We loved Riad à la Belle Etoile. There was no request we made that the staff did not do everything possible to accommodate. The Riad is an oasis which surpassed all of our expectations from setting, the beautiful decor, the service. We would absolutely recommend this place to anyone.

The staff were friendly and helpful. The roof terrace was ideal for sitting and relaxing as well as to contemplate sun set over the ocean. Beautifully appointed hotel, a really tranquil oasis in the médina of Salé.

Though the staff at this Riad were wonderful and made our stay bearable, we left feeling that our accomodation over the 9 days we stayed there was one big rip off. The pictures on the website do not do justice to the rather dark and gloomy rooms, the overflowing shower facilities, the lack of hot waters for showers (daily). There is no real privacy in the riad, you can hear all the other guests conversations through the latticed walls.

After staying for a night, we wanted to cancel our 9 day stay there but the owner, who did not live onsite, said he would have to charge our credit card anyway.

We ordered dinner there twice thinking it was the advertised 20Euro.

Upon checking out, we were charged 40Euro, charged for water at dinner, charged for wine we had brought in and put in their refridgerator, charged for taxi service we had already paid for, charged double for the bed tax.

We had to call the owner direct (the staff did not speak English) and haggle to justify our expenses. This is not the fault of the staff, they are very sweet and caring women; we felt the owner's policies were at fault.

All in all, we felt that the 95 Euro per night room rate was exhorbitant for the value of the riad. Be aware if you stay at this riad, and make sure you know what the charges are. The taxi service they provide is at least double what other local taxis charge.

We enjoyed out 2 night stay at this guesthouse. We had great difficulty finding the house, not helped by a day of terrible rain but when we finally arrived the housekeeper/cook had done everything possible to make us feel comfortable and welcome. The building itself is unique and the renovation has been tastefully completed. There is heating in the bedrooms which is important for out of season travellers but even in the main part of the house, we never felt cold despite the bad weather outside. We enjoyed a lovely, but in our opinion expensive (€18 per person) meal ( be prepared to pay almost €20 a bottle if you choose to have wine) the first evening, cooked by the housekeeper who also served breakfast each morning.

We communicated with the owners by email in English but did not meet them during our stay. As the housekeeper did not speak English we were not able to get information from her about the area. If you speak French my guess is that she would be only too happy to help and advise. For us not being able to speak French was a real disadvantage and we had mistakenly assumed that the owners would be in the house to meet us.

Our car was parked on the road at the back of the house and guarded by a local man to whom we paid a small fee at the end of our stay. We felt it was safe as every time we passed by he seemed to be there!

There is not a great deal to do in Sale itself but we enjoyed the medina and exploring the town. We choose not to go into Rabat as it was the end of our trip and we really did not have enough time to explore it. However there seemed to be a regular bus service if we had wanted to go there, also of course taxis. There did not seem to be a good restaurant in Sale or maybe we just missed it so we ate at a local pizza house on our second night.
Definitely worth a night or two just to experience this wonderful house but probably not a great location for a very long stay.