Top Morocco Accommodations & Reviews

The most honest reviews about my top accommodation recommendations in Morocco.

Riad Diamant De Fes: (Fes)

Location: Fes El Bali ('Old Fes' Medina)

Price: $104 average/night

Pros: The Staff!! You want local insights and support when you are visiting Fes. The staff here make you feel like family. This alone should make you want to stay.

Cons: None! I'll note it does not have a pool or elevator. They do have a room on the first floor (pictured far left). It is a smaller riad but that just makes it more quaint in my opinion.

Amenities: +breakfast included +rooftop terrace

Detailed Review:

Don't look any further, the only place you should stay in Fes is Riad Diamant De Fes. 

There are so many beautiful Riads within Morocco, especially Fes. Although there are so many to choose from, Riad Diamant De Fes should be the only Riad you consider staying at. The hospitality & service provided is better than many 5 star hotels I've stayed in. Their amazing hospitality started with their welcome of collecting us from our driver, walking us and all our luggage to our Riad and then greeting us with tea. During our stay they walked us to the ATM twice so we didn't get lost and felt more comfortable. They also organized our tour guide of Fes and transportation to Chefchouen. They help coordinate someone picking you up from the Riad or will walk you themselves to meet for tours, restaurants reservations and transportation. We never had to worry about getting lost in this very confusing city and all of this was at no extra charge. If you are not already aware, old town Fes is VERY big with over 9,000 narrow busy, unnamed streets. In Fes and other cities throughout Morocco people will try to scam you by giving you "free" directions on the streets, then make you more lost & demand money. We experienced this in Marrakesh and were so grateful for the services provided by the Riad so we didn't have to worry about it. Muhammed sat down with us at arrival and helped explain some "signs" to know if roads are dead ends or not in case we wanted to go out exploring by ourself. They really cared about our safety and experience in and outside of the Riad. 

 Riad Diamant De Fes is very beautiful, with a wonderful breakfast; but what really sets them apart is their amazing staff. I cannot speak more highly of Ibrahim and Muhammed, who were constantly available during our stay to ensure we had the best experience. One of the more unexpected and fondest memories of our entire trip was the time we spent talking with both of them about their lives and Morocco. We enjoyed such genuine conversations with both Ibrahim and Muhammed. The first night of our stay, Ibrahim spent almost 2 hours talking with us. He wanted to get to know us and welcomed any question we had about Morocco. It felt like we had a private guide to Morocco and we felt so lucky to have had the opportunity to talk with him. They also made a special herb tea for my husband who was fighting mild food poisoning from food we had in the desert earlier that day. Anything we asked for, they did without batting an eye. We talked with them about what we wanted to do in Fes for the short time we had, and they helped talk through different ideas and gave honest feedback. The next night we were looking forward to seeing them after a day out and even practice some of the Berber and Arabic they taught us with them. They greeted us from our driver, again stopped at the ATM with us during the walk back to the Riad where they prepared some late night tea we had requested. We were tired and knew we had to pack for an early morning but all we wanted to do was spend more time talking with them. We did some packing while they were chatting with some of the other guests but then we got to enjoy some time together. We enjoyed great conversation over tea while Muhammed wrote our names in Berber on paper for us. We even pulled out a rug we had bought in the desert to get their opinion on the craftsmanship. There can be quite a bit of scams in Morocco and we felt so relieved to have people we could trust. Even the private guided tour of Fes they booked for us, had a guide with similar practices. For example, we actually got to see the tannery with NO pressure to buy anything in the shop.  Riad Diamant De Fes, really cares about their guests and want them to have a wonderful Moroccan experience. I could write 6 more pages about how amazing both Muhammed and Ibrahim are, but I hope I convinced you by now to stay at this fantastic Riad. 

If Ibrahim & Muhammed are reading this, Tiermeirt! Shukran for not being a Mutahmar. 

Riad Anya and Spa: (Marrakech)

Location: Located in the heart of the historic quarter medina, a 10-minute walk from the souks (markets) and Jamaâ El Fna Square.

Price: $135 average/night

Pros: Amazing staff, stunning riad, and offers great amenities.

Cons: The 10-minute walk to the souks did not bother me. In fact, I enjoyed the walk, but this could be considered a con to some.

Amenities: +breakfast included +rooftop terrace +pool +spa

Detailed Review:

Amazing staff, beautiful Riad, a wonderful stay! Even prior to our trip, the staff was so helpful. They organized transportation from the airport (€15) to the Riad, where staff then met us to carry our bags and bring us to the Riad. We were greeted with the stunning views of the Riad and some welcome tea with pastries. After our tea, they enthusiastically gave us a tour of the beautiful Riad. We learned about the hand crafted wood in the Riad. We did not go to the Spa but it looked quite lovely. Our room was very nice and I wish we had an extra day to relax on the rooftop terrace. We enjoyed a wonderful breakfast and was very happy with our stay. Would highly recommend staying here. We were very grateful for Muhammad and the rest of the staff at Riad Anya & Spa! 

