Our selection of the best boutique Riad hotels in Fez will give you a real taste of old Morocco. These include Riad Palais Amani, Dar Finn, Fez, Hotel Sahrai, Karawan Riad, Palais Faraj Suites & Spa, Riad Arabesque, Riad Braya, Riad Fès, Riad Mayfez Suites & Spa, and Palais Sheherazade And Spa.
A stay in Fez will enchant you. Explore the Medina, a maze of narrow lanes, mosques, and bewitching markets full of the hustle and bustle. Meander through the city’s historic gardens, explore stunning palaces, barter in the souks and bathe in the thermal baths. Allow yourself to be tempted by aromatic tagines and the many silk and carpet shops which ooze vivid color into the ancient streets. This city is packed full of Unesco-worthy history, and a stay in a charismatic boutique hotel is really the only way to appreciate this magnificent city.
Fly into Fez-Saiss Airport (FES), which is 15km away from the city. Then take a bus or ‘grands taxi’ from the airport to the city center, or book a taxi through your Riad. Fez train station is about a 10-minute walk away from Place Mohammed V, and trains depart every two hours to Casablanca via Rabat and Meknès (there are also two overnight trains). There are also trains to Marrakech and Tangier.
1. Riad Palais Amani
Conveniently situated just inside the medina walls is the Riad Palais Amani, an intimate and stunning luxury boutique hotel that perfectly blends traditional Moroccan style and décor. This outstanding hotel, featured by Conde Nast Traveller, provides a tranquil oasis of calm amid the hustle and bustle of Fez and provides the perfect base while visiting this exciting travel destination.
This historic riad-style palace has been lovingly restored to create an opulent eighteen-bedroom hotel. Filled with traditional Moroccan furnishings and exquisite tiling, the centerpiece is a beautiful interior garden planted with fragrant orange, lemon, and tangerine trees. There is also a fountain where you can watch birds enjoying the water, a traditional hammam, and a rooftop bar with spectacular views. The multi-lingual staff here are friendly and attentive.
Each room has a character all its own, with some boasting impressive high ceilings and others a cozier feel with low beams. All rooms benefit from a Wi-Fi connection, a private sound system, and fine Egyptian hand-embroidered linen. All rooms also have their own modern ensuite bathroom, equipped with luxury toiletries and a hairdryer. For small families or those who fancy treating themselves, larger suites are available, beautifully decorated in traditional Moroccan style with great attention to detail. All of the rooms are of a good size. Those with views of the courtyard are popular, while first-floor rooms benefit from the shade of the trees.
The cuisine at Palais Amani is based on traditional Moroccan home cooking with a modern twist. Served either in the restaurant dining room or on the rooftop terrace, the dishes are prepared using locally sourced produce. The lemon mousse made with lemons grown in the hotel garden is not to be missed! Breakfast includes yogurt, jams, cheeses, fruit juices, and freshly baked Moroccan bread. For cocktails or tapas with a spectacular view of Fez, head to the rooftop bar.
Exquisitely decorated and lit with candles, the luxurious hammam offers you the chance to experience this traditional ritual. Treatments include foot scrubs, body scrubs, clay masks, and steam baths, ensuring that you leave with “glowing elasticity and softness of skin”! Or, if spa treatments aren’t your cup of tea, how about taking advantage of the hotel’s cookery classes?
From sourcing products in the local markets under the guidance of the chef to creating a meal and enjoying the fruits of your labor afterward, this is an experience that any foodie will love. Outside the hotel, there is so much to see, from the ancient medina to museums, beautiful architecture, natural baths at Moulay Yacoub, and Roman ruins at Volubilis, as well as a golf course, tennis courts, and even a ski resort nearby.
Combining a beautiful old Moroccan style with modern luxury, the Palais Amani is a truly special place to stay in the heart of Fez.
2. Riad Fès
Riad Fès, a member of Relais & Chateaux, may have one of the most beautiful hotel foyers I have ever seen. Luxurious furnishings sit surrounded by walls and pillars plastered with thousands upon thousands of intricate mosaic tiles. This majestic palace is an authentic example of Hispanic-Moorish architecture, boasting four harmoniously styled patios, sculpted doors and zelliges on the walls, stucco arcades, and marble basins.
Unusually for boutique hotels in Fez, some of the lavish rooms here offer balconies facing outwards over the city rather than inwards towards the courtyard. These balconies, and the rooftop terrace, offer panoramic views of the magical spectacle of the sun rising over the Fès Medina and the Atlas mountains.
