Back in Essaouira Basking on Riad Baladin’s Rooftop

We’ve been dropped off at the intersection of the beach and the medina and turn our backs to the shining sun. Though this wasn’t my first trip to Essaouira, it’s been my favorite.

Maddy and I have been hopping around Riads every two nights and today we left Le Jardin de Douars to head back inside the medina walls. Tonight we stay at Riad Baladin in their “La Chambre Blanche”… but first, we have to find the place.

Instead of a baggage handler we prefer the adventuring of finding it ourselves and weave our way past pottery shops, herbal pharmacies, and restaurant hustlers though we note there’s a fully vegan restaurant offering a 3 course meal for 75 dirham (that’s around $8) and plan to have dinner there later.

After a kind shop owner points us in the right direction we arrive just after checkin and the friendly manager Nicole is there to show us around the property. First she gives us a map of the city, bottled water, and incredible insider info on Essaouira. Her furry companion Carlito comes over to give us lots of love, and I immediately understand why people fall in love with this Riad. It feels like home. Following Nicole’s lead we wind through the spiral staircases and arrive at the top to enjoy the view.

The rooftop is where breakfast is served but it’s also a great place for digital nomads to pop open the computer and enjoy an oceanside office. While we’re taking in the view Nicole tells us about the expansion of the Baladin name from Italy where a friend of hers had a successful brand and even a hammam — she had the great idea to bring Baladin to Morocco and has landed here in the gem of Morocco’s coast: Essaouira.

Though we planned to go back downstairs for our bags the manager-to-be, Nadine, hefted all of our luggage up the winding staircases and met us in the white room. She’ll be taking over in a few months since Nicole is off to expand the brand even more — this time in Zanzibar! I love her ambition and that she’s always got new projects cooking…. speaking of, I had to lock down and get to work.

Sometimes it’s still hard to find that balance between arriving in a new hotel and wanting to soak in the tub and pore through their book collection while playing hooky all day and realizing that this sweet new spot is also my office for the day and I have to show up for work.

It’s even harder when you know there’s a jacuzzi downstairs that’s reserved for you and that the nightguard has pulled the curtains and lit the candles just for you…

But hey, the articles don’t write themselves and plus — I’ve been trying to craft pitches to magazines like Condé Nast and that demands concentration and dedication. So I promise the hottub (and Maddy) that we’ve got a date just as soon as I polish the next piece.

Before I know it the sun has slipped down and Maddy snuck out to bring us dinner to the hotel room. The nearby restaurant owner Tarek insisted that Maddy bring the tajine and all their dishes back to Baladin and helped him carry them to our room — only in Morocco do you find hospitality like that. He said “enjoy, and bring back the dishes tomorrow or the next day, whenever…”

We slept like well-fed babies that night under piles of blankets. Though Essaouira is warmer than Madrid this time of year we were still somewhat surprised at how chilly the nights got. Even more reason to cuddle close.
Luckily there is a tea kettle in your room so you’re able to wrap your hands around a steaming cup of Tiznit Mint tea before drifting off…

The next morning we had a breakfast of granola, bread, coffee and various jams. When we sent back the milk, yogurt, cheese, and refused eggs the girl kindly offered me extra orange juice and when I poured it over my granola I could see her eyebrows raise and she could help but ask “what do you eat?”.

Maddy and I laughed and explained we are vegans and don’t eat animal products. It’s still a new trend in Morocco to be a vegetarian so I understand there’s a steep learning curve for many locals. It only made me wish I was fluent in Arabic so I could explain ourselves better.  But the next morning she was prepared– there was nothing vegan on our table and she brought over the pitcher of orange juice for our granola! Which, by the way, is pretty delicious.

After a slow and sunny breakfast we duck out to walk around the Skala district and get blown around by the breeze which beautifully tosses the waves against the rocks and smashes them, sending spray our way.

Today work can wait: we meander the city and soak it in because soon we’re heading back to Marrakech and off to the High Atlas Mountains where the beautiful beach will be a far away and warm memory.

Riad Baladin was our gracious host for two nights and we loved their location and laid back feel. Nicole and Nadine were great hostesses who did everything possible to make sure their guests were happy, informed, and felt right at home. We definitely did and will be making a point to stop by Zanzibar to say hi!