Dar Hnini: (Draa Valley)

Location: Draa Valley (en route to the Sahara Desert)

Price: $340

Pros: Friendly and helpful staff. Stunning private villas with comfortable and luxurious furniture and bathrooms.

Cons: It is pricier than other accommodation options in Morocco. I think it was definitely worth the price with wonderful food, service, and amenities. The argument could be made that there are less expensive options, but you are getting an elevated experience staying in a private villa at this cost

Amenities: +community pool +private pool +private villa

Detailed Review:

We stayed here on our trek out to the Desert. The private villa was absolutely gorgeous, in addition to the rest of their property. We had our own private pool in addition to the community pool, with the most beautiful landscape. The food was delicious, and their staff members were so friendly, especially Muhammed. Muhammed made sure every need of ours was met. I don't know if "no" is in his vocabulary. I was obsessed with the mint lemonade that they greeted us with, so Mohammed surprised me with it at another meal when I talked about how much I loved it. He was wonderful to talk to, and you could see the excitement on his face when he asked how we liked our meal. Worth every penny, great service, great value! 

Luxury Desert Camp (Erg Chebbi Dunes, Sahara Desert)

Location: Erg Chebbi dunes in the Sahara Desert

Price: $550 for 2 nights in camp 4 days travel for a basic room. Price varies for the quality of glampsite.

Pros: Uninterrupted, breathtaking views of the Sahara desert. Wonderful staff working at the accommodation to create an unforgettable experience. The Royal Camp is an elevated glamping experience (be mindful it is still glamping but includes comfortable beds and private bathrooms).

Cons: No wifi / service (you are in the Sahara Desert so this should be expected) The tour company they used (the accommodation and staff itself was wonderful).

Amenities: +meals included +pool +views of the Sahara sand dunes

Detailed Review:

The royal camp in Erg Chebbi we stayed at was so lovely, and we had a wonderful experience with the staff working there. Overall, I really enjoyed our accommodation at the desert,, and I still recommend this place but would be mindful of some of the shopping experiences during the drive out. Because they were made aware, I'd hope that changes to the transportation were made,in but maybe check before booking to make sure. This was the review I left via email to who we worked with in booking our accommodation:

Hi Jana,

My husband and I have just finished up our time in Morocco and wanted to share part of our experience with you personally, rather than over a review. We absolutely loved our accommodations, from Dar Hini to the Desert Camp, they were both so wonderful. The staff at both were absolutely amazing and went above and beyond to ensure we had a wonderful experience. We are especially grateful for Muhammed at Dar Hini and Esmiael at Desert Luxury Camp. Our driver, Salah, was very friendly and helped us learn at least 5 new Arabic words a day. With all of these amazing aspects of our trip, I did not want to list the negatives in a review.  As I mentioned before, the staff at the accommodations and the lodging itself were absolutely wonderful. However, I cannot say the same about the drive to the desert. I understand the need to help support locals along the route to the desert and am happy to do that. There is a difference between making stops to purchase something if interested rather than feeling pressured to buy something with every stop. The pressure to spend money along the route grew intensely as our trip continued and became old quickly.  It had us leaving our trip feeling like we were taken advantage of. I think part of this stemmed from how things were described to us in our itinerary and by our driver, versus the reality. I will list a few examples below. 

Day 1: 

• What we were told: "we are going to stop where you can learn about the women making homemade Argan oil"

• Reality: we listen to a speech lasting no longer than 2 minutes showing  the women making argan oil then are brought to a sales pitch,  testing out all the products in their shop. We were being encouraged to purchase beauty products and instead bought soap to be supportive. I was fine to support but it did not feel like we were stopping to "learn" about the process. I would've rather just paid to actually learn and then given time to shop at the end if we wanted but with no pressure to buy. 

Day 2: 

• What we were told: "we're going to stop to learn about the local Berber people and see how they traveled with their tents" 

• Reality: We arrive at a 5 minute speech about the Berber Nomads. We then entered a room with all the rugs and were told to sit and were brought tea. We then spent another 30 + minutes being sold on purchasing expensive rugs and Berber souvenirs. We explained we weren't looking for rugs but they continued to push to have us pick something we like. We chose what we thought would be a smaller, less expensive one, then were told it was going to cost us $650USD. We didn't even want a rug to begin with but felt obligated to purchase something since they spent 5 minutes talking about the Berber nomads, 30 minutes discussing types of Berber rugs, and provided tea. I would've rather just paid for a "tour" of everything then being pressured to purchase an expensive rug. Our driver was outside almost the entire time so it was even more difficult to walk away. We ended up purchasing a rug for $400 with what we thought was going to be our cheapest option. After purchasing the $400 rug they brought out smaller rugs and pillowcases to continue to try to sell to us. My husband, aside from being frustrated that they were still trying to sell us more after we explained our max budget, was also frustrated that this sales tactic was used and that we could've spent a lot less money buying a smaller rug that would've been better for our needs if shown it earlier. It's one thing to haggle and experience this in the city streets, it's another to blindly be brought by your driver on an expensive tour you paid for with little regard to what that experience would be for us. 

