Are Moroccan riads good for honeymoons?

Honeymoons are a large part of what I design, and a riad is very close to the perfect honeymoon base, so I say yes to this with real conviction. Everything that makes a riad special is amplified for a couple: the intimacy of a house with only a handful of rooms, the sense of having slipped away from the world behind that plain medina door, the courtyard where you have breakfast alone in the morning light, and a rooftop where you can take a private candlelit dinner as the city glows below. Large resorts can feel anonymous; a riad feels like it was made for two.

The service is where riads truly earn their place on a honeymoon. Because the staff-to-guest ratio is so high, the team learns who you are within a day and quietly anticipates everything — rose petals and candles arranged in the room, a chilled bottle waiting on the terrace, a couples' hammam and massage booked, a quiet table at the best dinner in town. I work with riads that genuinely delight in spoiling honeymooners, and the personal touch lands in a way that an enormous hotel, however grand, simply cannot replicate.

For couples who want absolute privacy, my favourite move is to book a small riad on a sole-use basis — you take the entire house, courtyard, pool and roof, with staff on hand but no other guests at all. It is more affordable than people expect for a small property and turns the riad into your own private palace for a few nights. I pair this with the most romantic luxury desert camp I can find: a private en-suite tent among the dunes, dinner under a sky thick with stars, and sunrise over the sand with nobody else in sight.

A few honest notes so the romance is not undercut. Choose your room carefully, because the dreamy listing photo may be the best suite — ask for the most romantic, quietest room with good light. Confirm air conditioning for a summer honeymoon and heating for a winter one. And if a private plunge pool or a suite with its own terrace matters, say so when booking. Get those details right and a riad-and-desert honeymoon in Morocco is, in my experience, one of the most romantic trips a couple can take.