El Manzar

We stayed here for 4 nights, 3 nights in the Terrace Suite which we had booked and 1 night in the Lagune Suite (which was "an upgrade offered as a gesture of goodwill" by the "Booking Hero" aka management) after we complained about so many issues with our room. Unfortunately there are more negatives than positives to say about this place, the management is only really reachable by email and the nice housekeeping ladies end up having to pick up the pieces for them (not even these nice ladies can reach the management or perhaps have been told not to bother them with calls or may even feel afraid to do it?). The Terrace "suite" we booked was no suite at all, I can't imagine what they list as "rooms" are like if a suite is what we got. The room was small, cramped, very dark since it faces a corridor and gets barely any natural light. It was very hot inside since it's not facing the ocean and gets no benefit from the breeze (different than the Lagune Suite which gets a nice breeze all the time). There's no AC units anywhere in the house, all we had in the room was a small fan which barely did anything to help cool us down at night. The shower was another issue (it didn't get that much better in the Lagune Suite) and it's outrageous that it continues to be so despite the many complaints over the years. To start there's a terrible sewage smell that emanates from the shower drain in the Terrace Suite which improves if you keep the drain closed, however if you keep it closed then the bathroom floods. The shower head is another issue, it sprays everywhere and has very little stream strength (a coffee drip machine has much more stream strength than this shower head!) and this issue also did not improve in the Lagune Suite. The few positives were the views from the terraces/balconies (which is one of the main benefits of the Lagune Suite since it faces the ocean), the free parking, the housekeepers who although they don't speak a word of English (we communicated using a translator app) were very nice, polite and worked hard every day as well as the nice daily breakfast they put together for us which included an egg omelet, bread, Moroccan pancakes, jam, butter, cheese, freshly squeezed OJ and coffee. I think this place is overpriced and I'd say it's the worse place we stayed in during our 6-week Morocco visit. I definitely would not stay here ever again if I ever returned to Oualidia (very unlikely, it's not a town I'd come back to) and although I'd recommend against staying here, if you absolutely must stay at El Manzar then only stay at the Lagune Suite (it's the least worse option, and that doesn't say much good in my opinion).

We had the suite upstairs with our own terrace and view over the lagoon. Nora helped us with everything, served an excellent breakfast and let us participate in preparing the tajine. It is in walking distance to the market place, the shore (for eating fresh fish or a short boat ride to the other side of the lagoon). Booking by phone was somewhat difficult.

Stunning views... from all the terraces with lots if seating, this is the highlight of the property and it is a pleasure sitting looking across the lagoon. It is well positioned, just over five minutes walk from the centre, restuarants and supermarket. (15 minutes walk from the CTM bus stop). No ventilation in the bathroom so it was damp and the shower was useless, just a trickle.....the lounge area has a contemporary feel but could do with a refurb. There was an oil heater in our room and an electric blanket which is needed early Feb. Breakfast was okay but no omelette or fruit, could be better for the price. The two staff were pleasant enough but very little communication even in French, no welcome info or explanations. In summary, it looks better in the photo's than actually is....

lovely views on the lagoon, helpful Nora running the place. the rooms are ok for a couple of nights. I would recommend the owner to put fans on the ceiling :-). I loved the simplicity of the place & the clean art - I recommend a better music system (like sonos) or a nice background lounge music in the living during breakfast & dinner - We had dinner twice and the food was superb! overall : i recommend el Manzar !