A Private Moroccan Paradise
WELCOME TO LAGOON LODGE
A beautiful house in Oualidia on Morocco’s glorious Atlantic coast, Lagoon Lodge is a 6-bedroom house overlooking a winding tidal estuary with panoramic views of the sea beyond. The property sits on 2.5 hectares of gardens and olive groves and includes the first natural swimming pool in Morocco.
The Lodge is a peaceful, relaxing haven. You’ll hear only gentle sea breezes in the trees, birdsong, the occasional hee-haw of a donkey.
Our welcoming staff takes care of your every need so you can relax, unwind, and enjoy the view.
The Living room opens onto a veranda overlooking the lagoon and the Atlantic beyond. Enjoy refreshing drinks and canapés while watching the sun set. On a clear night you can admire the stars and if you are lucky you might catch sight of a shooting star.
Built into the side of a gentle slope, the house is on two levels. The ground floor surrounds a large courtyard lush with palm, olive and orange trees, and has 4 double bedrooms, all with en suite bathrooms, a TV room, a large sitting room, a dining room, and a kitchen. Under the veranda on the lower level are 2 double bedrooms with en suite bathrooms that overlook the natural swimming pool and the shimmering Atlantic Ocean beyond.
We run an eco-friendly lodge. All the water in the house is heated using solar panels, and all our grey water is recycled through various filtration tanks and used to water the garden.
DISCOVER OUR ROOMS
Lagoon lodge has 6 elegant bedrooms with spacious en suite bathrooms. The house can accommodate 10 people.
DINING
Freshly prepared with local ingredients, breakfast & dinner are included in the price of your stay. Lunches or picnics are available to order.
BREAKFAST
Our delicious breakfast is served in the dining room or under the charming pergola every morning. This leisurely start to the day generally includes freshly squeezed orange juice, coffee, tea, homemade bread, fresh fruit salad, eggs, Moroccan pancakes, yoghurt, muesli and Sofia’s delightful jams.
LUNCH
Our light and delicious lunches make the most of fresh local ingredients. Many of the fruit and vegetables are from our own kitchen garden.
DINNER
Your evening menu is written on the board in the kitchen daily. It varies with the seasons and what is available locally but will generally feature dishes such as fresh seasonal fish and shellfish; chicken tagine with preserved lemon; lamb or beef couscous, and of course our homegrown vegetables from the garden. Dinner also includes filtered water, tea, and coffee.
Sample Menus
SAMPLE LUNCH MENU 1
- Courgette croquettes
- Green salad
- Roast peppers and tomatoes
- Fennel salad
- Fresh fruit of the day
SAMPLE DINNER MENU 1
- Salad of roasted peppers and tomatoes
- Beetroot salad
- Green salad with walnuts
- Beef Tagine with Prunes and Sesame
- Green beans
- Fresh orange salad with cinnamon
SAMPLE LUNCH MENU 2
- Chicken or turkey skewers
- Beetroot salad
- Green salad with tomato and basil
- Fresh fruit of the day
SAMPLE DINNER MENU 2
- Tomato, onion and basil salad
- Roasted aubergine and tomato salad
- Green salad with walnuts
- Charcoal-grilled fish
- Potatoes cooked with parsley
- Roast fennel
- Lemon tart
Dining Out
OSTREA II
As you drive into town from Lagoon Lodge, you’ll see a sign on the right for Ostrea II Restaurant/Hotel. This clean and simple restaurant with a terrace right on the water is a wonderful place to see Oualidia’s famous oysters being harvested and to enjoy the freshest possible seafood: oysters, sea urchins, crab salad, or perhaps a really tasty paella generously filled with octopus, mussels, prawns and local fish, the rice deliciously caramelised and worth scraping up every crunchy bit.
LA SULTANA HOTEL
A little further along on the right, you will see signs for La Sultana Hotel, which is pricey but the best restaurant Oualidia has to offer.
L’HIPPOCAMPE HOTEL
In Oualidia itself, halfway down the hill, you’ll find L’Hippocampe Hotel. It has a lovely terrace overlooking the lagoon and its garden is bursting with colourful flowers. Here you can have lunch/dinner/coffee and check your emails on the beach, as they have free WiFi.
L’ARAIGNEE GOURMANDE
A cheap, bustling restaurant popular with French tourists and caravaniers.
L’INITIALE
At the end of the bay, L’Initiale has good pizzas and salads.
KALYPSO
Expensive but dependable.
