We went to Essaouira for a couple of days after getting a bit tired of the hassle of Marrakech. Essaouira is an old "hippie destination", and that is mainly the kind of people you meet at Essaouira Hostel. The hostel is in other words very laid back, and the staff is awesome. They show you the best places to go out, and hang out with you at the hostel all the time.
The only negative things I have to say about this hostel is that the rooms are at least not above average and the cleanliness is not on top either. We had initially booked two beds in a 10-bedroom dorm, but the room was so cramped that it was not possible to even get our luggage in there (to be fair, we weren't exactly travelling light (two large suitcases). Still, in my opinion, that should have been a 4 or maybe 6 bedroom dorm, not 10. Maybe we shouldn't expect more when the price was around 5 EUR a night(!). But, the staff was helpful, and upgraded us to a 2 bed private room, with it's own shower (not toilet) for a fair price.
And then about the cleanliness; in this respect the hostel might be a bit too laid back! In the bathrooms it often lacked toilet paper, and there were usually no soap either. The facilities also looks a bit worn down, but that is not really a problem.
Except for this the hostel is great, there is free wifi, nice common areas (which includes a rooftop terrace and a hammock floor, in addition to a large "living room" with a bar, couches, tables, and a couple of computers), and the location is great, pretty central in the medina.
As long as you are aware of the shortcomings, I would recommend this hostel - it's great for relaxing!
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC