Le Jardin des Douars

An earthen hamlet in a valley

A douar is a small village. Le Jardin des Douars has taken on that look: rounded buildings in local materials, in the Moroccan earth-building tradition, set on terraces in botanical gardens at the bottom of a valley in the douar of Sidi Yassine, south of Essaouira. You arrive by a country road, then a track, among the argan trees.

The hotel has 19 rooms and 6 suites in the main house and its outbuildings, and private villas near the estate entrance. It holds a Michelin Key, the Michelin Guide's hotel distinction, and in 2026 Time Out magazine ranked it 8th on its list of the world's most beautiful hotels, the highest-placed in Africa.

Our reading: this is the place to choose to sleep in peace in the countryside and go into town or to the beach for the day. To live the medina on foot, a riad inside the walls is a better fit.

Two pools, two rhythms

The estate has two pools heated all year: one for adults only, the other for families, with a shallow pool for children. The pool bars, in dry stone and shaded by plants, serve from 8 am to 8 pm, 6 pm in winter, local time.

A few steps from the hotel, Club des Douars adds an active side: four padel courts in the open, with lessons and coaching, and yoga, Pilates, body training, breathwork and meditation sessions, in groups or one to one. You can also have a drink there between games.

The spa has three massage rooms and a domed hammam, where Ibtissam's team offers massages, rituals and argan-oil treatments. The shop sells jewellery and clothing by local designers and argan beauty products. In the evening, depending on the day, there is live music at sunset, magic shows for all ages or creative workshops.

The table

The cooking blends French and Moroccan flavours with a Mediterranean touch. Chef Simo and his brigade work with local produce, and the kitchen door stays open to the curious.

• Breakfast, 7.30 to 10.30 am, is a buffet of French toast, Moroccan pancakes, fresh fruit and local dishes, served indoors or on the patio.
• Lunch is light: beetroot carpaccio with fresh goat's cheese and argan oil, seasonal vegetable tart, chicken spring rolls with medina spices. On Sunday afternoons a barbecue brings grilled meat and fish from Essaouira's port.
• Dinner offers tagines, house couscous and international dishes, by candlelight, at tables for two or by the fire.

The kitchen garden supplies herbs, aromatic plants and edible flowers, grown without pesticides or chemical fertilisers. The bar serves snacks from 10.30 am to midnight. Hotel guests do not need to book a table.

Room, suite or villa

All rooms have traditional Moroccan decor and materials, with a Nespresso machine, kettle and fridge.

For a couple, the Choukran rooms are the simplest; a terrace room gives more space outdoors. For a family, the Douaria suites, small standalone houses in the gardens near a pool, are the best choice, and the Royale suite, under the main dome of the house, is the largest. For a group, the three- to six-bedroom villas have their own heated pool and a housekeeper who makes breakfast and, on request, other meals; Villa Palma, with six bedrooms for sixteen guests, opens in January 2027.

A house involved in the town

Since 2024 the hotel has run creative workshops for children during school holidays with the Chouikik women's cooperative, which receives all the proceeds. It supports the "Les Petits Marins" social nursery run by the El Khir women's association, and since 2022 has given its retired linen to a local association that turns it into new items.

Sabaro's view

Who it suits: couples who want countryside calm, families with children, groups of friends or several families in a villa.

Strengths: earthen architecture in a botanical garden; one pool for adults and one for families; padel and yoga on site; a Michelin Key; a Tripadvisor score of 4.8/5 from more than 1,100 reviews.

Good to know: the estate is outside the town; you need a car or taxi for the medina and the beach.