Hammam Yacout is the private hammam of Riad Yacout at 22 Place Lalla Aouda in Meknes, an 18th century Arabo Andalusian house fully restored in 2008. The room is a small vaulted chamber lined in marble with zellige panels, and the ritual runs soaping, an exfoliating scrub and an argan oil massage with Moroccan products. It is arranged on request, so a session has to be booked ahead.
Why book
Hammam Yacout at Riad Yacout in Meknes is a private hammam inside an 18th century Arabo Andalusian house at 22 Place Lalla Aouda, restored in full in 2008.
Meknes has plenty of neighbourhood hammams but very few riad hammams that take bookings, so the choice for visitors is small.
The room is a small vaulted chamber lined in marble with zellige panels and a mosaic alcove, lit by candles.
Products are Moroccan: black soap, a kessa glove and argan oil, in the beldi tradition rather than an imported spa line.
The riad sits two minutes on foot from the medina monuments and is reachable by car, which is rare inside a Moroccan old city.
Treatments
The ritual runs soaping first, then an exfoliating scrub, then a massage with argan oil.
The Wellness Escape package pairs a traditional hammam for two with an aromatic scrub and an argan oil massage.
Products used are natural and locally sourced, in the Moroccan beldi tradition.
Price range
The Wellness Escape package is 1,000 dirhams per person, all taxes included, based on double occupancy.
That price covers one night in a superior double room, a welcome tea with Moroccan pastries, breakfast, a dinner and the hammam for two.
The hammam on its own is arranged on request, so ask the riad for a quote when you book a time.
Best time
Ask at least a day ahead so the room can be heated and filled with steam before you arrive.
A hammam after a morning around Bab Mansour and Place El Hedim beats one before it.
Spring and autumn are the easier seasons for a full session, since Meknes summers are hot.
How to combine
Place Lalla Aouda sits between Bab Mansour and the imperial quarter, so the mausoleum of Moulay Ismail and the Heri es Souani granaries are a walk away.
The riad has its own Moroccan restaurant and a solarium on the terrace, so a treatment can run into dinner.
Volubilis and Moulay Idriss Zerhoun are about 30 km north, and a hammam works well at the end of a day out there.
Hammam Yacout is inside Riad Yacout at 22 Place Lalla Aouda in Meknes, between Bab Mansour and the imperial quarter. The riad is a two minute walk from the medina monuments and can be reached by car.
Hammam Yacout is arranged on request. Contact Riad Yacout on +212 535 53 31 10 or by email at riadyacout@hotmail.fr and give a day's notice, because the room has to be heated and filled with steam before the session.
The Wellness Escape at Riad Yacout costs 1,000 dirhams per person, all taxes included, on double occupancy. It covers one night in a superior double room, a welcome tea with Moroccan pastries, breakfast, a dinner, and a traditional hammam for two with an aromatic scrub and an argan oil massage.
The ritual at Hammam Yacout runs soaping first, then an exfoliating scrub with a kessa glove, then a massage with argan oil. The products are natural and locally sourced, in the Moroccan beldi tradition, and the room takes one group at a time.
Riad Yacout was built in the 18th century in the Arabo Andalusian style and was completely renovated in 2008, keeping its original character. It has a Moroccan restaurant, a hammam and a solarium on the terrace.
