The house
In Oualidia’s ancient kasbah, the lagoon for horizon.
A curiosity unique in Morocco, Oualidia sits on the edge of a lagoon sheltered by a strip of land pierced by two rocky breaches, through which the ocean flows in with the tides. On the height stands the 17th-century kasbah built for Sultan El Wali; just below, the former summer palace of King Mohamed V. Between the two, El Manzar — a simple, authentic house, three suites and two rooms turned towards the light.
- Ancient kasbah — 17th century
- Above the royal summer palace
- The beach a few minutes on foot
fig. — the house on the lagoon
The flowering garden
You enter on the medina side,
through a flowering garden.
An iron gate, a shaded path: on the medina side, the house is reached through the flowering garden that surrounds it, in the shade of a century-old datura. This is El Manzar’s sheltered side — a reading corner settles on the rugs there, much loved in summer.
The Menzeh and Jardin rooms face this side of the house, protected from the wind the ocean brings — each with its own independent entrance, the garden for an antechamber.
- in the shade of the century-old datura
- ✦ in the shade of the century-old datura
- garden-side rooms — Menzeh & Jardin
- 02 garden-side rooms — Menzeh & Jardin
The living room & kitchen
One great living room, open to the lagoon.
Around the wood stove, the great salon gathers the house: the library, the home cinema, the banquettes facing the bays. It opens onto the main terrace and its view over the lagoon. Next door, the open kitchen is El Manzar’s convivial heart — lunch and dinner alike are homemade meals, cooked from the market and the sea.
When the wind rises over the estuary,
the house gathers around the stove.
The terraces
Sunlit terraces, at every hour of the day.
On the lagoon side, the terraces take turns with the sun: loungers for sunbathing, shaded corners, meals laid outdoors. All of them look over the estuary, the oyster beds and the royal forest — and when evening comes, dinner faces the sunset. The two first-floor suites each have a terrace for private use.
fig. 03 — the terraces
Morning
Breakfast in the sun, facing the estuary
Afternoon
Loungers, sunbathing, pockets of shade
Evening
Dinner at sunset over the lagoon
The lagoon & the beach
Before the house, the estuary and the ballet of the tides.
At the far end of a ten-kilometre estuary, the lagoon lives to the rhythm of the ocean flowing in through the two rocky breaches. Herons, egrets and pink flamingos share the shallows among the oyster beds and the salt marshes; across the water, the royal forest runs down to the sand.
At low tide, the sandbanks surface;
at high tide, the ocean takes the lagoon back.
A eucalyptus path leads down to the beach.
From the terrace, a little path crosses the broom and the eucalyptus down to the white sandy beach. You swim there, take a small boat out onto the lagoon waters, fish for sea bream or sea bass, picnic on the sandbanks — or taste oysters and crabs at the oyster farmers’.
Boats and outings on the lagoon — ask the house
the white sandy beach, the boat on the lagoon
The boat
Drifting across the lagoon waters
The fishing
Sea bream and sea bass, on the line
The oysters
At the oyster farmers’, by the water
El Manzar belongs to a small family of houses born of the eye of Sophie Raynal, an architect by training. The passing guest is received as a friend — that is the Chez Sophie spirit.
Book direct
Step past the old kasbah gate — the lagoon is waiting.
Book on our website, with no intermediary: your stay is confirmed instantly on our secure engine — best rate guaranteed, and the attention of the house.
- Best rate guaranteed direct
- Upgrade when available
A question before you book? WhatsApp booking@elmanzar.com
