You never forget your first hammam! My first trip to Morocco was in 2017, and I was leading a group of 14 people on a yoga and culture style retreat.
I knew we had to try the hammam, and I am delighted that the first place our venue tried to book us was full, because Les Bains D’Orient has proven time and time again that they are my favorite. Let me tell you why.
Why Hammams in Marrakech Feel Different From Western Spas
I should start by saying that every hammam experience I have had in Marrakech has been excellent. Something about every Marrakech hammam has far exceeded any American spa I’ve visited.
The small riad hammams are often quiet, meditative spaces, where you can sink into the transportive luxury of neroli scent, steam, and body care. There are some hammams that have a much more reserved feel.
To me, they are more aloof, but some guests might prefer more reserved. Sometimes the hammam attendant is an auntie or cousin in the family who owns or runs the riad.
There is no licensing requirement in Morocco for these professionals, but I have always had exceptional experiences. Why is that? One might ask. Well, I will tell you!
The Cultural and Social History of the Hammam
The history of hammams evolves from Roman and Byzantine bathhouses. Long before homes had indoor plumbing, public bathhouses served as spaces for hygiene, ritual, and essential social connection.
Across the Arab and Muslim world, it has been usually practiced on Thursday night or Friday morning before prayers at the Mosque, as well as before important occasions such as weddings.
These neighborhood hammams are gender-separate spaces with men on one side and women and children on the other.
All are slightly different, but multiple spaces with hot and cold water, steam, banquette seating, or tables in the middle serve to create perfect bathing social spaces.
Everyone brings their own basket of supplies, which includes water-friendly sandals, a “Kesse” (scrub) glove, soap, or in Morocco, “savon noir” or “beldi”, a towel, hair tool, shaving implements, and more.
Family and neighbors help scrub each other down while exchanging news and gossip, and relaxing in a community of care. These neighborhood hammams still exist in Moroccan cities and villages, despite that most homes have the infrastructure and plumbing to render them physically obsolete.
So, the women who eventually go on to become professional hammam attendants have grown up with the practice from when they were infants.
From this basic understanding of the history of hammams, it’s easy to see how socially, culturally, and emotionally hammams serve a somatic healing purpose that an individual shower simply cannot replace.
My First Hammam Experience at Les Bains D’Orient
So, this brings us to my first hammam experience in 2017. With a group of 14, Les Bains D’Orient had to fit us four to a room instead of two to a room, and honestly? It made it hilarious and in some ways better due to the shared surprise and joy.
We got the Tresor d’Orient, which is a forty-minute hammam and traditional black soap scrub, hair treatment with argan oil, plus a one-hour massage.
As of December 2025, that package is 790 MAD. The laughter started in the dressing room where one guest put her disposable paper thong on backwards at first, and continued into the steam room when our attendants first splashed us generously with buckets of perfect temperature water.
Between our hammam and massage, we enjoyed mint tea and cookies on the rooftop terrace. For the massage, we got to choose from several scents of oil.
Two of my retreat guests were men. They were the only two in their room, and they also had female attendants.
Their disposable garments provided to them were more like paper shorts, and had more modesty than our thongs.
The gentlemen report that they ALSO had a fantastic time! Couples can also go together to enjoy the experience.
The Ritual: Beldi Soap, Kesse Scrub, and Argan Oil
The products used in different countries are often unique. In Morocco, it is traditional to use beldi, a black gel-like soap that is made from olive oil.
It has a mild olive oil scent, but is also often scented with mint, neroli, jasmine, or other local plants. What makes this special, and how is it used?
The process of making beldi brings out the fatty acids and stearic acid, which nourish and soften the skin, preparing for a very effective exfoliation with the kesse glove.
At the beginning of your hammam, your attendant will smooth beldi all over you and then leave you lying on the heated bench for about 10 minutes while the rich savon noir does its magic.
Then, when she comes back in, she will have her kesse glove and scrub you almost EVERYWHERE. Your attendant will move the paper thong aside to reach certain areas, and those are very small areas to begin with.
There is no room for modesty here. After that, she will rinse you, and while this is a simple process, there is something particularly luxurious about having buckets or bowls full of the perfect temperature water sluiced across you while laying in the perfect temperature steam room.
She will usually ask first if you want your hair washed, and after washing, she will soak it with argan conditioner. After a complete rinse, you proceed to tea and cookies before the massage.
The massage will be conducted with argan oil. Argan oil molecules are smaller than almost all other commonly used oils, which means it doesn’t sit on your skin, it absorbs. For this reason it is fantastic for dry skin, hair, and even nails.
Architecture, Design, and the Atmosphere of Moroccan Hammams
Traditional hammams are often close to the village bread baker, and the water is heated by the fires. They are also often found next to or close to the mosque.
They frequently include beautiful domes with small skylights that look like stars. Some have zellige (mosaic) everywhere, and others have tadelakt, which is smooth, water-proofed lime plaster, a naturally produced material that feels like luxurious carved stone.
Les Bains D’Orient is mostly made with tadelakt with neutral colors, aubergine, brass, and copper as accent colors. It is sophisticated and relaxed. Tadelakt is made with lime plaster, which is anti-microbial. It is the ideal surface for keeping a very clean environment.
Why the Ceremonial Experience Is Worth It
I have returned on every trip to Les Bains D’Orient and have certainly discovered my favorite menu item. If you are going to a spa in Morocco, I recommend getting the most luxurious option. You will not regret it!
Set aside a full two hours and 990 MAD (plus tip) for Ceremonial Les Bains D’Orient. You will start like usual with the hammam in the steam room, beldi soak, and then a kesse scrub down.
They will leave oil on your hair, wrap your hair in a towel, and bring you in your fluffy bathrobe to the rooftop terrace. While lounging on the chaise, you will be served tea and cookies. Then you get to lie back and have a face massage.
Your next indulgence will be soaking in a goat milk bath in a freestanding copper bathtub. Goat milk serves to soften, nourish, and soothe the skin, and the tub is foamed at the top with bubble bath and adorned with rose petals.
They have two tubs to a room, so you can enjoy this entire experience with someone else. Once you’ve finished your bath, attendants will rinse you off, including your hair, and then you proceed to your massage.
I recommend getting the Moroccan massage, which is done on low massage tables and includes some body pressure stretches, similar to those in a Turkish bath or Thai massage, and even some visceral massage, which they will ask permission to do first.
On this most recent retreat, my hammam partner Lauren exclaimed numerous times how utterly life-changing this experience was. The care with Moroccan warmth in hospitality is a somatic experience that transports one to a completely different heart and mind space.
Samira Shuruk is a movement and wellness specialist with nearly 40 years of teaching experience and a 25-year career as a professional cultural dance artist specializing in Middle Eastern, North African, and Indian forms. Since 2017, she has led wellness and culture retreats across Morocco, Tunisia, Kenya, and Central America—returning to Morocco five times to deepen her connection to the region’s traditions. She partners with elite luxury travel companies to design bespoke wellness programming and teaches weekly Pilates, mobility, and meditation classes at the Yoga Center of Columbia in Maryland. Her approach bridges authentic cultural immersion with evidence-based wellness practices.
