The Luxury Hotel in Essaouira
Hand-picked in Essaouira: the 5-star hotel Heure Bleue Palais. Book through suitespot and breakfast for two, a room upgrade subject to availability, hotel credit and VIP service come with it – worth over €500 together.
Your guide to the best luxury hotel in Essaouira
Heure Bleue Palais Essaouira · ChbanatIt is cooler and windier than Marrakech, which makes it a different kind of trip. The medina is on the UNESCO World Heritage list. For this guide we reviewed the best hotels in Essaouira and chose one: the Heure Bleue Palais, a 5-star hotel.At no extra cost: booking through suitespot costs the same as booking direct with the hotel – the benefits come on top, free of charge.
The 5-star hotel in Essaouira – who it suits
A night at the Heure Bleue Palais Essaouira costs €159. That includes breakfast for two, an upgrade on arrival subject to availability and a welcome gift.
Why we recommend it: the hotel is an eighteenth-century riad, converted but true to its form – the rooms sit around a patio with a fountain, as Moroccan town architecture has done for centuries. It stands at the edge of the medina, inside the walls yet without the press. And it has a rooftop pool from which you look across the medina to the Atlantic.
Our travel advisors’ insider tip
Two things that shape this stay.
The view belongs to the roof, not the room. That is how a riad is built: inward rather than outward. If you want the outlook you go up – which is exactly why the rooftop pool here is not an extra but the place where the day ends.
The benefits apply from the first night. Many people take Essaouira as a side trip from Marrakech – three hours by car – and stay a single night. That is enough here to get everything.
And on size: the four categories range from 27 to 60 square metres. You know in advance what you are getting – more useful in a riad than elsewhere, because the rooms differ a great deal in shape.
Where to stay in Essaouira: Chbanat, at the edge of the medina
The Heure Bleue Palais stands on the Rue Ibn Batouta, in the Chbanat quarter, at the edge of the medina.
Our recommendation for a first visit: the whole old town works on foot and is more manageable than Morocco travellers expect. From the hotel it is a few minutes to the Skala de la Ville, the battery on the ramparts, and to the fishing harbour, where the catch comes in at midday.
The beach lies south of town. It is long, broad and windy – which is why Essaouira is a destination for kite and windsurfers.
Marrakech is about 190 kilometres east, roughly three hours by car. Essaouira has its own airport about fifteen kilometres south.
Rooms and suites: four categories from 27 to 60 square metres
The hotel offers four categories, and two of them are suites. The size of each is known in advance, which helps more in a historic building than in a new one.
The Classic Room measures 27 square metres, the Deluxe Room with balcony 45. The two suites – Suite and Premium Suite – measure 60 each.
The step from 27 to 45 is the largest here. Stay longer than two nights and you notice it.
Our travel advisors recommend the Deluxe Room – it is the category where floor area and balcony come together.
What a night at the luxury hotel in Essaouira costs
A night at the luxury hotel in Essaouira costs €159. The suitespot benefits apply from the first night.
When it is at its best: April to June and September to October. Warm but not hot, and the wind is bearable.
When it is windiest: July and August. The trade wind the town calls the alizé blows hardest then – the best season for surfers, and for everyone else the explanation for why you need a jacket on the beach while Marrakech bakes.
When it is quietest: November to February. Cool, clear and empty; the rooftop pool is then more for sitting than swimming.
How long to stay: two or three nights. One for the medina and the harbour, one for the beach, and if you like, one for the argan forests inland.
On the minimum stay: there is none. A single night brings you the full package – for a side trip from Marrakech that is exactly the point.
And whatever the date: you get the suitespot benefits in the quietest week of the year just as you do in the busiest.
Atlantic, trade wind and exclusive services at the 5-star hotel
Essaouira is the counter-story to Marrakech: cooler, smaller, saltier.
Personal luxury travel adviceOur travel advisors personally accompany your booking – 365 days a year, from the first offer to late check-out. Reach the suitespot VIP service via email or WhatsApp.Phone: +49 30 81452346 · hotel@suitespot.comThe first thing is the wind. It blows almost constantly and it has shaped the town – Essaouira never became a bathing resort but a destination for kite and windsurfers. On the beach south of the walls you see it all day.
The second is the harbour. The blue boats in the fishing port are on every postcard, but it is a working harbour: at midday the catch is auctioned and grilled a few metres further on. The rampart above it, the Skala du Port, is Portuguese in origin.
The third is the music. Essaouira is the town of the Gnaoua, and the festival of that name in June fills the squares of the medina. If you are coming for it, book far ahead; if you want quiet, plan around it.
What our travel advisors arrange most often here is the transfer from Marrakech – the route runs through the argan forests and is pleasanter with a driver than in a shared taxi. And the upgrade: in a riad, the difference between 27 and 45 square metres is bigger than the numbers suggest.
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Frequently asked questions about luxury hotels in Essaouira
Which luxury hotel in Essaouira does suitespot recommend?
We reviewed the best hotels in Essaouira and chose one: the Heure Bleue Palais on the Rue Ibn Batouta in the Chbanat quarter, an eighteenth-century riad.
What does the luxury hotel in Essaouira cost per night?
€159 per night. The suitespot benefits apply from the first night.
Is there a minimum stay in Essaouira?
No. The suitespot benefits apply from the first night – for a side trip from Marrakech that is exactly the point.
Which benefits are included in Essaouira?
Breakfast for two, an upgrade on arrival subject to availability and a welcome gift.
Which room should you book in Essaouira?
Our travel advisors recommend the Deluxe Room at 45 square metres with a balcony. The Classic measures 27, the two suites 60 each.
How large are the rooms and suites at the Heure Bleue Palais?
From 27 to 60 square metres: Classic 27, Deluxe with balcony 45, Suite 60, Premium Suite 60.
Does the hotel have a pool?
Yes, a rooftop pool. From there the view runs across the medina to the Atlantic – a riad is built inward, so the outlook is upstairs.
When is the best time to visit Essaouira?
April to June and September to October. It is windiest in July and August, and quietest from November to February.
Can I earn hotel loyalty points in Essaouira?
No. Heure Bleue Palais Essaouira does not belong to a hotel loyalty programme. You still receive all the suitespot benefits there in full.
