Riad Lhaj Luxury Palace

My wife, daughter (3 yrs 8 months) and I spent a wonderful 6 nights at Riad Lhaj in late September. Nothing was too much trouble for the staff, with particular mention of Mhamed, Soukaïna, Abdellah and the kitchen and cleaning staff for always treating us as family. You can find cheaper food outside the Riad, but it's still reasonably priced, and having a delicious homemade chicken tagine cooked to order on arrival when we just needed to get our daughter quickly to sleep was priceless. There's a wide variety of traditional foods brought to your table at breakfast, changing a little each day, though it may have been better to have been given a menu of choices, so guests will learn a few names of the foods they're eating, and to reduce how much food is possibly getting wasted. We never went hungry! The room was clean and comfortable, and though it could get quite stuffy as we were several floors up and it was September, the air conditioning got us through without trouble. The bathroom had a slow-draining shower but this is common in Morocco where generally the plumbing is less able to cope with high volumes (toilet paper in bins!), and especially staying in the heart of old Fes, there will be limitations to how modern things can be upgraded. And this Riad truly is in the heart. It is a short walk to any of the main craft and shopping districts, almost equally nestled between Talaa Kbira and Talaa Saghira, and an easy stroll to places further afield such as Borj Nord or Jnan Sbil. If you want to visit the Ville Nouvelle or the pottery craftsman moved a few years back to Ain Noqbi, you'll need to take a petit taxi. The staff would happily arrange visits to any of these places or excursions further afield to Chefchaouen, Volubilis or Foret Cedre Gourard. Our daughter still likes to play 'Fes Café back home in Britain', and pretends she is Soukaïna!

The roof terrace is as good a place as any to watch sunrises and sunsets over the Marinid Tombs, with alpine swifts swirling overhead, but it seemed a bit underutilised. Particularly in good weather, it would be the perfect place to serve breakfasts.

The staff were really warm and friendly. The food, particularly breakfast was wonderful. The riad was very clean but also felt traditional and beautiful.

I would advise using someone with more experience to arrange trips or tours. We used Medina Mystique tours and they were excellent.

Lovely authentic Moroccan experience staying in the opulent King’s Suite for far less than a king’s ransom. Staff were excellent, especially Abdul who met us at the car park by one of the Medina entrances to guide us to the riad, and escorted us back there on our departure. We were welcomed with traditional tea and cakes on arrival, and even given more tea and cakes when we returned to collect our bags on departure. Nice breakfast, great terrace with Médina views, all in all a lovely stay.

Nothing

Very friendly stuff, helpful and communicative. Special thanks to Soukaina and Abdul who helped me a lot on-site and getting to the location! Very good value for money, and perfect location!

I liked everything!