Bright Essaouira Apartment

This bright, cosy apartment is furnished in a mix of traditional Moroccan and modern styles. Up three flights of stairs (no elevator/lift) on the top floor; private terrace.

The floors are bejmat tiles, and the walls are tadelakt, a type of traditional plaster used in Moroccan architecture. The double mattress (190cm x 140cm) is a Simmons "pillow top".

There is a private terrace with table and chairs, and a staircase leading to the flat roof to enjoy the panoramic views. The windows, which look out onto the street, have exterior wooden shutters for blocking out light. Note that all windows open directly to the outside - there is no shared interior light-well as found in many Moroccan apartments.

The large air-conditioning unit cools during the warmer months (often unnecessary thanks to the famous Essaouira breeze), and quickly warms the entire apartment on cooler winter evenings. The open plan kitchen has a gas hob.

Hi speed fibre optic cable wifi: up to 100 Mbps. Great for digital nomads, watching movies on line, Zoom calls, etc. Please note that Netflix is not provided.

PLEASE NOTE: a cleaning fee of €30 for all stays (including reciprocal exchange), payable on departure in cash either in euros or dirhams (300 dirhams) - so you can leave in peace without worrying about cleaning or laundry before you go. The cleaning fee goes directly to my local housekeeper who has cleaned the apartment with care before your arrival.
*If the exchange lasts longer than 15 days, an additional cleaning fee of 200 dirhams (€20) will be applied for a mid-stay cleaning. This cleaning does not include the changing of bed linens and bath towels.

ALSO:

- SIX NIGHT MINIMUM STAY.
- NO OUTSIDE VISITORS ALLOWED IN THE BUILDING. Entry is permitted only to the Home Exchange guest(s), no one else.
- NO ARRIVALS AFTER 7 PM (19h00). IF YOUR FLIGHT GETS INTO MARRAKECH LATER THAN 2 PM (14h00) THEN YOU MAY NEED TO STAY THE NIGHT IN MARRAKECH.

We can recommend a private driver for airport pick up in Essaouira, Marrakech or Agadir - just ask!

No smokers and no pets please. Not suitable for children due to safety concerns. The outside staircase and rooftop are not safe.

For the enjoyment of our future guests and in consideration of our neighbours, we do not allow smoking anywhere in the apartment or on the property. We also request that you keep alcohol consumption to a minimum, and that you remove all alcohol containers (after rinsing) from the building and take them where they can be recycled.

Area: the interior of the apartment is 49 m2 and the terrace is 25 m2.

About the location

The apartment is located in the working class Azlef neighbourhood, immediately adjacent to the Borj where you will find the best French patisserie in town, Patisserie Patachou. There is a variety of restaurants in the immediate neighbourhood, and many more in the medina (a UNESCO World Heritage site) and along the beach front. You are approximately ten minutes’ walk from the beach, and twenty minutes’ walk from the medina. Local taxis are easy to find and all charge a fixed rate of just 8 dirham during the day and 9 dirham at night. See the map photos for distances: the apartment can be located on maps by searching for "Cabinet Zélia Nosbom Larouci".

Azlef is a local neighbourhood of modest apartments & small businesses, not a tourist area. You will find plenty of green grocers, butchers, and small kiosk shops. Fresh fruit and vegetables are abundant and cheap. There is a large Carrefour supermarket less than twenty minutes away on foot. You will find plenty of information about Essaouira on the internet and in guide books. The beach is popular for kitesurfing, camel rides and horse riding, and the annual Gnaoua music festival is world-famous. This is a wonderful small, historic city to visit and to live in. It is an easy and pleasant place for single women travellers - just keep in mind local expectations regarding appropriate dress.

N.B. Noise: Morocco can be a noisy country by some standards. The neighbourhood includes motor mechanics, metal-working ateliers, and carpentry workshops. Noise from these places may penetrate the peace of the apartment at times - on the other hand, there is very little street traffic. The apartment building is home to three additional apartments. Residents are generally quiet in the mornings up to 10 am, noisier in the evenings sometimes until around midnight; however during summer months, school holidays, and Ramadan there will be more people and more children, and a livelier and noisier atmosphere will prevail. At such times local residents often eat very late and go to bed after midnight. During Ramadan some people may stay up all night. The local seagulls and cats can also be rather raucous at times!

Conditions of exchange

Facilities

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