Palazzo Desdemona by Joanna Monkhouse

Palazzo Desdemona is the new in-town hotel owned by the same Italian film director as Auberge Tangaro. In Essaouira, the ubiquitous colours are blue and white and from the outside, Palazzo Desdemona does not fail to deliver. However, inside the hotel, shades of watery, eau de nil green come as a welcome change. Imposing, dark wood, Moorish arches frame the doors, the iron-framed 4-poster beds are draped in white muslin and the beds are made up with thick cream woolen blankets. The tiled floor, as at Auberge Tangaro, is clean but looking grubby already. The mirror frames, lamp bases and pretty inlaid tables are made from thuya wood, for which Essaouira’s souq is particularly well known. Some rooms have balconies overlooking the Essaouira’s landmark clock tower and the well photographed line of palm trees that cast huge shadows on the pavement, others on the higher floors have sea views. One room is located on the same level as the roof and has a private terrace. A rooftop restaurant is planned. The large ground floor salon is rather soulless, save for some artwork by an Italian artist - one of his murals adorns a landing wall on the first floor. The courtyard has been lost in the conversion so Essaouira’s humid air does not circulate through the building unless all the doors of the rooms have been left open (as when rooms are unoccupied), and as a result damp is appearing on many of Palazzo Desdemona’s walls.