Are riads noisy, and what are the downsides of a riad?

I would rather tell you the downsides plainly than have you arrive surprised, because almost every one of them is manageable once you know to ask. Noise is the most common complaint. A riad is built around an open courtyard, and that courtyard acts like a sound funnel — a group having a late drink below, the breakfast clatter at seven, or another guest on a video call can carry up to the rooms in a way it never would along a hotel corridor. Walls in these old houses are also often thinner than they look. Light sleepers should request a room set back from the courtyard and away from the kitchen.

The wider medina adds its own soundtrack. Riads sit inside living neighbourhoods, so you may hear the dawn call to prayer from a nearby mosque, scooters on the lanes, cats, and the general hum of a city that does not really switch off. Many travellers grow to love this — it is the sound of being somewhere real — but if total silence is non-negotiable, a riad in the heart of the Marrakech or Fes medina may not be your match, and a property on the medina edge or in the Palmeraie will suit you better.

Beyond noise, the genuine drawbacks are these. Rooms vary wildly within a single riad, so the listing photo may be the best room, not yours — always check what you are actually being given. There is rarely a lift, and luggage goes up steep, sometimes narrow stairs. The most atmospheric courtyard-facing rooms can be dim because they have no exterior window. And access matters: cars cannot reach most medina riads, so you arrive at a drop-off point and walk the last stretch on foot, occasionally with a porter and a handcart for the bags.

Set against all that is the reason people keep choosing riads anyway — the character, the calm interior, the hospitality, the rooftop. My job is simply to match the right riad to the right traveller. Tell whoever books your trip that you are a light sleeper, or that you cannot manage stairs, or that you want a window, and a good riad can be chosen or a room requested that sidesteps almost every downside on this list.