How can I visit a traditional riad in Marrakech without staying there?

Why riad doors stay closed

A riad faces inwards. From the street it shows a wall and a door: no shop window, hardly any windows at all. The whole house is organised around an open-air courtyard, which brings in the light and the cool. It is architecture built for privacy, designed for a family rather than for passers-by. Hence the feeling, in the lanes of the medina, of walking past one closed door after another, and the surprise when one of them opens.

What you see when you step inside

At Riad Vendôme, the door opens at the start of Derb El Halfaoui, 100 metres from the Dar El Bacha palace. One single entrance, then the central patio: its zellige fountain, the 5 by 3 metre pool, the tadelakt walls and the cedar wood. Around it, the sitting room and the dining room, where two fireplaces are lit on winter evenings. And at the very top, the 250 m² rooftop, above the medina rooftops, facing the Koutoubia and the Atlas.

Four ways in without staying the night

Lunch in the patio. You arrive for midday, Chef Naima cooks on site, and you stay for the afternoon by the pool and in the rooftop jacuzzi. It is the ideal break between two visits: lunch and a swim after the souks.

The spa and the hammam. All year round, 9am to 9pm, by appointment: a traditional hammam with black soap, a scrub, an argan oil massage. It is the way in during winter: the spa without an overnight stay.

The cooking class. You go to the souk with Chef Naima, come back to cook a tagine or a couscous in the riad kitchen, then sit down to eat what you made. A real immersion of a few hours: cook with Naima, no room needed.

The full day. Hammam, massage, pool, jacuzzi and lunch, from the morning to the late afternoon, to live the house the way its overnight guests do: spend the whole day at the riad.

From €38 per person, lunch, pool and jacuzzi included. The exact rate depends on your dates, the length of your visit and the number of people: a quote within 24 hours on WhatsApp.

Staying somewhere else in Marrakech?

You are in a hotel, an apartment or a villa, and you want to spend a day differently: that is exactly why the house opens its doors without an overnight stay. You arrive in the morning or for lunch, and you leave in the late afternoon.

By taxi, ask for Bab Doukkala: the riad is 100 metres away, and we come and meet you on foot. If you come by car, parking there is free. Just tell us your arrival time.

What is the best way to discover a riad on holiday in Marrakech?

Choose the way in that matches what you want, not only your budget. For the strongest local experience, the cooking class: you go through the souk, you step into the kitchen, you eat at the table of the house. To slow down in the heat of summer, lunch in the patio with the pool and the jacuzzi. From November to March, the spa: hammam, massage, and the warmth of the fireplaces.

Allow half a day at least. A riad is not discovered in twenty minutes: it is discovered sitting down, at the pace of the house, over a meal or a treatment.

Frequently Asked Questions