Villa Josephine

The setting is pretty but that’s about it. Hotel is a smoking hotel so it reeks of cigarette smoke. No one we encountered spoke any English. Service was curt. They gave us the worst room in the house - very small and dark. The air conditioning was poor and there are no showers - only bathtubs.

Looks can be deceiving. From the exterior this hotel looks amazing, and the interior rooms are all beautifully appointed. I can’t show you because photography is banned in the hotel. Without a doubt, the worst service we have ever encountered upon check-in. The woman did not speak English and was, in spite of that, still able to be very rude to us. In fact the only word uttered was when she grunted “passports” when we arrived, no “Welcome”, no smile, just the grunt. She didn’t wait for us to join her to go up to the room. She huffed off, and we had to find it for ourselves. Once we got to the room she huffed off (again) without a single word. There was no communication about the location of the restaurant for breakfast, nor the time. We had to search to find what she had done with the key. The staff in the restaurant tried very hard to do the right thing, however, his English was so limited that communication was almost impossible. The breakfast provided included a tub of yoghurt, Moroccan pancake, coffee, orange juice, and bread basket. I was shocked that this was all that was on offer, and so asked for eggs which we were then provided with. The sad news was the boiled eggs were so undercooked they were inedible. I have enclosed the photo of the butter served at breakfast, upon opening the packet we discovered it was completely mouldy. Clearly there are major food handling issues here. The bathroom did not have a shower, just a bath, with plenty of mold. Do not book Room 108. My recommendation to you is to stay somewhere else if you want good service and decent food.

For our first three night stay in Morocco, this hotel was a fine place to recover and time zone adjust. The facility is a converted mansion with colonial furnishings, but modern ac and baths, no shower. The balcony living room, off the bedroom gives you sea views and breezes. It is located in a private residential area and there are no walking areas other than on the mansion’s grounds and a car or taxis is needed to get around. As a Muslim country, beer and wine are priced above normal, but if you stick to the Moroccan beer and wines which were fine, think early California (50-60s). Service is slow as the staff have to cover the grounds, from the pool/garden to the several dining and cocktail areas. The service could be better as we like to have our coffee after a meal with milk, which was forgotten twice. The rooms were as clean as you could expect in an antique furnish house. I would recommend this for the view and privacy, as a tourist, you may want a quality hotel in town.

I can only review this establishment in a very limited way as I only had a drink there and asked their concierge service for help. The place is lovely; immaculate and luscious ground and, as other reviewers have noted, Plushly colonial decor. I had a beer ($8) or two and while nothing was wrong with it, the service was non existent. When I wanted a second one, I had to go into the bar to see if I could dredge up a waiter. The place was empty. After waiting some more eventually I flagged someone passing by and asked. Ditto for the bill, which was peremptorily tossed down without a word of thanks or any pleasantries. Under normal circumstances, this would not be worthy of a review, but considering the price and the exclusivity, it's pretty damning. Equally, I arrived there by chance looking for a foundation/gallery of photography. I asked at the front desk. Everyone was very pleasant, but no one knew of the place I was referring to. Again: this is not a crime, but considering the place is literally their next door neighbor, I was astounded that no better understanding of their own neighborhood was evident. God knows what it would be like if you were looking for advice on something further away! Again, if this were not a highly exclusive (no photography allowed on the property) establishment, this would not bear mentioning...but it's not. This is an establishment vying to be world class. In short: it's not.

Remarkable property; unremarkable service!!! As other reviewers have said, the grounds are simply gorgeous, and the decor is also lovely if your taste runs midcentury colonial. However, the service is atrocious, especially if you don't speak French or Moroccan!!!