Riad Chbanate

Chic

Good service

A beautiful riad in a great location. We stayed for three nights in a lovely romantic room and felt very comfortable. The staff is very attentive and extremely helpful. This riad is our first choice in Essaouira.

I endorse this review by another guest: “nice place, but unreasonable price. The most expensive riad of our stay, but not the most beautiful or the best equipped. It should cost 30% less considering what it offers”. Yes, I agree: taking all factors into account, this property should be priced at least 30% less. It is definitely overpriced. This hotel failed to prepare a thorough advert on booking-com website. Instead of describing each of their rooms individually (they only have 7 rooms), they congregate them into two types — “Superior double room” and “Comfort double room”. As a result, you do not know which room out of the seven you are booking until you arrive. The hotel manager should create seven “room types” on their booking-com page and accurately describe each room by giving its name and correct photographs of THAT PARTICULAR ROOM, not just a collection of photographs of all rooms. Customers deserve to know what exactly they will get, if this hotel charges €200, €150 or €130 per night. Another consequence of the hotel’s failure to advertise each room individually is that when photographs of five rooms are pooled together into one room type, prospective customers are misled. Indeed, I was misled. I was shown beautiful photographs with a hammock in the middle of a room, which creates a cosy impression, which enticed me to reserve it. And I was given a plain room without a hammock. They have a hammock only in one room; yet they dishonestly show it in the advert for all five rooms. I dislike that. Their other marketing photographs are also misleading. If we look at marketing photographs of “superior double room”, we see that they show rooms with burning logs of wood in a fireplace, a thick bouquet of live flowers in a bedroom, a vase with many flowers beside a bath. None of that was in my bedroom when I arrived. If the hotel shows a burning wood fire in their marketing photos, and charges €150 per night, I expect to see a burning fire in my bedroom on a cold winter evening (the fire could have been started by a staff member when they take the guest to the room). But no, there was no possibility for me to lit a fire during a cold evening. There was no vase with flowers at the side of a bath. The thick bouquet of live flowers shown in their marketing photos in a bedroom was not there in reality. Their photos show jacuzzi with heated water on the second floor. But it was covered by a piece of material and closed to the guests. Yet, that jacuzzi features in so many marketing photographs, and dupes prospective customers into making at reservation at this expensive hotel. I did not like the bathroom in two respects. In the bathrooms you get only a fixed-arm shower head above you. They do not have a hand-held shower head with a flexible hose, with which you can direct water flow wherever you want. This was very uncomfortable: every single hotel in which I stayed in Morocco has always had a hand-held shower with a flexible hose. Considering their very high prices, I see no reason why the hotel cannot install both shower types — a fixed-arm shower head above, and a hand-held shower head with a flexible hose at chest or waist level. I endorse what other people have written: “No door between the bathroom and bedroom, as a result the bathroom has little privacy as it is only separated by a curtain”. I too disliked this lack of privacy. Indeed, I was in an uncomfortable situation where I had to ask my travel companion to go out of the room into a communal area, so that I can use the bathroom and toilet in privacy. If there is just a curtain, any sound or smell or vapor can go in the room. Also, because there is no proper barrier between the bathroom and bedroom, after you have had a bath, all steam or vapor goes into the bedroom. I had a bath before going to sleep, and it had filled the whole bedroom with vapor for the whole night. It is not what we want in a hotel that charges €150 per night.

This riad was amazing. Excellent location, fantastic breakfast and the hotel staff were amazing. They went above and beyond, would highly recommended!

We spent a lovely four nights in Riad Chbanate. Staff are friendly and accommodating. Breakfast was great. And we enjoyed the large bath in our room. We also liked that the riad was located on a very quiet street.

We stayed for 3 nights at Riad Chbanate and absolutely loved our stay. Our room was beautiful and clean. The location is excellent, on a quiet street but a short walk away from the all the things you want to see. Lastly, the staff was excellent! So helpful and kind. We would highly recommend for your stay.

Our favourite stay in Morocco. Perfectly located near the entrance of the walled city and a short walk from the Supratours bus station, this riad is stunning and feels luxurious. Entering the riad feels like you've been transported to your own tranquil haven. The service is outstanding. They really nail all the small touches, from bath salts for the soaker tubs to a wood fireplace in your room lit for you upon request to set the ambience. We stayed for 2 nights and after experiencing this riad, we tried to extend our stay one more night, but of course it was already fully booked - just goes to show how much we loved it here. Do yourself a favour and stay here when you visit Essaouira!