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Riad Lunetoile, situated in the heart of the Medina, with sea-views from the top terrace and from apartment 5, is the ideal relaxing, comfortable, holiday home / guest-house / B&B, to rent, in Essaouira. Ideal for surfers, individuals, couples or families... our Moroccan hospitality will enthrall you.....so, Submit yourself to a gentle introduction to true Moroccan hospitality, mixed with a little European comfort, and spiced up with a few Indian accessories. Enjoy all, that the Orient, has to offer, whilst still being in Africa!Savour our home-made BISUITS and sip mint tea from our sea-facing, rooftop terrace and listen to the waves of the Atlantic Ocean, crashing onto the rocks, whilst you let yourself drift into the mysteries of this far-away, Arabic, land.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
HOTEL STYLE
Trendy
Centrally Located
Languages Spoken
English, French, Arabic
Location
191 Rue Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdullah Medina, Essaouira 44000 Morocco
Riad Lunetoile
296 reviews
Getting there
Great for walkers
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travelers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
We were a party of three staying two nights in Essaouira in April 2022. We stayed in two magnificent rooms on the first floor of the Riad and couldn’t recommend Lunetoile more.
The Riad is situated right in the middle of the ancient medina only ten minutes walk from the coach terminal (Supratours from Marrakech and other destinations) and moments from the sea.
We were warmly welcomed by Sue, Kabira and Latifa who served us mint tea and home made biscuits whilst providing us with a host of recommendations for places to see and things to do in Essaouira.
The bedrooms are spacious and beautifully furnished. There is a roof top terrace with tremendous views out over the Atlantic and a lovely sheltered space if the wind is blowing (Essaouira is a windy spot!). The breakfast was lovely and nothing was too much bother for Sue and her friendly team to sort out (including booking spas and local dinner reservations).
Would definitely return to this riad.
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Date of stay: April 2022Trip type: Traveled with friends
Room Tip:Â If arriving by coach and you have luggage then hire a porter to carry so you can experience the...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
My friend and I had a wonderful stay in Essaouira! Sue and Latifa were wonderful and helpful. Breakfast was delicious and the view from the rooftop terrace was beautiful and we could see the ocean! It was very easy to arrange transport to and from Marrakech. The walk to the beach was very doable. We absolutely loved our experience and the Riad—we are dying to come back! 🎉🎉
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Date of stay: March 2021Trip type: Traveled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Excellent location, friendly staff, Kabira and Katifa, very discret and helpful at anytime. Clean rooms and nice breakfast. No far away from the beach, lots of restaurants. The owner, Sue was very friendly and ready to help us. Happy to come back again
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Date of stay: July 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Traveled with family
Room Tip:Â Maybe offer some food service, or moroccan dishes for guests
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Very bad treatment. Very bad experience. Nothing positive to offer.
Riad is situated in a narrow street where the pavement is open. The stairs in the Riad are very narrow making it difficult to get up with your suitcase. You have to carry your suitcase(s) up two floors to get to your room. Room is poorly ventilated and the bathroom is basic and outdated.
The owner, Susan, is super rude. My wife and I have never been treated so badly. Very bad communication after payment. Owner was not present herself and passed instructions to staff. At the hotel itself was asked for the marriage certificate! to be sent via staff to the owner with whatsapp!!! Such a private document should never be sent over whatsapp to and by strangers!!!
At least half must be transferred in advance. This causes the owner to become very unfriendly. Money is already in and then the owner becomes very unfriendly. You would (almost) think of intent so that the booker cancels and does not see his money back. The room can then be booked again by other 'guests'.
In my case everything paid in advance. Stay canceled by owner. Under the terms and conditions entitled to full refund but owner refuses to refund the money.
The worst experience ever and cannot recommend this Riad to anyone!
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Date of stay: September 2021
Value
Location
Service
Room Tip:Â bij een ander hotel boeken
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Take care if you book there. After your reservation on Booking, 2 different person wrote me privately on Whatsapp, and put me under pressure, that I should immediately pay money on their private account. Once 120 Euros, once 240 Euros. One of them was the hotel manager herself. She was pretty unpolite, did not wanted to communicate over booking.com and said, she would cancel the reservation, if I would not pay immediately... Of course I didnt.
