25 Best Hotels in The Great Oasis Valleys, Morocco

Hidden within the Drâa Valley oasis, the Azalai Desert Lodge is a luxurious retreat with secluded gardens, creative cuisine, and an interior that has been featured in several prestigious design magazines. French artist Régis Delene Bartholdi was tasked with creating a romantic space inspired by famous authors, artists, and travelers of the 20th century; as a result, each impeccably finished room has a decorative theme built around figures like Saint-Exupéry, Matisse, and Lawrence of Arabia. The common areas and library have a retro-colonial feel. Outdoors, the gardens are planted with olive trees, palms, hibiscus, and cacti, plus there are shaded hammocks to swing in near the swimming pool. Rates include dinner and breakfast.

Made from the same mountain rock that surrounds it, this quirky eco-hotel is owned and operated by the charming Addi Sror, who speaks excellent English. It's best known for its atmospheric cave rooms carved from the mountainside, as well as its "tower rooms." The site has a splash pool for children; donkey rides and wonderful hikes through the nomadic lands provide further recreational opportunities. Rates include half-board, and you can bring your own wine or beer.

This restored pisé home maintains an aura of authenticity thanks to typical architectural features, like carved Berber motifs and ceilings woven from reeds and date palms. Clean, cozy, en suite rooms are simply decorated, and most have a private terrace overlooking the valley with the kasbah in the distance. The warmth of the French-Moroccan hosts makes up for the lack of heating in winter. Book the half-board option as the guesthouse is outside the village.

This small hotel is a worthy choice for budget accommodations at the far northern end of the Todra Gorge. The restaurant serves creditable tagines, lamb, and other specialties if you order ahead. There is a pool on-site, and they can organize hiking and four-wheel-drive excursions to interesting destinations off the well-trodden path, including salt mines, caves, and waterfalls.

This handsome eco-lodge is constructed in the typical mud-built style, tastefully mixing African and Moroccan decorative elements and equipped with modern showers and reversible air-conditioning—all of which are solar powered (though somewhat dark). Other environmentally friendly details include natural soaps in the bathrooms and toilets with a water-saving flush option (this is the desert after all). In addition to a pool, the property has a shaded pergola salon and meandering gardens. Meals, which make use of locally grown organic produce, are available for a fixed rate; no alcohol is served, but guests may bring their own. Guided excursions by foot, donkey, camel, or car are also available.

A charming guesthouse in the Dadès Valley, Chez Ichou features modern, minimalist style with beautiful views of the gorge. A small pool area provides opportunities to sunbathe; in colder months head indoors to the sitting area with a fireplace. Beds are all dressed with Egyptian cotton sheets and all rooms have private bathroom areas. 

A rustic farmhouse about 7 km (4½ miles) outside Skoura, Chez Talout is worth the trek for its warm welcome, wonderful food, and roof-terrace views across the palmery to Skoura's kasbahs. The rooms are rustic in style, with traditional Amazigh clay and fossil sinks. Excursions to learn more about village crafts, such as pottery and basket weaving, are also available.

Enter this warm and intimate guesthouse on the outskirts of Agdz through two Amazigh doors that lead into a courtyard with a swimming pool and the sound of birdsong. Rooms are simple with an elegant, local design and overlook the pool. A three-course prix-fixe dinner is an excellent value; don't miss the cinnamon-infused milk pudding. Tours of the palmery and the local kasbah can be organized by the hotel.

This pretty guesthouse sits at the edge of the river amid fig trees, olives, and date palms with the walls of the Todra Gorge towering above. Rooms, though on the snug side, are comfortable and nicely outfitted with rustic furniture, wrought-iron bedframes, and woven mats; all have air-conditioning and heating, and some have a private terrace with views of the gorge. An on-site restaurant prepares a mix of Moroccan and French cuisine; breakfast is served on the terraces, where you can stretch out on handmade cushions under an Amazigh tent, listening to the chatter of birds. Rates include breakfast and dinner.

Poised on the outskirts of town, Dar Chamaa is a boutique riad that offers a contemporary take on traditional design. Rather small but spotlessly clean rooms are arranged around a cool, central courtyard; their neutral decor palette is punctuated by dark polished tadelakt walls, bright cushions, and modern furnishings. The on-site restaurant is renowned for its excellent food. Outdoors you'll find a gorgeous pool and a garden that overlooks the palm groves flanking the riverbed.

This kasbah and family-run guesthouse marries the traditional craftsmanship of the surrounding Amazigh tribes with the modern amenities discerning visitors expect. Guest rooms are stacked high within the turrets, and several have private salons with poufs, rugs, and low tables. Terraces overlook the steep sides of the valley and make stargazing a must. The excellent and innovative French-Moroccan food prepared in the restaurant is also notable—even if you’re not spending the night, it’s worth stopping in for lunch. The hotel's owner is also a guide and can organize excursions.

For anyone seduced by tales of Glaoui wealth and influence, this 17th-century pasha's courthouse has magisterial appeal. Filled with artifacts from all over Africa, the dark, lantern-lighted courtyard envelops with its dusky grandeur. Rooms are effortlessly chic, with wrought-iron beds, Amazigh rugs, inventive lanterns, and bathrooms as smooth and polished as the service. The hotel can also arrange a variety of excursions, including four-wheel drives, quad biking, mountain biking, camel riding, trekking, and overnight bivouacs.

The aptly named "House of Peace" is tucked away in the palm groves outside Agdz. Built using traditional methods, this 21st-century kasbah is an art-lover's paradise: vivid abstract paintings decorate the walls, eclectic music wafts through the air, and tasteful furnishings lend rooms a genuine Moroccan vibe. The gardens are a delight as well, with aromatic herbs, fruit trees, cool lawns, and shaded seating areas around a swimming pool. There's even a pet donkey if you fancy exploring like a local. You could lose yourself here for a few days just listening to the birdsong and hiking in the Drâa Valley. Guests can order an excellent dinner for 270 DH.

Next to the old kasbah of Tamdaght, the rustic Kasbah Ellouze (Kasbah of Almonds) is brimming with character, though rooms are a bit dated. To find it you have to walk into the heart of this tiny village, which overlooks the Ounila Valley and the almond orchards below—a delight to behold in the spring. Rooms are scattered between terraces and turrets; all have tiled floors, Amazigh rugs, earthen walls, and en suite bathrooms. The inviting restaurant and “Jazz” salon are decorated with photos of the French owner's musical heroes. The property also has a small pool (heated March to October) and several sun terraces.

The premier address in the village of Nekob, this old family kasbah has been lovingly restored to high specifications. Elements of traditional design—such as magnificent keyhole arched doorways and rammed-earth walls inset with Amazigh motifs and mosaic tiling—are carefully combined with modern elegance; European finishing touches include specially imported bed linen and high-grade mattresses. Lodging options are divided into simple rooms and comfortable apartments scattered between the main kasbah and the small kasbah ("basement" rooms in the latter are cheaper, costing around 400 DH). Roof terraces, pretty courtyards, a playroom, restaurant, and swimming pool complete the picture. There is also a room that is wheelchair-accessible; a rare find. It's a great base for exploring the region, and the owners can set up guided hikes into the Djebel Sarhro mountains.

This is a place to see stars—literally. With five latest-edition telescopes, from manageable to huge ("it costs the price of a car," says German owner Fritz Koring), the rooftop observatory puts 180,000 stars within reach. With not another building in sight, there's no light pollution, and both amateur and professional stargazers make the trek with glee. Non-residents can also stargaze between 10 pm and midnight if they come for dinner (250 DH). Other than that, the rooms are merely adequate and the facilities rather graceless. There's a well-stocked bar on the premises and a reading room with an astronomical library; guided stargazing is offered for 100 DH per person.

This gorgeous Moroccan-owned kasbah sits in the heart of the village. Spacious, light-filled rooms feature beautiful wood furniture, pale cream walls with carved decorative motifs, high ceilings, and air-conditioning—ask for one with a terrace, connected by a spiral staircase made of rope. A lovely pool and shaded terrace areas offer opportunities for relaxing, while dining is available at indoor and outdoor restaurants (guests are allowed to bring in their own wine, beer, or other alcohol).

