We were two friends travelling from the USA and perhaps our standards are higher? but I did not find this to be such a great place as others have said. We had room number 1 and our bathroom was very small with a sewer drain smell that was so foul we had to sleep with the bathroom door closed and a pillow over our heads. The bathroom shower area had mildew stains all over the tile and the door to the bathroom doesn't open the whole way. The towels were dingy and stiff and the room was constantly damp which made all of our clothes smell. The size of the room was good, the staff generally friendly and the location is good, but I cannot recommend this place as a good one to stay in. I don't think they know what a cleanser is. For me this place was kind of a dump. The rooftop area has a rundown feel with broken furniture.
If you are looking for a step above backpacking, yes this is the place for you. If you are looking for a nice place for a vacation stop, look elsewhere. Also, the food was completely tasteless which was a disappointment considering the wonderful spices Morocco has to offer.

I stayed at the Maison Du Sud as part of the photography course organised by Darren of Images in the Sun. (Photographers should give it a try http://www.imagesinthesun.com).

The accomodation is spacious and comfortable and contained everything I needed. My room was quiet and unaffected by street noise. The Riad is located only about 5 minutes walk from the Port entrance of the Medina. Actually, the location is excellent.

The public areas are comfortable and very interesting and contain many interesting artworks from the adjoining gallery. They are changed regularly too.

Breakfast was good and plentiful and comprised bread, butter, preserves, freshly squeezed orange juice, tea or coffee. They also provide me with fruit (instead of preserves) upon my request.

The evening menu was interesting and well cooked and presented. I ate there 3 nights out of my 7 night stay and enjoyed every meal.

The wi-fi is only meant to work on the lower floor but I was lucky that my roon on the first floor had a signal, albeit not as strong as downstairs). However, there are plenty of quiet places in the public areas where you can connect and work if required. I had to work for a couple of hours each day and the signal never faltered.

I stayed at the Riad in January (2012) and so the evenings were cold but the room heater provided was more than adequate to compensate. The public areas were a little cold in the evenings but they are designed to counter the searing summer heat and are not meant for lower temperatures I guess. A sweater was enough to compensate.

During my stay I had a 24 hour food bug (caused by a kebab I bought elsewhere in the Medina). The staff at Maison du Sud were so friendly and helpful, recommending a pharmacy and cooking me plain rice and vegetables when I began to feel a little better in the evening.

One last point. I have never seen a hotel cleaned as thoroughly and as often as this place. It was spotless.

If I return to Essaouira I will stay in the Maision du Sud again, without hesitation.