Villa La Diouana

Rooms

There are three guest bedrooms in the main house, a fourth in the small cottage to one side of the palm-lined drive leading up to La Diouana’s main entrance, and the fifth in a small apartment overlooking the garden.

The master bedroom, with all white walls and bluey-grey coloured doors and windows, shares the same lagoon view as the study and sitting room and has an enormous tadlakt bathtub, big enough for two, from where you can watch the sun sinking over the horizon.

The other two rooms in the main house, which have showers rather than baths, look out to the garden. One is a twin, the other a double with a second mezzanine bed reached via a steep ladder: kids would love it. The subdued decorative style with a predominace of white colours and fabrics, the black-and-white photographs of Moroccan people and places, the subdued lighting and the high ceilings, all impart a feel that is both peaceful and uplifting.

The fourth bedroom, in an independent annex just 30 metres from the house, has its own sitting area and roof terrace. There is plenty of wardrobe space, as in all of the bedrooms, and the same attractive use of natural-coloured tadlakt in its shower room.

The fifth bedroom is a self-contained apartment with separate entrance, kingsize bed, bath, tadlakt floors and terrace overlooking the garden.

Features include:

• Central heating
• Cots available
• DVD player
• Fireplace
• Safe box
• Washing machine

Eating

Even though there are a couple of excellent restaurants in Oualidia you may feel loathe not to eat all meals at La Diouana. There’s a cosy dining area at one end of the sitting room from where you look out to the lagoon and a second shaded table in the garden with those same amazing views.

Hanane, the maid, can prepare a delicious breakfast of pancakes and baguettes, squeezing oranges and making potfuls of freshly ground coffee whose aroma greets you when you emerge from your room.

Abdillah’s wife Fátima, who lives a few houses away, can prepare you a fabulous three course lunch or dinner. Let her know if you’d like her to shop for you or head down to the lagoon-side fish market, make your own choice from the best of the catch, then let her prepare you an amazing tagine. Her other specialities include harira, couscous and pastilla as well as meat and seafood: this is a unique opportunity to eat the best Moroccan food for little more than the cost of the ingredients. Fatima can also prepare special meals for children – hamburgers, chicken and chips, salads.

And be sure to let Abdillah organise a boat trip to the headland on the far side of the lagoon with an included lunch of oysters, sea urchins and grilled fish, all straight from the sea. We did just that and had one of the most memorable meals of our Moroccan trip.

A small selection of Moroccan wines, and beer, are available at the house.

Features include:

• Breakfast
• Dinner by arrangement
• Fridge
• Full kitchen
• In-house cook
• Kids' meals
• Lunch by arrangement
• Oven
• Restaurants nearby

Activities

• Oualidia has one main street with shops, fruit market and cafes; a long winding road leads to the lagoon with seafood restaurants. Visit its colourful Saturday market, teeming with farmers and donkeys from outlying villages bartering over pots and pans, sacks of flour and beans, vats of olives and bowls of spices
  
• Follow a narrow path down through the eucalyptus forest to a sheltered, sandy beach which is ideal for kids learning to swim and great for flying kites; follow the beach up to grottos and caves, climb the hills in spring and find them covered in wild flowers
  
• Surfing, wind-surfing and other water sports are available in the summer months. The shallow lagoon and rollers of the Atlantic make Oualidia a great place to learn
  
• Watch birds (best in spring and autumn) from La Diouana’s terrace or from a boat on the lagoon. This is one of Morocco’s top ornithological destinations - expect oyster catchers, curlews, dunlins, and flamingos (in early summer) to pass by
  
• Walk north along the beach past the oyster beds, via an extraordinary Marabout’s tomb, to the salt flats or walk south for miles and miles along a deserted stretch of beach
  
• Back at the villa, allow yourself to be pampered with a massage at the onsite wellness studio
  
• Take a day trip south to visit the ceramic workshops at Safi; Cap Bedouzza, between Safi and Oualidia, is a windswept promontory with a curious light-house and miles of sandy beach
  
• Further afield, 3 hours to the south, is the blue and white port of Essaouira, a fabulous excursion
  
• Or head an hour north to El Jadida and visit the crumbling ramparts, churches and rambling souk of its old cité portuguaise
  
• Outside El Jadida is the Royal Golf Sofitel, one of the best golf courses in Morocco
  
• Another few kilometres takes you to Azemmour, an old Portuguese colony with an ancient medina seldom visited by tourists

Activities on site or nearby include:

• Birdwatching
• Boat trips
• Fishing
• Golf
• Hiking
• Surfing
• Swimming
• Windsurfing

Kids

The house and garden are safe and fun for children of all ages – and under 3s stay for free. Moroccans dote on children and you'll be warmly welcomed in restaurants and wherever you go.

Older children will like it here especially given there's so much to do nearby. Babies and toddlers are very well catered for with so much gear provided and there's a shallow paddling pool for them too.

Best for:

All ages

Family friendly accommodation:

There's a triple room in the main house (option of 2 single beds or 1 double bed, plus a single bunk bed) and a twin room in the cottage. Cots are available.

Cots Available, Extra Beds Available

Distances:

• Airport: 3 hours
• Doctor: 30 minutes
• Nearest shop: 12 minutes

For more family-friendly places, see our Kids Collection

Location

La Diouana is outside the charming village of Oualidia, on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, equidistant between Casablanca and Essaouira. It's 180km from the nearest airport, but the beauty and isolation of the area make it well worth the drive.

By Air:
Casablanca Mohammed V (180km). Marrakech Menara (200km). Essaouira (180km). All airports served by several airlines. Click on the link below for a list.
The owners recommend flying to Marrakech and then hiring a car or taking a taxi to Oualidia. They can arrange transfers from Marrakech, Casablanca or Essaouira.

By Car
Hiring a car will give you additional flexibility for day trips - see our car rental recommendations. It's a 3-hour drive from Marrakech; 2.5 from Casablanca.

Abdillah, the house guardian, will meet you when you arrive and hand over keys. He lives two minutes away and will cheerfully help with any questions or problems.

Detailed directions will be sent to you once you book through i-escape.

More on getting to Morocco and getting around.