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26 Rue De Skala, Essaouira, Morocco
of people enjoy staying here
17 Opinions
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Our Members Say
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jomobi
- Reviews: 2
User Rating
Helpfulness
Shabby, dirty, bad attitude
I was recommended the room with sea view by travellers I met in Mirleft a few days earlier. Knowing it was also recommended in Lonely Planet had me feel confident to book in advance. What a big mistake!!
The place was very dirty and shabby for even the budget traveller not to comment. OK, I'm used to budget hostels, so as long as the bed is clean and I can have a shower then I'm not going to be too fussed about it.
Well, after checking in, I was told there were no clean towels available until I would come back later. This I did, at 11pm, itching for a shower before bed. To my shock, dismay and frustration, they told me no clean towel was available, and then to make things worse the front desk worker looked for a towel and came back with an old and clearly dirty, unlaundered towel and said it was clean! Unbelievable!
I told him I would go to another hotel at this late hour because I needed a shower so I wanted my money back. I was told to come back at 10am next day to claim refund. I checked into a quite beautiful hotel (Maison du Sud) and returned next day to claim my refund.
I was greeted with a distinctly bad attitude. I was told that I could not have my money back that this hotel does not provide any clean towels for their residents and that I have no claim. On suggesting that I write a review on TripAdvisor, the worker told me - "that's OK, your review will not count for much as there are loads of good reviews"! It was a terrible attitude, not even considering my bad experience as a customer.
If you want a dirty, shabby experience, even for budget standards, then consider this hotel.
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jomobi
- Reviews: 2
User Rating
Shabby, dirty, bad attitude
I was recommended the room with sea view by travellers I met in Mirleft a few days earlier. Knowing it was also recommended in Lonely Planet had me feel confident to book in advance. What a big mistake!!
The place was very dirty and shabby for even the budget traveller not to comment. OK, I'm used to budget hostels, so as long as the bed is clean and I can have a shower then I'm not going to be too fussed about it.
Well, after checking in, I was told there were no clean towels available until I would come back later. This I did, at 11pm, itching for a shower before bed. To my shock, dismay and frustration, they told me no clean towel was available, and then to make things worse the front desk worker looked for a towel and came back with an old and clearly dirty, unlaundered towel and said it was clean! Unbelievable!
I told him I would go to another hotel at this late hour because I needed a shower so I wanted my money back. I was told to come back at 10am next day to claim refund. I checked into a quite beautiful hotel (Maison du Sud) and returned next day to claim my refund.
I was greeted with a distinctly bad attitude. I was told that I could not have my money back that this hotel does not provide any clean towels for their residents and that I have no claim. On suggesting that I write a review on TripAdvisor, the worker told me - "that's OK, your review will not count for much as there are loads of good reviews"! It was a terrible attitude, not even considering my bad experience as a customer.
If you want a dirty, shabby experience, even for budget standards, then consider this hotel.
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TheLongTone
- Reviews: 325
User Rating
Helpfulness
The terrace is the thing
This is a very acceptable budget hotel. Rooms are large enough, the shared showers are spotless (or as spotless as the last person left them) and the hot water pretty reliable. But it's location that makes the Smara special. It's on Rue de Skala, overlooking the ramparts, and there can't be many better spots to have breakfast than the rooftop terrace, which has a fantastic view over the ramparts and the waves crashing onto the rocks beyond. The breakfast is pretty good too, the horrible coffee (nothing personal, horrible coffee just seems to be the norm in hotel breakfasts) compensated for by excellent bread and apricot jam.
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arrggghhhh
- Reviews: 1
User Rating
Smellyest hotel in town
Just read a review where a traveller says if someone approaches you saying this hotel is full ignore them, DON'T run with them anything is better than this hotel.
The owner is also the Moroc equivalent of Basil Fawlty. Never known rudeness for no apparent reason.
God knows why it is still in the Lonely Planet.
Unique Quality: The amount of flies in the shower just perched there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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barryg23
- Reviews: 2895
User Rating
Helpfulness
Budget-hotel in Essaouira
Apparently every hotel-owner in Essaouira claims that Jimi Hendrix stayed in their particular hotel, though he must have been fairly high at the time if he chose this place.
Hotel Smara is very much for budget travellers. There is no heating in the rooms, the communal shower was lukewarm at best and the toilets on our floor were not clean.
I had heard great things about this place from a couple of Moroccans and even Lonely Planet recommended it. It was the cheapest place we stayed in during our Morocco trip at 96 DH (about 9 Euro) and at that price I guess we can't complain too much. While it was ok for one night, I wouldn't like to have stayed here too much longer. Perhaps in the summer, when the rooms aren't so cold at night, it might be nicer.
It's quite a popular place too and we got the last room before it was full. A word of warning: when you walking down Rue de la Skala with luggage, you will be approached by a couple of locals claiming that Hotel Smara is full and that they can rent you a room for cheaper. Don't believe them.
- Opinion of Price: least expensive
- Related to: Budget Travel, Backpacking
Hotel Smara Photo: Ruth in lobby of Hotel Smara
2 more images-
Bigjones
- Reviews: 367
User Rating
Helpfulness
Terrace with view on the sea
One of the least expensive hotels in Essaouira. We had a room for three (one double and one single bed). It was okay but don't expect too much comfort. There were a few showers (with hot water) to share with everybody. It was not very clean even if we saw ladies cleaning. May be it's because there was no electricity when we were there (bad luck for us again ;-)
Unique Quality: One of the unique qualities of this hotel is its terrace on top where you can have your breakfast while looking at the sea ... Very nice.
Another quality is its very cheap price. If you are lucky, you can have a better room than we had, with view on the sea, at about 13 € for two people.
Last quality : its friendly and helpful personal.
- Opinion of Price: least expensive
- Related to: Budget Travel
Hotel Smara Photo: View from the terrace
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One of the unique qualities of this hotel is its terrace on top where you can have your breakfast while looking at the sea ... Very nice.
Another quality is its very cheap price. If you are lucky, you can have a better room than we had, with view on the sea, at about 13 € for two people.
Last quality : its friendly and helpful personal.
12 members live in Essaouira
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Hotel Smara
We've found that other people looking for this hotel also know it by these names:
- Smara Hotel Essaouira
Address: 26 Rue De Skala, Essaouira, Morocco