25 Essaouira Escapes in 2025 at Le Jardin des Douars
– Tropical botanical garden setting in the Essaouira hills
– Luxury villas, heated pools, alfresco dining and hammam treatments
– NEW Club des Douars with new Padel courts and new bar
– Year-round direct flights from the UK
Essaouira famously delivers over 320 days of sunshine a year. The coastal city has an arty, laid-back vibe which means it’s much loved by the chic and cool alike. There’s miles of sandy beach and some very stylish bars and restaurants. The late 18th-century fortress town – now UNESCO World Heritage listed – is where Orson Welles shot his 1952 film of Othello, with scenes set in the streets and alleyways of the Medina. Jimi Hendrix visited Essaouira during its hippie heyday. More recently it doubled as the Game of Thrones fictional city of Astapor.
But the true star of Essaouira is independent Le Jardin des Douars – a destination hotel offering individually designed bedrooms (19), suites (6) and luxury private villas with their own outdoor heated pools (6). Built in the traditional Moroccan style, with curvy adobe-style walls, and situated in the Essaouira hills overlooking the Ksob River, it’s a secluded gem. Everything is designed to make life just that bit easier.
2025 is the year to extend the weekend and holiday better in one destination and Le Jardin des Douars has been created to enhance a holiday with family or friends. Here are 25 escapades for 2025:
1. The newly launched Club des Douars is Essaouira’s first-ever private sports club, offering the perfect balance between sport and wellness in a refined, natural environment. Located just a two-minute stroll from the hotel, the club is home to four state-of-the-art padel courts, a professional academy, and regular tournaments, making it the go-to destination for both experienced players and beginners. Members enjoy exclusive benefits, and padel courts can be easily booked through the Playtomic app. The club will soon expand to offer yoga, pilates, and other wellness activities, complementing the existing wellness services already available at the hotel. After a game or a class, guests can relax at the club’s sophisticated bar, which features alfresco seating, providing the perfect atmosphere to unwind and enjoy the laid-back chic vibe of the surroundings.
2. Wake up in and explore a tropical botanical garden, Le Jardin des Douars is located within 7.5 acres of lush tropical planting.
3. Take a dip in the outdoor heated swimming pools, one for adults only and the other for families. The adults only jade swimming pool is surrounded by tropical trees and is ideal for those social media friendly snaps! Both pools have their own bar serving alfresco poolside drinks and snacks throughout the day.
4. Dining is taken seriously at Le Jardin des Douars with three dining areas including a vibrant open-plan restaurant (where you can order chicken tagine with olives, orange reduction and saffron; or fusion dishes such as seared squid, chimichurri sauce, black rice and grilled lemon); a ‘couples’ dining room for greater privacy; and alfresco dining on the terrace. On Sundays there’s an extensive barbecue lunch (including fresh seafood grilled to order).
5. Truly unwind in the candle-lit, eucalyptus-scented hammam and spa, another grown-up pleasure, where qualified therapists perform the traditional hammam ritual, and body and face spa treatments using heavenly argan oil.
6. A newly launched sunset bar offers guests a front row seat to a Moroccan sunset in a secluded setting with a stunning light display. Enjoy pre-dinner cocktails and local wines.
7. Privacy and true relaxation is ensured in each bedroom and bathroom. Most bedrooms have their own private terrace or in some cases two, while the villas are set in their own grounds, with a maid and gardener. All feature Moroccan and African furnishings – Berber rugs, carved wooden furniture, traditional zelig tiling and sculptures from Morocco and across western Africa; along with wi-fi, hidden mini bars with local and international products, and coffee- and tea-making facilities. Guests will also find cosy locally designed bathrobes and Moroccan slippers.
8. For luxury living stay in one of the six individually designed villas. Each villa has its own outdoor heated swimming pool located within a landscaped garden. The villas range in size between 200m2 to 500m2 and are home to large lounge areas ideal for relaxing and dining, a full kitchen, three to five bedrooms each with its own private bathrooms and further bathrooms. A personal housekeeper is allocated to each villa and prepares breakfast and at request other meals. There is no better way to truly holiday.
9. You can book into the hotel with family or friends or even solo. Clusters of chairs and sun loungers let you read in private, sunbathe communally, or play boules on the pétanque pitch.
