Amani means desires or wishes in Arabic, and Palais Amani seeks to fulfil your wishes. If one of your wishes is a taste of the riad experience but with luxuries like elevators and extra sound proofing, Palais Amani will fulfill those wishes too.

The hotel opened in 2010 after four years of extensive restoration. The 17th century home had been almost uninhabited since the 1970s. Only a guardian, his wife and two children lived in a small part of the then-dilapidated mansion, preventing the building from being ransacked. The guardian’s smiling face still welcomes you to Palais Amani if you’re coming home after a late night dinner.

The hotel is in the northern part of the medina, just a minute’s walk up some steps from a parking area. There are 14 rooms and suites in total; including some connecting rooms and a two-bedroom apartment. If you want to splurge, the Grand Suite (bedroom pictured) is spectacular.

My suite had a sitting area with high ceilings at one end, and a sumptuous king bed with hand-embroidered pillowcases at the other. In between, two bathrooms — one with a toilet and sink, and the other with a deep tub with handheld shower (at proper height, rare for Morocco!). Another rarity for hotels anywhere in the world — good lighting at the sinks in both bathrooms.

The hotel is in riad style, but has wide hallways between the garden-filled courtyard and the rooms. Stained glass windows and shutters block noise to the rooms and another set blocks outdoor noise from the hallways. Breakfast is taken on a sunny patio, there’s a dining room and a library on the first floor, and you’ll love the scents from all the garden flowers in the courtyard.

Unusual for a medina hotel, Palais Amani has an elevator to take you to most of the rooms and suites, as well as to the rooftop terrace and bar. If you’re using a wheelchair, though, note there are still small steps to get into the elevator and into the hotel.

Up on the terrace I found several places in the shade to relax and enjoy my complimentary mint tea and cookies. If you’re a sun worshiper, you’ll appreciate the comfortable loungers and the showers to cool you off. You can take a massage up here if you’d like, or just enjoy the 360 views of the medina and surrounding hills while you sip a cocktail from the rooftop bar. Other hotel services include a hammam and spa, a cooking class, bread and pastry workshop, and even calligraphy lessons.

Does Palais Amani sound like the kind of hotel to fulfill your wishes?

 
If you’re in Fès to explore its burgeoning food scene (and you should be!), Dar Roumana is an excellent hotel choice. The riad is managed by French-Aussie couple Vincent and Vanessa Bonnin — he leads the kitchen and she the house. Dar Roumana boasts a restaurant that would rival the dining in any city.

Vincent generally cooks in the Mediterranean style, influenced strongly by Morocco’s exceptional seasonal produce and by his French roots. He trained formally in Le Mans for five years (and throughout his childhood with his pâtissier father), and has worked in Michelin starred restaurants in Australia, England, and France. My lamb kefte and salmon were bursting with flavour and freshness, and my crème brûlée was perfection — one of the best meals I had during my five weeks in Morocco.

Even when the building was the home of the Bouayad family, the riad was famous for its food. A woman from sub-Saharan Africa was the family’s cook, and her kitchen talents were coveted by many. The riad is a beauty, and while traditional in style, it is not overwhelming to the western eye. Built around 1900, the structural woodwork, doors and window frames are all original; the tile work was done in the early 1920s in honour of the marriage of one of the Bouayad daughters; and much of the carved plasterwork is original (though some required restoration to repair damage). Be sure to look out the huge windows of your room to admire the carvings and painted decorations of the central courtyard — they’re so intricate you can’t appreciate them from the ground floor.

Dar Roumana has five suites — they’re large and spacious, with stained glass windows, and furnished simply in the Moroccan style. Each has a private bath; mine featured a deep tub in which I soaked away a day spent exploring the depths of the medina. The hotel also has five common areas in which guests can relax — a library, salon, reading room, tv lounge (no satellite or local channels, but DVDs), and the two-tiered rooftop terrace.

Staff at Dar Roumana — Rachida, Nezha, Naima and Mohamed — are all excellent, providing friendly and professional service. They go out of their way to make you feel at home, even giving you a front door key, so you don’t feel you’re bothering anyone when you ring the bell. Special extras are available at Dar Roumana. Just two examples: If you’d love to leave Morocco with a henna “tattoo”, Nezha does beautiful designs with good quality henna, in a no pressure environment. Bring home unique gifts, curated by Vanessa, which are difficult or impossible to find in the souks, such as jewellery and hand-stitched handbags by Alfred, usually only available in Paris and London.

 
La Maison Bleue is one of the classics of Fès. It, and its sister riad, are still owned by the grandchildren of the man who built the residence in 1915.

Both hotels are in the Fès medina near Bab Boujloud, the blue gate (though, not to be confusing, one side of the gate is green). This is a convenient location; the northwestern part of the medina is popular with tourists and it is easy to find a coffee or a meal at most hours of the day and evening (not always the case in other parts of the medina). Both hotels are easy to reach by car; a taxi can stop right outside the Riad and at the entrance to a narrow alley less than a minute’s walk to La Maison.

The welcome at La Maison Bleue is a traditional one — milk flavoured with rose water and a plate of dates, with a wet cloth to wash off the dust from your travels. The decor of the four buildings making up the La Maison is also traditional Fassi, with abundant zellij tiles and a terrace that covers three rooftops. La Maison is protected by UNESCO, which means additions and changes are carefully controlled.

My room was next to Reception, facing the pool (unheated) in the central courtyard. My bed was pretty with its hanging curtains, and toasty warm thanks to a heated layer (each side of the bed with individual controls). The air temperature is also controlled with a reverse cycle heating and cooling unit, not only does it work well but it has reduced energy consumption too. I enjoying relaxing in my sitting area, nibbling the fruit and cookies left for me on the table and watching how the sunlight filtered prettily through the stained glass windows (don’t worry, there’s a thick curtain to pull over them at night).

Rooms are equipped with a mini-fridge and a tv with a seemingly infinite number of international visual and music channels (use the guide to help you sort through them). Bathrooms are pale marble, atmospherically lit, and have both a toilet and a bidet, a bathtub with shower (there’s a partial glass wall to keep the rest of the room mostly dry), and a sink area with a big mirror. The hotel has a hammam and spa, as well as a large fitness room with beautiful views.

I was impressed with the strong English of every staff member I encountered, and with the helpfulness of Reception in providing advice and directions. The manager is very proud of the hotel, telling me of the many film and music stars that have stayed, that La Maison Bleue invented many hotel notions and even originated the boutique hotel concept (in Fès, I assume, rather than the world).