We spent 4 wonderful nights here over Christmas, the house is very peaceful and relaxing. Bruno is an excellant host and his staff are amazing. The food is excellant, the best we had in Morocco. We would certainly recommend Villa Gonatouki, stay here to recharge your batteries!

This palace of a place exceeded our expectations in all ways. The owner Bruno is so kind and loves to share his part of the world. All the staff are also wonderful. I had an excellent massage on site. Food delicious.....we're glad we chose to stay here for so many reasons...one of which is that being outside of the city we had a chance to experience a more local feeling vista wise. The sky at night is filled with stars and the sounds are only those of a braying donkey or rooster. Bruno took us to the Sunday local meat and veg market. Not something you would see most places. There's something very special here!!!! Loved it all!!! Thank you Bruno for your kind heart! A la prochaine!

Our travels in Morocco have taken us to 3 hotels, 2 riads and now this villa. Not so much a villa, more a mini palace. This is the place to die for, really. We have just spent Xmas there. Loved every moment of it. Bruno, his family and staff are all so welcoming and helpful. My wife enjoyed her massage, particularly as it was half the London price!

The food is also delightful. We had non traditional Xmas meal ( no turkey - yippee), which started with pate de fois gras - the French don't have the hang-up that is now prevalent in the UK press - sardines with lentils, followed by two tagines, one meat and one vegetable, gratin dauphinoise, and then finished of with apple clafoutis. Beats turkey and sprouts any time.

My daughter and I spent 10 happy blissful days in Villa Gonatouki. The owner Brigitte (Bruno’s wife) arranged a taxi for us from Marrakech and after a short flight by Easyjet and three hour journey by taxi we finally arrived to our first destination in Morocco - Ghazoua village where the villa is situated. It is about 10-15 minutes car drive from Essaouira; the road leading to the villa is a rough 3 km track, which you get to know and like pretty quickly, it certainly adds a feeling that you are abroad. Judging by the photos of the guest house we were for a visual feast, but as many guests commented the pictures don’t do any justice to the place. It is simply huge and clearly built and decorated with love and passion for Moroccan tradition of woodwork and stone carving. There are over 100 Moroccan lamps hung throughout the house (castle, really) and after awhile you notice that all corners are curved. The ceilings in three main salons and patio also made of local wood, supported by stone columns, and some walls of the villa covered in tadelakt (gorgeous traditional Moroccan plastering technique), the floors tiled in different patterns. We stayed in one of the prestige rooms (green room) with a massive terrace and views over nearby ruins, Atlantic ocean and the main pool. Our bathroom windows deserve a special mentioning as they frame outside surroundings in delightful pictures.The house gradually grows on you and by the end of our staying it did feel like home. Most of the time we stayed in for lunches and dinners and the food was simply delicious. I even learned how to prepare briouates (Moroccan version of samosas made of fine layers of almost transparent pasty called “warka” and filled with goat cheese, parsley and grated nutmeg) as you have an easy access to the kitchen (in the morning you simply walk in and ask either Samira, Hafida or Khaoula that you are ready for breakfast and where in the house you wish to have it). Our favourite spot was lovely patio where we spent many tranquil hours reading or having breakfast or mint tea, and from where you can walk into any parts of the villa’s ground floor. Apart from our own terrace we sunbathed by the main pool (there are two) or a terrace next to one of the salons equipped with comfortable sofas, coffee tables and big TV screen. Dinners and lunches were prepared and served by Samira and Bouchra in either a salon overlooking soothing landscapes or a dining room next to the kitchen. We want to say huge thank you for all the girls who fed us and greeted us every day with beaming smiles, hugs and kisses! After dinner we usually had shisha in one of the salons with low metal coffee tables and leather bean bags. The villa gardens are well maintained by a quite man Mustafa who also looked after the swimming pools. A new feature of the guest house, which is not mentioned in the description, is the villa’s spacious hammam and massages, you must try them both as you will learn a lot about traditional Moroccan beauty regimes - argan oil, hennah, ghazoul (purifying mud), beldi (Moroccan soap) and kassa (scrubbing mitten). The hammam will wipe out any stress left in you and argan oil will do wonders to your tired skin. Few words about Brigitte, our host - a kind and warm French lady, who made us feel at home and made us laugh, who took us to Essaouira frequently and showed us around the medina. She also drove me to the medina on our second day to see Mohammed, a specialist in traditional herbal medicine (London hay fever and summer cold nearly suffocated me when I arrived), for that I am forever grateful as I got better after three days. We made a trip together to Fromage and Chateaneuf-du-Pape vineyard of Essaouira and also had a lunch with Brigitte’s daughter Stephanie and her husband Gregory in Le Jardin des Douars. Our stay in Gonatouki was the most charming, warm and blissful time where borders of host-guest blurred and merged into a strong sense of belonging and being at home. We miss it terribly and have to go back!