10. If guests can tear themselves away from Le Jardin des Douars, then a shuttle service offers expeditions to Essaouira’s main beach and its world-famous medina, both 15 minutes from Le Jardin des Douars. The shuttle service is also available for airport transfers.
11. The all-day Océan Vagabond, refurbished in 2023 (a Miami-style brasserie with panoramic views over the beach) is also one of the coolest and most affordable places to dine whilst watching the waves and camels.
12. In the evening everyone meets for coffee and cocktails at Taros cafe, housed in a 19th-century mansion on Place Moulay Hassan or The Roof Top.
13. And the medina itself is home to many restaurants (worth booking in advance) including Dar Baba, La Table de Madada (where the 1950s decor is North African meets Mad Men) and Triskala. Fans of brunch should book the Mandala Society.
14. Essaouira’s walled medina is much less daunting than the labyrinthine souks of Marrakesh. In the grid of streets radiating from the main town square near the waterfront, you’ll find street food stalls and shops selling babouche slippers, spices, rugs, leather goods and bags.
15. There’s an art quarter (Ensemble d’Artisanat) specialising in naive paintings and a jewellery souk. Look out for bookshop Galérie AIDA, run by Joseph Sebag, loved by architects and designers.
16. Learn to cook at l’ Atelier in the heart of the medina. Workshops take place six days of the week in a stunning vast ancient almond warehouse.
17. Head to the beach to relax or book a camel ride. Because of its Atlantic setting, Essaouira is known as the ‘Wind City of Africa’ so it attracts the surfer and kite-flying crowd. Beginners are welcome and there are several surf schools along the beach.
18. For quad biking on the dunes and beyond book with Palma Quad.
19. The inviting sands of the beach offer both camel and horse riding, book with Equievasion.
20. With a consistent breeze, kitesurfing in Essaouira is perfect, book with the Ion Club.
21. Surfing in Essaouira is becoming increasingly popular. Book with Ion Club who state: “Around Essaouira you can surf on wild spots, without too many people, and have a feeling of freedom on the water that is hard to find anywhere else”.
22. Golf fans are warmly welcomed at Golf de Mogador, designed by Gary Player.
23. Embark on a walking tour with a local guide. Le Jardin des Douars can arrange a fascinating walking tour to see the Argan trees and production of the oil by a local female co-operative.
24. Close to the medina is the famous port. Essaouira’s outdoor wet fish stalls are a lively option for lunch. You select your choice of freshly-caught fish, which is then cooked on the grill and served with salad and bread.
25. Connect with nature back at the Le Jardin des Douars. Resident tortoises, frogs and chameleons welcome guests to their botanical paradise. What makes this hotel truly unique is its lush botanical gardens with tropical planting, giant cacti and succulents. Keen gardeners will spot the phoenix canariensis and butia capitata (palm trees), callisternon linearis (evergreen shrubs) and sabal pamettos (New World palms).
Essaouira is sometimes described as a ‘boho’ destination. And Essaouira can certainly claim to be undiscovered and crowd-free, compared to other Moroccan destinations including Marrakech.
Ryanair offers year-round twice weekly flights that connect London to this unique port town on Morocco’s Atlantic Coast. Otherwise it’s a two-three hour trip from Marrakech with a taxi or Supratours coach.
Laid-back, soulful, totally authentic, Essaouira is like nowhere else in Morocco. If you want a taste of exotic north Africa within a three-hour flight from the UK, this is the place to be in 2025.
B&B priced from around £160 per room, per night or £630 per villa, per night
Le Jardin des Douars Video: https://youtu.be/psQBdneUxp4
Notes to editors:
London – Essaouira flights with Ryanair from London Stansted twice-weekly. Le Jardin des Douars organises airport transfers to the hotel which is a 15 minute journey time.
Marrakech airport is 2.5 hours by car from Le Jardin des Douars and is served from several UK airports by airlines including BA, easyJet, Ryanair and Tui Fly. Airport to hotel transfer services are available for a fee and must be booked in advance via the hotel’s reception. Otherwise Supratours offer efficient coach journeys in 3 hours to the heart of Essaouira.
