Sens de Marrakech’, were a nice touch. The bathroom also had some shelving, as well as a socket near the mirror which was handy when using the hairdryer. Breakfast, which was taken upstairs on the roof terrace (beware the uneven steps although there’s excellent handrails on all the stairs), was good and consisted of the usual carbohydrate offerings, fresh fruit as well as eggs that were cooked in a variety of ways. I was disappointed that the orange juice wasn’t fresh, though. It was generally chilly first thing in the morning, when eating breakfast, so we usually had to wear a jacket which was fine. However, we woke up one windy morning to find the weather was cooler and spitting with rain which wasn’t conducive to a relaxing breakfast experience on the roof. Breakfast was served downstairs the following day and, although it was quite a squeeze due to the riad being full, it was better.Villa Garance arranged our transport from Essaouira airport and, at a cost of 200 dh for a very nice eight seater Mercedes, it was a fair price. We’d chosen to have dinner on the night of our arrival and decided on fish tagine which was delicious. My friend, who was staying in room 6 on the second floor, actually went to the market with staff to choose the fish for our meal and then spent time wandering in and out of the kitchen watching the proceedings!Although there was bottled water in our rooms, there was no hospitality tray which is the norm in Moroccan riads. However, staff were exceptionally helpful and never hesitated to provide complimentary mint tea (with pastries) when asked. There’s a lovely atmosphere here and we lacked nothing during our week at Villa Garance. We had a great stay and highly recommend Villa Garance for its location, staff, comfort and genuine value for money.

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• User:FrankieCW

  Trip type: Family

  Loved it!

  13 Oct 2024

  Absolutely charming staff. Offered a great breakfast on a lovely terrace. We had a beautiful bedroom. Perfectly located within the Souks. They don’t serve alcohol but were happy for us to bring our own to the terrace. We would definitely return.