This is the question people ask us most quietly: "do I have to take everything off?" The short answer is no, and the long answer deserves a guide.
Two very different things share one name
The neighbourhood hammam is a public bath. People go once or twice a week, bring their own black soap and kessa glove, and pay a few dirhams to get in. It is a social institution before it is a treatment.
The riad or spa hammam is a private version of the same ritual: the same steam, the same scrub, but for you alone or in a small group, with the products supplied and an attendant who does the work. That is what we arrange, and it is what most travellers have in mind.
What happens, in order
- You are settled in a hot, humid room. The steam does its work for ten to fifteen minutes: it opens the pores and loosens the muscles.
- Black soap goes on — an olive-oil paste rather than soap in the usual sense — and is left to sit.
- Then the scrub, with a kessa glove. It is vigorous. It is meant to be.
- You are rinsed thoroughly, often from a bucket.
- Depending on the treatment, a rhassoul clay mask follows — a clay from the Middle Atlas — and sometimes an argan oil massage.
- You are left to come back down quietly, with tea.
What you keep on
Underwear on the bottom, or a swimming costume. That is the custom, and nobody will ask for more. If you would rather keep a full two-piece on, that is fine too — just say so when you arrive.
Bring a swimming costume if you have one. Everything else — towels, black soap, glove, clay — is provided in a riad hammam. In a neighbourhood hammam you buy it there or at the souk.
What surprises people
- The scrub genuinely lifts dead skin, visibly. It is startling and completely normal.
- The pressure is firm. If it is too much, say so: "khfif" means gently.
- It is very hot. If you feel yourself going, leave the hot room and sit down.
- You come out soft, not energised. Do not plan anything demanding for the next two hours.
When to book it
Late afternoon, after a day walking the medina — or on your arrival day, to wash off the journey. We advise against scheduling it just before a late dinner: you will want nothing but bed.
What we confirm in your quote
The exact duration, what is provided on site, whether the space is private or shared, and whether a transfer from your riad is included. These depend on the establishment, and we would rather write them down than promise them here.