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Date of stay: November 2024
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled with family
Room Tip:Â Only over booking.com, if you started with booking. They will try to cheat you otherwise.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
After reading the great reviews we were looking forward to spending 3 nights in a little cosy hotel. Unfortunately, after seeing the room, we immediately made up our mind to change our plans and cancelled one night, actually wanted to cancel two, but it was not possible. The room was clean, but stinky as some big parts of the wall around the window were mouldy!! Apart from that, it was not possible to keep the windows open as there was no system to keep them stable, and they were banging all the time because of the wind. So we had to keep them closed. The whole hotel seemed to be cold and moist. The washed things couldn't get dry until the next day and they were still dripping wet. A suggestion for improvement would be a good ventilation system. And something else. What I don't like about the owner of the hotel is the fact, that she tries to argue and negate the comments posted here which she doesn't like, writing long pages, criticising opinions of her guests and protecting her image at any price instead of accepting the less positive reviews, learnig something out of them and trying to improve the stndard of the hotel. We are here to express our opinions freely! That is why the platform has been created! And the hotel owners and their staff should draw appropriate conclusions out of them. Ania and Martin from Austria
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Date of stay: May 2012
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Responded Jun 26, 2012
What can I say? At the time of reading such hurtful nonsense, I felt such despair, that I wondered, IF indeed this CAN be true?? Because, WHO, in their right minds, would invent such nonsense? Now, a few days later, and having gone into the "stinky and mouldy" beautiful, large, room number 4, and inspected, and, yes, sniffed, around all windows - there is NO mould and absolutely NO stink at all!! Thank goodness, as I would have been mortified, had there been! And yes, I certainly DO take all comments very seriously...and yes, just as you seem to believe you have the right to say whatever unpleasant untruths you can concoct, thankfully, I too, have the right to respond! Sadly, it appears that your partner did the booking and when you arrived and without fully, entering the room, nor taking off your backpack, you started to have a heated discussion with your partner! So, what was actually going on? Goodness knows! The fact is that YOUR partner insisted in staying for 2 nights, and cancelling 1. I have no idea where you put your washed clothes to dry, but I do not think that it is the fault of Lunetoile, if you wash your clothes and leave them inside to dry! Altogether, a woman very unhappy in her skin! It always amazes me how we can have so many, thankfully, glowing responses...and then these bitter ones! I have come to the decision that it all depends on how happy the individual is! This is reflective of them..not LUNETOILE. Any constructive criticism, primarily, ought to be given to us, as we ask you daily, if all is well etc....and only then written up on such a forum, as this, if one is indeed not given the service and quality as advertised.
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
We stayed in that Riad only one night. Our room, on the 1st floor, was very little and dark, with bathroom outside. It was loud during the night, we heard people walking on the street, and motorbikes - just as they walked next to our bed! I almost haven't slept. In the morning we heard people on the corridor, preparing breakfast, so we couldn't sleep more than till 7. The room was cold and the heater provided by the owners didn't work properly. The room felt wet as well and it smelled like dump. There was no heating in the shared bathroom, and bathroom was not very clean. It was dissapointing, especially in comparison with the price for it.
Breakfast on the other hand was great, and we had it on the terrific tarrace, overlooking the sea. The Riad was beautifully decorated, with lots of little artistic objects.
Good thing was that the owners organized a pick up from the Supratour station. It was also easy to book it. Although the owner is native English speaker, her staff does not speak a word of English. Moreover, the house lady was very unpleasant and rude to us when we arrived late because of our Supratour bus was late. It really wasn't our fault. She was also unpleasant when we finally decided to move out after the first sleepless night. We moved to Riad Lalla, which from the first minute was so much more pleasant experience.
We saw other, more expensive rooms and they looked much better. So the best option would be to check the rooms before you decide whether to stay there or not.
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Date of stay: November 2007
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Check in / front desk
Service
Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Lunetoile, Owner at Riad Lunetoile
Responded Aug 24, 2013
It is always ODD when 20 guests RAVE about the same Riad, the same staff, the same welcome, the same little extras, and the SAME ROOM...and then, along comes one guest, who finds life disappointing...and also our riad! We cannot be everything to everyone, but we certainly can be, to everyone who is happy within. Thank you, from all of us at Lunetoile...we go the extra mile...and we BLOSSOM when guests are appreciative and thrilled!
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We've been in Morocco for two weeks and been staying in places a little bit more budget than Riad Lunetoile, but as it was my partner's birthday whilst we were in Essaouria, decided to splash out a little bit more than we normally would, and we're really happy choosing to stay here.
