Riad lala zakia

This riad seems to be three houses knocked together into a characterful warren of bedrooms and bathrooms. The owner, Zakia, kindly collected us from the taxi rank as the riad is difficult to find at first. The beds were comfortable and the rooms were quiet.

The owner offered us a choice of bedrooms but none had a lock that worked from both the inside and the outside. We had to carry all our valuables with us on our walk to the Roman site of Volubilis, the main reason for staying in Moulay Idriss. At night we put chairs against the bedroom doors. When we turned back the blankets, moths flew out, as though the beds had been made up for a long time. My friend’s bathroom was a proper ensuite but mine was across the corridor from my room, so again security was an issue when using the toilet or showering. The toilet cisterns had all been locked to prevent flushing; luckily my friend is a landlady herself and managed to solve the problem. The showers were all run off gas bottles and for some reason mine didn’t work so I had a cold shower on day 1. On day 2 I had to use another bathroom some distance away. Zakia allowed us the use of the kitchen but it was so gloomy and dirty we didn’t want to go in. We put our milk in the fridge but it went off. To let in a bit more light to the kitchen Zakia opens the main door to the street and leaves a screen door in place; however this was damaged and would not have been much of an impediment to rats. A few hours before we were due to check out Zakia contacted Booking.com and reported that my friend and I were no-shows. This resulted in my booking being marked as cancelled. I received a warning that I might be fined. It has taken a long time to persuade Booking.com that we did actually stay at the riad and to be allowed to write this review, but we wanted to make sure no-one else books Riad Iala Zakia without being warned of some of its features.

Lovely traditional Moroccan home

Zakia is a wonderful host, her house is located in the heart of the town and is decorated with her family's history. I felt like I was staying in a cultural center. My room was well lit and spacious. Hot water, Bed comfy. Nice view from the terrace. Hospitality was beyond expectations, I highly recommend!

It's a bit of a walk to get to if your carrying a lot of luggage, but well worth it.

Riad is huge and has lovely view to the town. Like a family house it was full of history and decoration, and the facilities, while simple were functional. Lala Zakia and her helpers were kind and helpful.

Very nice man and woman running the property. They made sure I had plenty of blankets so I was warm at night. I think it gives you a good insight into what a large Moroccan middle class home is like.

Quite hard to find.