Riad Lunetoile lies in the medina of Essaouira at the northern end of the main shopping street.

My wife and I stayed for 18 nights in August 2012. We had booked the apartment at the top of the house and found it to be very comfortable and satisfactory. I especially love the various types of Moroccan tiling in the apartment and in fact the whole riad is very tastefully decorated!

The apartment had a bedroom with double bed, a sitting-room with tv, a kitchen with gas stove and fridge, a bathroom with bathtub, toilet and bidet.

A big bonus was the quite large private terrace that goes with the apartment. One could sunbathe there during the day and in the evening one could look down and watch the alley scene below. At the end of the terrace is a small extra room which was locked while we were there but which is available for use if you are a family or larger party.

The owner of the riad - Sue - makes sure that all her guests are properly welcomed with a glass of mint tea and a local map along with her tips about the best places to eat, etc. in the medina.

The girls who work at the riad are very pleasant and conscientious and easy to communicate with, even if you don't speak French.

Coming to the riad for the first time it's a good idea to follow Sue's advice and ring in advance to let them know when you'll arrive so that they can arrange to meet you to guide you to the location! We didn't do this because I thought the locals would know but the porter who trollied our bags from the medina gate went all over the place without finding it (perhaps intentionally!) until we called on the phone.

The riad is very safe and secure and, as it lies at the end of a main thoroughfare you soon get to know your way about in the medina! The other main street (market street) is parallel with this one so that makes it easy!

A stairway outside the apartment door leads up to the main roof terrace where there are great views of the medina and sea and even a sort of conservatory/lounge which we didn't really use but is probably very cosy in the colder months of the year.

The girls prepare a nice breakfast each morning which you can either take downstairs or in your room or on the terrace. There is no cooking in the evenings (unless you do it yourself) but there are loads of places to eat all over the medina.

One of the services provided was a visit to the hammam. My wife went with one of the riad girls (Latifah) and she took care of her and helped her with the whole nine yards of bathing and scrubbing and what-have-you and reported that it was a great experience!

We enjoyed our stay very much and would definitely stay there again!