We chose room 4 as we wanted some space to spread out and it provided plenty of room for us to do that, the room was nice and quiet and perfect to relax in. Plus the en suite bathroom had a door on it which doesn't seem to be a common theme in Morocco, so that certainly gets a thumbs up from us, also a nice little dressing table area with a mirror. It's also the only place we'd stayed with a TV (not that we watched it, but if that's the kind of thing you're interested in, it's good to know).
Sue contacted me plenty of time in advance to ask what time we'd arrive, and I wasn't yet sure, so I was asked just to let them know when I had an arrival time, I let her know two days before, and Latifah came to meet us at the bus stop. Latifah was warm and welcoming showed us to the Riad and settled us in with tea and an introduction to the local area, and showed us round the Riad (it was empty at the time, and the entire place looked lovely), the other ladies working in the Riad were warm and smiley too (I'm sorry, I'm not sure of their names).
Breakfasts were exactly what we needed, and some of the most delicious croissants we'd had. You pick up your breakfast at the kitchen, then you can eat it in your room or on the roof terrace overlooking the sea crashing into the rocks just off the side of the old town. On my partner's birthday they put rose petals on our breakfast tray and Latifah had some lovely birthday blessings for my partner.
If we're ever back in Essaouira we'll look forward to staying here again.
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Date of stay: December 2018Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Lunetoile, Owner at Riad Lunetoile
Responded Jul 22, 2019
Thank you my dear for choosing our place for your stay here and we hope we have made a little part in the memories that you made in our beautiful city. We would love to have you back here anytime. Greetings from Riad Lunetoile
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
We stayed in Lunetoile in the only twin room they have. Entering the room, we were a bit shocked: hardly any light coming in, very strange shape of the room (about 5.5 m. long but only 1.60m wide) with 2 narrow beds squeezed into it, leaving 20cm. in between, damp, and the old dark walls being of natural stones with cement in between, giving off little bits all the time when we touched them, so the beds were full of gravel all the time (I even felt bits falling on my head from the ceiling). We immediately called the room 'our cave', because that is how it felt. We also weren't too happy with the breakfast -sticky croisants with jam and every day the same- but all else the place was great. Spotlessly clean, very nicely decorated and Kabira always smiling and at your service. We would suggest placing each bed at another end of the room and plastering the walls, painting them in a nice creamy white colour (like the room next to it). The room would then be more attractive, we think.
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Date of stay: June 2011Trip type: Traveled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Lunetoile, Owner at Riad Lunetoile
Responded Jul 12, 2011
Hiii....so sad that you didn't like 'your cave', as you put it...one man's cave, another man's paradise! Funnily enough, we have just had 2 ladies staying, again in that same room, and LOVED it, and didn't wish to move!!! And they also said how they loved the croissants for breakfast...as do most of our clients...Thankfully! As for being sticky??? Most odd! As for staying in your room and not coming out for breakfast, where you could have had it on the top, roof- terrace, over-looking the thunderous waves of the sea??? You preferred to stay in your 'cave'...again odd. I also found it odd, when I came to greet you, that you were very retiscent in coming out from your dark cave (which, has 2 windows - one to the outside, and one into the centre core of the Riad), to join me for your welcome mint tea and a general chat and orientation. However, you did mention that you were a seasoned guide in Morocco, and, so, again, odd, that you have not come across very many 'strange'-shaped, long and narrow, rooms. Many old, original, houses in Morocco, have, what we regard, as charming, wooden-beamed ceilings...and the breadth, therefore, of these rooms, is indeed determined by the length of the beams available...hence the long narrow room on the ground floor. As for the falling bits from the sand-stone walls, again, I am very very sorry...we will try to see what extra finish we can put on the walls, but, my experience, with these walls, is indeed to let them 'breathe' - hence the non-dressed stone walls. We did, in the very beginning, have all the walls dressed in the same way, with cream-coloured tadelakt - but due to humidity, had to take off this 'tadelakt' and let the walls breathe - we now have no humidity problems whatsoever, I am very pleased to say....and certainly we will continue to do everything possible, to ensure the happiness and comfort of our highly valued guests. Many many thanks for your visit.
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
There are more places to choose from in the Essaouira area.
PRICE RANGE
$39 - $56 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
LOCATION
MoroccoMarrakech-SafiEssaouira
NUMBER OF ROOMS
5
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
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