Ryad Watier

Three room types, priced in euros

The riad has three room types, priced in euros only. The single starts at €60 a night. It is 16 m² on the third floor, with a 140 × 200 cm bed, for one person. The family suite starts at €150: at least 53 m², two bedrooms and two sitting rooms, for up to five people.

The double starts at €115. It is at least 37 m², on the first or second floor, with a king-size bed, a sitting area, a walk-in shower and a separate toilet. It sleeps three. Four of the doubles have a fireplace, and some have a terrace. Breakfast and Wi-Fi are included in all three.

These are starting prices, with no seasonal rates and no room count. Ask for the rate for your dates in writing. To compare with other medina houses, see Riad Lyon Mogador or Riad Baladin and its ten rooms. Our advice: as a party of three, take the double rather than the suite. It sleeps three in 37 m² with a sitting area, and the suite only makes sense for four or five.

The riad has its own hammam. The traditional bath costs 300 MAD per adult and 150 MAD for under-15s. Three massages are listed, at 300, 350 and 400 MAD, also quoted in euros at €30 to €40. On the roof, a solid-wood cabin serves as a workspace, with its own router on a fibre line.

Where exactly, and how to get there

The riad is at 16 rue Ceuta, a pedestrian lane in the medina. It has four levels and two terraces facing the sea. Its door opens onto a small square with a fountain, which is the landmark to look for. The riad says the building was a school, left derelict before it was rebuilt, and that its name honours Watier, the forestry inspector who led the work to fix the dunes around the town.

By taxi, ask to be dropped at Bab Doukkala. It is the gate nearest the riad, ahead of Bab Sbaâ (566 m) and Bab Marrakech (575 m): 525 m, a 7-minute walk along avenue Zerktouni, rue du Mellah and avenue Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah, then rue Ceuta. Souk Jdid is 280 m away, the Skala de la Ville 440 m and place Moulay Hassan 540 m. Our page on the medina as a neighbourhood walks these streets one by one.

An airport transfer is offered on request, priced on request. Ask for it when you book, along with your arrival time.

Who it suits, and what to know before booking

Two of the three room types take more than one guest: three in a double, five in the suite. The suite has one bedroom on the ground floor and another on a mezzanine, while the doubles are on the first and second floors and the single on the third. Our advice: if anyone walks with difficulty, ask for the suite. From November to February, ask for a double with a fireplace, as nothing is said about heating in the other rooms. Our guide to the riads explains why heating matters in those months.

Cancelling costs more the closer you get to arrival. Between 30 and 21 days before arrival, the riad charges 30% of the stay. Between 20 and 11 days it charges 50%, and the full amount at 10 days or less.

To guarantee a booking, it asks for your card details, number, expiry date and security code, in three separate e-mails or by fax. The riad says nothing is charged at that point. Ask whether it accepts another form of guarantee, and get the terms for more than 30 days ahead in writing.