The best riads in Fes: five stays we'd book ourselves

The Fes medina is the largest living medieval city in the world — and choosing where to sleep inside it shapes the whole trip. These are the five riads we'd actually book, from palace to budget gem.

Fes rewards riad-dwellers more than any other Moroccan city. The medina — Fes el-Bali — is car-free, dense and disorienting in the best way, and returning to a courtyard behind a heavy door is part of the daily rhythm. Two practical truths before you book: location matters less than you think (everywhere in the medina involves walking, and every good riad sends a porter to meet you), and book the hammam, not just the room — Fes does bathhouses better than anywhere.

Best all-round grandeur: Riad Fès – Relais & Châteaux

Several joined houses, Andalusian-Moorish courtyards, a pool, and a bar whose terrace looks over the entire medina — Riad Fès is the polished, full-service option for travellers who want palace scale without leaving the old city. Sunset from its terraces, with the call to prayer rolling across ten thousand rooftops, is worth planning an evening around.

Best for serenity: Karawan Riad

Seven suites in a 17th-century merchant's palace, restored over a decade with unusual restraint. Karawan is the choice when the point of Fes is calm: monumental courtyard, soft palette, near-silence, and rooftop dinners arranged with the kitchen that morning. The aesthete's pick.

Best mid-range: Riad Laaroussa

A 17th-century palace with an orange-tree courtyard, generous rooms, and — the clincher — a proper traditional stone hammam in the house. Laaroussa also runs one of the medina's best cooking classes, starting with a market run. Mid-range prices, top-tier experience; the one we recommend most often.

Best for food lovers: Palais Amani

A rare art-deco-era palace with one of the medina's largest gardens, at the old city's edge (which spares you the deep-medina luggage trek). Palais Amani is built around food: a cooking school with a dawn market visit, and a rooftop bar above the tanneries for sunset. Rooms are big by Fes standards.

Best on a budget: Dar Seffarine

Steps from the coppersmiths' square, Dar Seffarine has a soaring columned courtyard that outclasses houses at three times the price, restored over years by its architect owners. Rooms are simple and beautiful, dinners are communal and sociable, and the prices are honest. The best value in the old city, full stop.

How to choose

• First visit, want it all: Riad Fès or Palais Amani — space, service, and easy comfort after intense medina days.
• Romantic escape: Karawan for quiet, Laaroussa for warmth.
• Travelling light on funds: Dar Seffarine, booked early — its few rooms go fast.
• Everyone: plan two full days minimum, take the porter that meets you at the gate, and say yes to the hammam.

New to courtyard houses? Our guide to riads vs hotels explains the trade-offs (written for Marrakech; the logic holds in Fes). And if you're heading south after Fes, see where to stay for the Sahara.