FRESH SEAFOOD ON THE BEACH
A favourite Oualidia treat for visitors is crab grilled on the beach. You’ll also find fishing boats drawn up on the beach, whose owners will be happy to sell you freshly caught clams or sea urchins which they will open for you to eat right away.
Architectural Digest
Danny Moynihan and Katrine Boorman's Oualidia Getaway
House & Garden
The food team's guide to Morocco
The Sunday Times
This Way to Hidden Morocco
The Times
20 Moroccan Beach Retreats
ACTIVITIES
4 kilometers south of Lagoon Lodge, the small town of Oualidia is located between El Jadida and Safi. It lies on a beautiful tidal lagoon on the Atlantic coast and consists of a main street with a market, a few shops, pharmacies and cafes. In July and August, the beach area is frequented by Moroccan families seeking respite from the Marrakech heat. The rest of the year, the town is almost deserted.
Things to Do
Day Trips
Beach & Walks
A short walk through our garden leads to the edge of the estuary. There are wonderful walks going both left and right. If you walk left for about 5 minutes, there is a larger beach area where you can swim. Please note that the estuary is tidal, and so it’s best to go down at low tide.
Birdwatching
Oualidia is at the centre of Morocco’s richest bird habitat, its estuarine waters and mudflats making it a birdwatcher’s delight year-round. Especially in spring and autumn, its coastal wetlands, saltpans, sands and lagoons shelter a vast range of migrating birds, including pink flamingoes, godwits, stilts, waders, storks, avocets, warblers, egrets, terns, and many others. The marshy area to the right of the Lodge is dotted with curlews, plovers, herons, oystercatchers, and sandpipers.
Fishing
We can arrange for you to be taken out on a boat to fish for sea-bass, or you can go the beach or cliff-tops to cast for sea-bream and red mullet.
Boat Trips
Loubna can arrange for a fisherman to collect you from the beach below and take you for a leisurely tour of the estuary and lagoon, perhaps with a stop to enjoy freshly grilled fish and crab. You can also make the journey to or from Oualidia by boat, which takes about 40 minutes. On the estuary you will see plenty of bird life, and perhaps other fishing boats or divers harvesting shellfish.
Biking
On the El Jadida road, a shop hires quad bikes, bicycles, and scooters.
Golf
The Pullman Mazagan Royal Golf and Spa at El Jadida has one of Morocco’s finest 18-hole golf courses. It is approximately 1h30 from The Lodge.
Hammam & Massage
There are three local options: the cheap and cheerful village hammam, which is segregated; the hammam and full body scrub at the Beach View Hotel in the centre of town, or the more expensive, state of the art pampering experience at The Sultana Hotel.
Shopping in the Souks
The Saturday souk is well worth a visit. With its rumbustious atmosphere, it’s a different experience to the more tourist-oriented souks of Marrakech.
Moussem
If you are in Oualidia in April, don’t miss the annual moussem (or pilgrimage). Crowds converge on the town for a grand fantasia. White-robed horsemen charge up and down a field firing fusillades into the air. Musicians and belly dancers perform in the evening. The event normally takes place in the field beside the Motel Assaka el-Hamra on the El Jadida road.
The Royal Palace
The former royal palace of King Mohammed V is one of only two ‘tourist sights’ in Oualidia (the other being the 7th century Kasbah). For many years this elegant, Italianate building, surrounded by eucalyptus and Norfolk Island Pine, was the scene of royal parties and summer festivities. Sadly, his son Hassan II did not share Mohammed V’s taste for Oualidia and the palace has fallen into ruin. The latest rumour is that Mohammed VI (the present king) is going to restore the palace. The grounds are now guarded by gendarmes and you are not allowed to take any photographs, but you can see it from the estuary when you take a boat between Oualidia and Lagoon Lodge.
Changing Money
The Banque Populaire on the main street has an ATM. You can also change currency/travellers cheques inside. There is a second ATM at the post office.
Kasbah Gharbaia (25 kms - 25 minutes)
Although this Kasbah is not nearly as impressive as Kasbah Boulaouane, it’s a lot nearer, and you can have a pleasant scramble among the overgrown ruins and troglodytic houses. On the way, about 14 kms from Oualidia, you’ll pass a turn-off to the left leading to a forest once used by the Moroccan Royal family for hunting. Look for the board marked ‘Reserve de Chasse’. Here you can take walks through eucalyptus groves and roam across rocky outcrops with kites overhead. There are still reputed to be wild boar, but the only one we’ve spotted is above the fireplace at the Hippocampe.
