Art riad au bord de la mer

We’d happily return to this calm, romantic hotel. It was clean and comfortable, with a kitchen on the floor and a lovely terrace overlooking the fortress and sea. Mourad welcomed us with a constant smile and lots of warmth, and his advice was a real help. The breakfast deserves a mention on its own. It may have been the best hotel breakfast of our trip: scrambled eggs, a croissant, tomato and salad toast, fresh bread, butter, jam, olives, tea, coffee, and juice. Thanks to the staff and management for the professional, well-organized service.

The room itself was nice enough, but the sheets were stained and there was no air conditioning. The neighborhood was loud, with lots of yelling. Communication was poor and the service was terrible. We asked for toilet paper in the shared bathroom at 6pm, but didn’t get any until breakfast at 9am the next day, in a different building. We also set the washing machine and hung our laundry ourselves, yet the cleaner tried to charge us MAD 100 for the load.

Breakfast was served a 4min walk away, and the owner’s English was poor. We paid for a room with a private bathroom, but got a separate one that we had to share with the neighbors. The sheets and towels were dirty, so it wasn’t good value for the money. As for El Jadida, I wouldn’t recommend the city.

Nabil was passionate about his work. He met us when we arrived in the old city, showed us around the riad, and talked us through his artwork and projects. The place is part art gallery, part riad, with much more to see than the photos suggest. Our modern room had everything we needed, and the bathroom was clean and new. There are two levels to the terrace, where the sea breeze at night was so lovely I even fell asleep there once. In the morning, Nabil's mum made and served breakfast, which felt homey and was among the better breakfasts I had in Morocco. I highly recommend giving them a try and would definitely return to El Jadida.