Riad Sidi Magdoul — Hotel in Essaouira

A dreary place, very rude owners, misleading, and disruptive business practice!

7-8 months ago, Upon arrival at Riad Sidi Magdoul, we were received by a single staff member at the front desk. From the outset, their demeanor was unwelcoming and visibly agitated, despite our having made no prior interaction that could justify such behavior.

As per their request, we paid for our stay in advance. After being handed the room key, we were informed that our luggage would be brought up separately. Upon entering the assigned room on the first floor, we were immediately confronted with a severe hygiene issue: MAJOR BLACK MOLD bordering areas where moisture gets trapped all over the place, to top things up approximately three to four cockroaches emerged from behind the door as my spouse opened the door. This caused significant distress, particularly to my spouse, who instinctively closed the door. We immediately returned to the reception to request a refund on the grounds of unacceptable sanitary conditions.

Despite the clear justification for our request, we were categorically denied a refund, being told that once a guest has checked in, no reimbursement is permitted under any circumstances. At this point, we were physically and emotionally exhausted from our travels, and it was already late in the evening.

The situation escalated when another staff member—an individual we believe to be French and possibly in a managerial or owner role—intervened, by walking aggressively towards us and treating us in such despicable manner. Rather than addressing our concerns professionally, he adopted a condescending and hostile tone, ultimately threatening to call the authorities. Feeling intimidated and disrespected, we decided to leave the premises immediately and took our luggage with us.

Subsequently, we initiated a chargeback request through our financial institution, which deemed the transaction inappropriate and reimbursed us accordingly.

Based on this experience, we strongly advise prospective guests to exercise caution. In our opinion, the service and conditions encountered at Riad Sidi Magdoul were not only substandard but bordered on deceptive...

With a plethora of beautiful Riad’s and hostels in Essaouira please don’t waste your money staying here. The hostel is falling apart and doesn’t look like the photos, it’s dark and damp. We had to wear thermals to go to sleep. The sheets were wet. The only window looks out to the courtyard which due to its height is incredibly dark. Although in saying that we stayed in a room near the top floor and it was still dark. Mould everywhere, paint peeling off the walls. ||||We arrived after having booked a double room to be shown to a twin room where the beds sagged so much in the middle I don’t think they’ve been changed for twenty years. After an hour back and forth we were given the room we had booked but told we’d have to change the following night. We had arrived at 8.30pm after having spent a lot of time travelling from the desert so it really was the last thing we needed. And genuinely the desert accommodation which was incredibly basic was much better than this hostel.||||The next morning my partner approached Miriam, the manager. When explaining our dissatisfaction she brushed it off a refused to refund our stay. For the fear of getting ill and the shear grottiness of the place we forfited the €30 and found a place just around the corner right next to the sea. For a ten euros more we stayed in absolute luxury. I cannot express enough how wonderful Casa Del Mar is. Please, stay there rather than this grim place. The price of Casa Del Mar is inclusive of any tax etc which is what tips riad sidi mogdamp up to €30. If your budget doesn’t stretch to €40 - which ours didn’t really but it was the first place we came across and fell in love - then there are plenty of other options for €30. ||||After sending an email expressing our complaints, Miriam reacted in a defensive and vile way. Certainly not what we’re used to when staying in other hostels across the world. Having travelled across many continents it really was the worst hostel I had stayed in. I guess if you’re back packing and staying in dorms it may be better suited but still I am sure there are plenty of other hostels!||||Definitely...

The WORST 😖😖😖 experience in Morroco. RUDE owners, rude receptionist, MOLD😲!!! in the whole building, humidity and cold rooms with no windows, reminded of a prison cell. My family and my husbands parents booked 2 rooms for several days because we struggled to find a vacancy anywhere else that day, but 2 hours later we realised that we cannot stay there due to MOLD (since it is dangerous for our baby and husbands older parents) and due to strong smell 🤧in the rooms, so we immediately informed receptionist that we want to pay for 2 days and get e refund for the rest because we cannot stay in these conditions. Receptionist AGREED that we should get money back but the owners came and said NO🤷‍♀️. Not to mention that the lady owner started crying and screaming over this ( unprovoked - my husband simply wanted to get money back and said that he will have go further with this) and her husband became aggressive too, I thought he will literally HIT me 😐when I passed by him on my way out with baby in the stroller. From the day one they were RUDE, they did not even want me to use kitchen to heat up water for my baby since there was no such possibility in a room. I have never seen such unprofessionalism 🙊...have never seen such bad conditions...this is not 2 star hotel this shouldn't be even aloud to be open for customers.. Luckily we moved out and found ANOTHER Riad which has big windows, sunlight, no humidity no MOLD, warm and clean, feels like home and the receptionist and the while staff is so friendly and helpfull. Do not ruin your vacation by staying in Sidi Mogdoul in Essaouira, they DID NOT give all of our money back we got just a little bit with help of POLICE. We lost one wonderful day in Essaouira because...