This boutique hotel offers Hammams and massages, sophisticated cuisine, and a trendy lounge bar. Perhaps the most striking feature of this centrally located hotel is its garden, which offers a beautiful pool situated in the new contemporary pavilion. With 14 meters in length and 1.5 meters in depth, this is a wonderful place to lounge after a day of exploring.
3. Hotel Sahrai
Hotel Sahrai has an ambiance filled with engaging contemporary Moroccan art. The vibrant rooftop bar and the bold interior architecture by acclaimed French designer Christophe Pillet take the tradition of the hotel and move it forward into the future.
The gourmet Moroccan cuisine at Amaraz Restaurant is noteworthily excellent. Under the beams of the vast dining room, screens divide the space to enhance the privacy of the tables without detracting from the purity of the space, which opens onto the ground floor of the hotel.
Awash in natural light, the rooms and suites at Hotel Sahrai imaginatively blur the line between traditional and modern, structure and space, extravagance and simplicity. Designed with glass-walled bathrooms, layers of sheer curtains allow you to conceal or reveal the different spaces as you desire. Fabrics and paint harmonized in warm grey tones, a headboard in orange ochre leather, stone cladding, and sculpted plaster add a touch of softness to a welcoming atmosphere.
4. Riad Mayfez Suites & Spa
Riad Mayfez Suites & Spa is a palace boutique hotel which has maintained family intimacy and Parisian chic of these houses of yesteryear, where each refined detail is a tribute to the deliciously nostalgic elegance of a sophisticated lifestyle.
Decorated with antiques and artworks from all over the world, Riad Mayfez Suites & Spa has the appearance of a bygone century, a time when a reception in a Palace was an auspicious moment. At Riad Mayfez Suites & Spa, the fairy tale lives on!
5. Riad Braya
Riad Braya is located in one of the most beautiful neighborhoods of the Medina of Fez (old city) close to the blue gate and loads of local restaurants. Riad Braya actually takes out its name from the blue color of the famous zellij of the city of Fez.
This Riad was originally the house of the noble Fassi families, and it now welcomes guests in a boutique hotel setting. From the soil to the roof, the arches and columns, and noble materials have been shaped according to the ancestral artisanal art. Riad Braya features an indoor swimming pool, a courtyard with Italian marble and Moroccan zellige tiles, and a terrace with mountain views.
6. Palais Faraj Suites & Spa
Palais Faraj Suites & Spa incorporates the most luxurious décor in an authentic nineteenth-century palace. Perched on a hill on the medina’s edge, Palais Faraj displays classical Fassi architecture hidden behind thick walls in dead-end alleys. At peace from the buzz of the city, Palais Faraj offers a palette of luxury rooms and suites.
This boutique hotel was extensively renovated by its owners, Evelyne and Driss Face, before opening in 2012. Guests of Palais Faraj can enjoy numerous gardens and fountains, a grand garden patio with a swimming pool, a sun & yoga roof terrace, and a garden with a panoramic terrace.
7. Palais Sheherazade & Spa
Palais Sheherazade and Spa is a sumptuous Arab-Andalusian palace built by the Moroccan Vizir of finance in the XIXth century as his main residence. A grand patio, open to the sky, embodies the traditional decoration that represents the essence of Morocco.
Thousand-year-old techniques of sculpted and painted wood, multicolored zelliges, and exquisitely carved plasterwork, together with light fittings made from chiseled copper, provide a lovely setting for the pleasures of breakfast in the sunshine and an unmatchable ambiance for dinner by candlelight.
There’s a lush garden, rich with the intoxicating perfumes of jasmine and orange flowers. The winter restaurant, designed in Moorish style, is set alongside the swimming pool and is bordered by century-old palm trees. You will particularly enjoy the serenity and peace of the panoramic terrace, which overlooks the historical Medina of Fez.
8. Riad Arabesque
Riad Arabesque is located in Fes’s Fes El Bali neighborhood. This smoke-free boutique riad features 17 rooms, two restaurants, an indoor pool, and a fitness center. Free Wi-Fi in public areas and free self-parking. Other amenities include a bar/lounge, a steam room, and spa services.
9. Karawan Riad
Karawan Riad is situated in the medina of Fez and offers the romance of star-lit courtyards and dancing fountains, combined with the ancient beauty rituals of the hammam and gourmet dining inspired by the freshest local produce sourced from nearby markets.
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