Cap Bedouzza (30 kms - 30 minutes)
A windswept promontory with a curious light-house in the shape of an English Medieval castle. The lighthouse keeper has to cover the prism at sunrise and sunset to avoid the African sun setting fire to nearby houses. From Cap Bedouzza, you can walk for miles along some of the most deserted beaches in Morocco. According to locals, there is a submerged village beneath the waves.
Safi (58 kms – 50 minutes)
Thought to be the country’s oldest city, Safi is the ceramic centre of Morocco. Steer clear of the port area and head for the old Medina (access through an archway to the right of the ‘Colline des Potiers’). A maze of alleyways lead up the hillside past the former Portuguese church to the 16th century citadel, now the National Ceramics Museum. At the ‘Colline des Potiers’, you can buy Safi pottery at very reasonable prices. On the way back to Oualidia, on the hill leading out of town, is the Village de Poissons. For 50 dirhams a head, you can gorge on calamari, shrimps, sole, bream and salad.
El Jadida (73 kms – 1 hour)
A former Portuguese outpost and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, El Jadida has a fine ‘Cite Portugaise’ and a 16th century underground cistern (closed 12-3pm). You can walk around the ramparts. The modern town is renowned for its palm-lined boulevards and smart cafes. Just north of El Jadida is The Pullman Mazagan Royal Golf and Spa. The course is very sparsely used except in summer, has great views of the sea, and a club house with good restaurant.
Azemmour (89 kms – 1h15)
14 kms north of El Jadida is another Portuguese outpost overlooking the river Wadi Ouem Er-Rhia. It has a charming medina seldom visited by tourists.
Essaouira (180 kms, 3 hours)
Morocco’s former principal port with its blue and white medina, seagulls, and crashing waves makes a lovely but tiring day trip. It’s better to spend a night there. Jack’s Apartments are a good choice and have fantastic sea views.
Kasbah Boulaouane (180 kms, 3 hours)
One of the most impressive royal kasbahs in Morocco is a three-hour journey inland. The Kasbah occupies a hilltop high above a meander in the river Ouem Er-Rhia. It was built in 1710 for the concubine of Sultan Moulay Ismail. Note: driving to Boulaouane can be hot and dusty in summer.
GETTING HERE
Lagoon Lodge is in a beautiful, unspoiled spot 4km north of the village of Oualidia on Morocco's Atlantic Coast. Situated between El Jadida and Safi, the Oualidia is situated on one of North Africa's most stunning coastal lagoons, perfect for swimming, surfing and relaxation. Popular with Morocco's royal family, it is the country's oyster capital and also provides some of the best bird watching in the world. We recommend flying to either Casablanca or Marrakech, where you can hire a car. If you do not wish to rent a car, we are happy to help you arrange any transport requirements you may have, including airport transfers.
Airlines flying into Marrakech, Menara (RAK) Airport include Air France, British Airways, EasyJet, Lufthansa, Royal Air Maroc, and Ryanair. Plenty of car hire options are available, including Avis, Budget, Europe Car, Hertz, and National.
Transfer time to Lagoon Lodge is approximately 3 hours.
Airlines flying into Casablanca, Mohammed V (CMN) Airport include Royal Air Maroc, Air France, Lufthansa, Iberia, and Alitalia. Plenty of car hire options are available, including Avis, Budget, Europe Car, Hertz, and National.
Transfer time to Lagoon Lodge is approximately 2 hours.
RATES & BOOKING
Lagoon Lodge has a 3 nights/3 rooms minimum policy and can accommodate 10 people. Breakfast and dinner are included.
Price includes: breakfast (including juice, tea & coffee), dinner (including filtered water, tea & coffee), linen, towels (including beach towels), heating, air conditioning, daily maid cleaning.
Price excludes: other soft drinks, other meals, taxi transfers, and personal/travel/cancellation insurance.
Lunches at the house costs €25 per head, or €15 per head for children under 12. Picnic lunches made from fresh local ingredients can be prepared in advance for beach or boat trips and cost €15 per head.
Please read our Terms & Conditions before booking.
HIGH SEASON
April 1 – October 31, Christmas/New Year
LOW SEASON
November 1 – March 31, excluding Christmas and New Year
ENTIRE HOUSE (PER WEEK): €5,500
ROOM PER NIGHT (3 NIGHT/3 ROOM MINIMUM): €270/ROOM
ENTIRE HOUSE (PER WEEK): €4,500
ROOM PER NIGHT (3 NIGHT/3 ROOM MINIMUM): €210/ROOM
Tipping: €200 per week for 10 people is an appropriate tip.
Make a Booking Inquiry
Please let us know your desired dates, your number of guests, and any other questions you may have. We'll get back to you within a day.