Day 3: 

• What we were told: "we are going to see the Barbery apes" 

• Reality: as we are gathering our camera, our driver hive-fives two guys walking up to our car. Immediately they were putting peanuts in our hands. I didn't even have time to get my camera or phone & was being handed more peanuts. A few minutes later they were asking for money. My husband gave a few coins and they were still asking for more money. We didn't even ask for the peanuts to begin with!  Our driver stood there and watched it all happen. Again, it is different if this interaction happens on the street but not when you are on a guided tour taking you to site-see. It felt as if they were all in on this scam to get the most money out of the foreigners as possible.  If we had even been notified ahead of time that they would do that, we would've at least felt prepared and not leave feeling like our driver was intentionally setting us up to give all this money away. 

• A final moment that really did not sit well with us, was at our departure from our car. Along the drive we asked our driver if he had any suggestions for Fes. He said he had a friend who could give us a tour. We said we'd take his friends contact information. He offered to do the tour before dropping us off at our Riad, explaining that we were a 20 minute taxi drive from the tannery and other big sites. We politely declined because we were tired from our long drive from the desert and just wanted to relax at our Riad when we arrived. When we were arriving to our Riad in Fes, our driver said he didn't know exactly where our Riad was and that the staff was going to be 5 minutes before they picked us up. In that time, our driver had us get out of the car to meet a man walking up to us. We thought the man was staff from our Riad so we said hello. He then began explaining everything we would see on the tour and Salah explained this was his friend who would give us the tour. Shocked and also frustrated that this was delaying us getting to our Riad, we again said we could get his contact information but were not interested in his tour at the time.  His friend tried carrying our things when our Riad staff arrived and would not stop walking with us when we were trying to go with our Riad staff. Our Riad staff then informed us about that many people that spend time in that square try's to scam with fake tours. To make it worse, our driver was asked to give a 15 minute heads up and was given specific parking instructions so that the staff from our Riad would be waiting for us. It seemed that we were intentionally dropped at a separate place with our Riad staff not informed so that there was an opportunity  for his friend to meet us. I'm also not sure why Salah was offering to drive us & saying we'd have to taxi when the tannery and other monuments were a 5 minute walk from our Riad. We had been feeling left in the dark and confused by some of these interactions but this final departure made it very clear what the intentions were. It became even more clear when we had a different driver to Chefchouen that made stops along the way with no pressure to buy things at the different stops. 

In our eyes there are easy ways to fix this and make your guests feel comfortable and not like they are being scammed. For starters, an actual "heads up" on what was about to happen would be nice. It felt misleading to tell us we were going to learn about Berber nomads then alternatively get a heavy sales pitch on purchasing expensive rugs. If we even knew ahead of time that they would be encouraging us to purchase rugs, it would've helped with the  feeling of being blindsided. Another way that could combat this feeling of being squeezed out of every last dime, would be if there could be an upfront "tour" cost. If stopping along the way to see the Argan oil women, Berber rugs, monkeys and so on is something that interests the guest, then having a "tour" price to actually pay and learn about the various topics would be a much more "luxurious" experience. It would be nice to stop along the way and learn without feeling pressured to buy. This is what one of our guides did when we visited the tannery in Fes, and it was so nice to feel like we could see something without the pressure of purchasing items. We probably ended up buying more than we would have because we had the space to actually buy what we wanted and walk away if we didn't want anything. 

I have multiple friends and family members waiting to hear about my trip, so they know what to book. I want to recommend your camp to them because everything other than the drive was absolutely wonderful. I have a travel blog where I write honestly about my experience, but I feel as if you improved this part of the tour, it would be such a better experience for your guests. 

Jana responded to this and was apologetic for our experience. She said she was going to address this with the company that does the driving tour. She offered to reimburse us for the soap we bought. I declined because it was not my goal to get money back. I still thought our experience at both Dar Hnini and the Desert Luxury Camp was spectacular and don't want to distract from our time there. Because this part of the trip is expensive, I believe the experience we had with our driver was unacceptable. I would recommend booking with Desert Luxury Camp but communicate clearly about your expectations for the travels out to the desert.

THANK YOU FOR READING!

For more information about accommodation options for Morocco, check out my Excel sheet breakdown of all the top accommodation prices, reviews, and more details by clicking HERE. (Best viewed on a computer).