Teetering on the edge of a precipice with stupendous views over the Valley of Roses, Kasbah Itran offers quirky, colorful accommodation inside its high stone walls; tasteful rooms all have open fireplaces (recently modernized to reduce fumes) and are suffused with incense and cinnamon from the kitchen. With its dramatic mountain location and rustic charm, this spot could be compared to the High Atlas's luxe Kasbah du Toubkal—but the similarity ends there: Kasbah Itran is a far more affordable option that attracts arty, independent travelers, yoga groups, and trekkers. The Taghda brothers, whose knowledge of the Rose Valley is legendary, can organize all manner of tours, on foot, four legs, or four wheels. Rates include half-board meal plan.

A popular pit stop on the way to the desert, Kasbah Sirocco has clean, functional rooms; all have air-conditioning, and most have views of the relaxed pool terrace. An atmospheric restaurant with a tented ceiling and fireplace serves standard Moroccan fare at lunch and dinner. As with most places around here, you'll be offered any number of desert expeditions and excursions; afterward, you can relax with a drink at the poolside bar and shaded beer garden.

Hidden in the palm groves of Bounou, this guesthouse has simple en suite rooms set around a central patio, plus nomad-style tents and self-contained pisé bungalows in the garden. Meals are served in the small Moroccan salon or outside on the canopied terrace, which doubles as a spot for relaxing and stargazing. Le Drom' Blanc has a traditional tiled hammam for guests to use; camel trekking through the palmery can be arranged, too. Price includes breakfast and dinner.

Styling itself as a "maison de repos" (house of rest), this restored farmhouse casts such a spell over guests that many of them find it difficult to leave, staying on for days in its warm, lazy embrace. The laid-back feel disguises an incredible attention to detail; each room and suite was individually designed. All have heating/cooling systems, and suites have fireplaces as well. Extensive gardens, dotted with the odd hammock and Amazigh tent, offer unlimited distraction for younger visitors, while for adults doing nothing has rarely felt so good. The rate includes breakfast; delicious evening meals are also available.

Influenced by the fashionable interiors of Marrakesh's hip riads, Riad Caravane has stylish rooms, a roof terrace looking out to the kasbah, and a small dipping pool. There is plenty of local charm in the traditional furnishings and architecture, yet features like beige tadelakt flooring, quality bed linens in neutral tones, and woven basket lampshades lend a welcome air of casual elegance.

Run by an English-Moroccan couple, this guesthouse in a residential neighborhood on the outskirts of Ouarzazate has huge rooms with traditional decor, air-conditioning and heating, and en suite bathrooms that could use some updating. A lovely roof terrace, overlooking the palm groves, is where dinner is usually enjoyed in summer; in winter, meals are served in a typical Moroccan salon with an open fire. The food is good and you’re far from any other restaurants, so book the half-board option.

Originally built as a family home, this rambling three-story riad is full of over-the-top Moroccan decor, with stucco plasterwork, colorful mosaic tiling, ornate ceilings, and antique furnishings competing for attention. Ten spacious, air-conditioned guest rooms have wrought-iron beds topped with quality linens; some have a private terrace overlooking the pretty pool and garden. There are plenty of communal spaces for relaxing, including a bar.

Opened in 2013 by the Annam brothers from Merzouga, Riad Madu is a cut above the other Saharan inns dotting the edge of the Erg Chebbi dunes, showcasing the brothers’ experience in the European tourism and hospitality sectors—good English is spoken, guests are greeted warmly, and attention to detail is evident throughout. Thanks to features such as woven ceilings, arched doorways, and earth-built pisé walls, the riad's aesthetic is tastefully traditional; however, the warm shades chosen for the tadelakt interiors and touches like recessed lighting in the stairwells add contemporary flair. The property also includes a pool, a library, and a Moroccan salon with a restaurant.