Hôtel Riad Ali — Hotel in Caïdat de Taouz

We booked this hotel based on good reviews we read and unfortunately were very disappointed with our stay. ||||1. Make sure you bring lots of cash, they except no payment by card for the hotel stay, food, or any activities such as camel tours ect which we found after paying, they overcharged us. ||||2. They supply your dinner, as not much else around to eat. We ate dinner one night, they didn't tell us any pricing just said "don't worry about it" Upon checking out they charged us $500 Morrocan dirum!!!! everywhere else in Morrocco including in town, food costs on average 6-7 MD per person. ||||3. We were only interested in doing the camel trek in the desert. The hotel staff was VERY pushy and we felt obligated to buy the 4x4 tour. They made it sound amazing, so hesitantly we agreed. We were told it was a 3-hour 4x4 tour off-roading in the dessert-- when actually it was a local who took us in his car to his personal home to buy item his wife made. They made us tea, we were not able to drink as it was not from bottled water, and made as feel obligated to drink it as it's rude not to, putting our health in jeopardy. ||After leaving his family's home, we spent 25 minutes roughly driving through the sand dunes where he then said we were going to a market. We advised our driver we were not interested in a market and would prefer to go back to our hotel. ||The driver said no, said we would have fun and took us to the market, where we were the only ones there is a small shop, that was clearly his friends. They tried to sell us all sorts of items, left us feeling pressured and uncomfortable. We finally, again, said we are not interested and would like to go back to the hotel. ||The driver's demeanor shifted to annoyed, and he drove us back to our hotel, after stopping town to pick up his young daughter to come along for the ride. ||||4. Showers don't have any water half of the day, better shower at 6 am or your out of luck ||||5. Nothing else to do but sit at the pool, and it's not always open, ||||My best advice is to go elsewhere, so many hotels in this area. I highly...

A Deeply Disappointing Stay – Misleading, Greedy, and Unwelcoming - July 2025

I’ve visited the area many times, but this was by far the worst experience I’ve had. The owner is blatantly greedy and dishonest. Despite having paid months in advance by credit card, he canceled the transaction at our arrival and demanded full payment in cash—using a shady currency conversion that made us pay more than originally agreed.

We chose this riad mainly for the pool, hoping our child could cool off during the hot days, but the pool wasn’t even available before 11:00 a.m., forcing our child to wait in sweltering heat. Worse, each time we started swimming, we were asked to leave due to “sand storms” that didn’t exist. It felt like every attempt to enjoy our stay was deliberately obstructed.

As for food, they refused to serve us, claiming the cook couldn’t work due to the heat—only for us to discover they were cooking for other guests. When we asked, they said food was included in their booking. We weren’t allowed to eat our own food either—not in the rooms or even the dining area—because it might “leave odors,” while other guests openly ate cooked meals inside.

There were countless other arbitrary and absurd rules that made the place feel more like a correctional facility than the “luxurious” riad it claims to be. It was clear that different rules applied to different guests, and transparency was nowhere to be found.

Our stay was chaotic, stressful, and riddled with unfair treatment. I would strongly advise future visitors to avoid this place. It’s not worth the frustration or the money.

In his response, Ali, the owner, claims this review is a spam. It is not! I am writing under my real name and Google can easily verify this. Ali knows that we stayed in his “palace” on July 29 and 30, 2025. So, his response clearly speaks to his dishonesty and lowness....

When approaching the double entrance door through the garden, you already sense that there is a jewel behind the nice facade awaiting you. And your senses don't betray you. The doors open to a traditional, nicely decorated hall with a fountain. Enclosed in the walls you find a swimming pool in the middle and when you step out of the backdoor you plunge into the red sand of Erg Chebbi. The staff offers good advice and even better: well organized tours. But it is difficult to leave the riad. Sunrise is beautiful from the platform and the pool is relaxing, especially when they serve an excellent dinner with local food and treats at the pool side. If you don't go into the dessert, it will find you as an occasional sand dust storm might disturb a romantic evening outside. That close to the Sahara you are. The staff is multilingual (French, Spanish, English) though all Berber. They dress up during the evening and serve an excellent Moroccan breakfast buffet in the morning. The rooms are nicely decorated and spacious. Bathroom with a large shower and a washbasin decorated with fossils like it was found nearby.||Actually we have nothing to complain about. Okay, lights for shaving could be better and they charge you a small amount for the water bottles they hand out during the day. That could have been included in the room price. But those are just minor things. ||We loved the riad and whoever Ali is, he made us have two...