What Is a Riad in Morocco?
When you travel, choosing the right place to stay shapes your entire experience. Many travelers prioritize a central location, a comfortable bed, and a hot shower after a long day of exploring. In Morocco, finding the perfect accommodation takes a bit of research, especially if you want something authentic. This guide explains what a riad is and how it differs from a hotel, helping you make the right choice for your trip.
What Are Riads?
A riad is a traditional Moroccan house built around a central courtyard. For centuries, families in Moroccan medinas designed their homes this way. The courtyard created privacy, encouraged family life, and regulated temperature. Small exterior windows kept the house cool, while the open interior allowed air and light to circulate naturally.
Moroccans traditionally valued modesty and privacy. They preferred plain exteriors that revealed nothing of the beauty inside. Once you step through the door of a riad, you discover carved wood, colorful tiles, fountains, plants, and elegant symmetry.
The word “riad” comes from Arabic and means “garden.” Only the most beautiful houses with refined courtyards earned this name. Wealthy families once lived in riads, often with many rooms, servant quarters, and an ornate courtyard featuring a fountain or garden.
Historical Influences
Moroccan riad architecture shares strong similarities with homes in Andalusia, southern Spain. For nearly 800 years, Andalusia and Morocco shared deep cultural and artistic ties. You can also trace parts of the riad’s design back to the ancient Roman domus, which also featured a central open space.
Not every large house in the medina qualified as a riad, although many homes accommodated several generations under one roof. Even today, families sometimes leave upper floors unfinished, waiting for future weddings and family expansion.
Riads Today: Modern Definition
Today, the term “riad” includes any medina house with a central courtyard that welcomes travelers, regardless of size or historical status. You will usually find two main types:
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Small riads (often called “dars”)
These usually have two stories and 5–8 rooms. The word dar simply means “house” in Arabic. These places feel intimate and cozy. -
Traditional authentic riads
These often rise 3–4 stories high and feature 10–20 rooms. They reflect classic architecture and offer a more luxurious feel.
Both types provide memorable experiences. Traditional riads impress with grandeur and detail, while smaller dars charm guests with warmth and intimacy.
What Staying in a Riad Feels Like
Riads do not resemble large hotels. Medina space is limited, so riads usually feature small entrances and compact common areas instead of grand lobbies. Inside, you will find:
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Rooms with private bathrooms
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A peaceful courtyard or rooftop terrace
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Breakfast included
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Personalized service
Many riads feel like private homes rather than businesses. Owners and staff often create an atmosphere similar to staying with a welcoming, well-traveled friend. Many riads are run by people who fell in love with Morocco and restored old houses with care, blending Moroccan craftsmanship with international comfort standards.
Riad Decor Styles
Riads generally follow two design approaches:
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Traditional style: rich zellige tiles, carved cedar wood, colorful plaster, and detailed ornamentation
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Modern traditional style: white plaster walls, carved wood accents, and minimalist furniture inspired by Moroccan design
Both styles highlight craftsmanship and tranquility.
Riads and Climate Differences
Riad design changes from city to city based on climate:
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Marrakech and southern Morocco: hot and dry climate, stucco walls, shaded courtyards, and often a small pool
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Fes, Chefchaouen, and northern Morocco: cooler and more humid climate, tiled walls, and courtyards designed for walking, sitting, and relaxing
Each riad reflects its environment while preserving traditional principles.
Why Choose a Riad?
Staying in a riad allows you to experience Moroccan culture from the inside. You sleep within ancient medina walls, wake up to the sound of fountains or birds, and enjoy quiet moments away from busy streets. Riads offer comfort, authenticity, and a sense of place that modern hotels rarely match.
If you plan Morocco tours of 8 days or more, a riad stay adds depth and authenticity to your journey. It transforms your accommodation into part of the experience, not just a place to sleep.
How a Hotel Stay in Morocco Was
Hotels in Morocco, like hotels in many other places, are rated from 1 to 5 stars. In reality, though, it causes a lot of confusion. For example, a 4-star hotel in Marrakesh is not as nice as one in Paris or New York, even though they all have the same number of stars.
From what I’ve seen, the best way to rank a hotel in Morocco is by how old it is. Hotels are usually run by a board of investors, while riads are usually run by the people who live there. So, they usually start out great, but if they don’t get the care they need, they lose their shine over time.
For example, hotels built in the 1980s still have a lot of dark floral patterns and brown and red colors.
In the past few years, some international hotel chains have been building new hotels and buying old ones to fix up. The decoration is very different, with some modern elements added to the traditional Arabic rootstock. For example, carpet is still the most common type of flooring, just like it is in most Moroccan homes and mosques, but the layout of the new hotels is based on simple geometric shapes.
So, hotels are better than riads because they are bigger, with bigger lobby areas and other common areas. For the same reason, though, it’s impossible to build a hotel inside a medina, so riads are almost always a better choice.
As we did with the riads, here is a gallery of traditional Moroccan hotels as well as hotels that are new or have been recently renovated. Try to figure out which is which: Casablanca desert tours
Kasbahs are another type of place to stay.
This article wouldn’t be complete without mentioning kasbahs, which are another type of place to stay in Morocco, especially near the Sahara.
As with the riads, we need to make sure we don’t mix up the historically accurate kasbahs of southern Morocco. These were places where wealthy families stayed and where trade routes met.
There are a few historical kasbahs that have been turned into guesthouses and are available to travelers as places to stay. Most of them, though, are brand new and have rooms and common areas set up around a central courtyard, which is an idea that was clearly taken from riads. Viaje a Marrakech
Traditionally, kasbahs’ adobe walls are made of straw and soil from the area. So, it looks like the walls are growing right out of the ground.
Check out this gallery of kasbahs, some of which are new and some of which are old:
