Is staying in a riad or a hotel better in Morocco?

I think the most useful way to answer this isn't 'which is better overall' but 'which is the better base for this particular stop', because the right choice shifts from city to city. A riad — a restored courtyard house hidden in the medina — is, for the historic cities, the base I'd pick almost every time. You're staying inside the old town where the magic is, a two-minute walk from the souks rather than a taxi ride away, in a building full of character with a rooftop for your morning coffee and a small team who quickly learn your name. As a launchpad for exploring Marrakech or Fes on foot, nothing beats it.

A hotel earns its place as a base when location inside the medina stops being the priority. For a beach stay in Agadir or Essaouira, you want the pool, the sea view and the space a resort gives you. For a one-night airport stopover in Casablanca, you want easy parking, a lift and a predictable bed near the road, not a medina you'll barely see. And families travelling with young children often find a hotel's room size, pool and straightforward access make the whole trip run more smoothly.

It's worth being candid about the practical trade-offs that affect daily life, not just charm. Riads sit in pedestrian lanes, so you arrive at the medina's edge and walk in — wonderful in spirit, a genuine nuisance with heavy luggage, limited mobility, or late at night. Rooms can be snug, some inner ones see little daylight, and old buildings get chilly in winter. Hotels trade that atmosphere for reliability: consistent heating and air-con, a lift, parking, a gym, and rooms you can find without a guide.

So my honest formula for choosing your bases: riads in the historic cities where atmosphere and walkability are the whole point, and hotels or resorts on the coast, on transit nights, or whenever space, a pool and easy access outweigh romance. The best trips I plan rarely pick a single style for the entire journey — they match the base to each stop. If you can only commit to one for a city break, though, a well-run riad is the base you'll remember long after you're home.