Riad Laayoun: Away from the Madness of the Fes Medina

What a climb from the taxi.  If the steep hill doesn’t catch you out the humidity will.  Set slightly off from the souks, down a small alley way you stumble across this wonderful little place.

Once through the gates, it is like entering a different world; the relaxed calming nature of Riad Laayoun automatically make you forget about the electric atmosphere outside.

Sat in the courtyard we were welcomed with Mint tea and pastries.  Now I am no tea drinker, I would go as far to say that I hate the stuff, but I could drink mint tea here on a frequent basis.  It neither smells or tastes like the tea at home and is really very refreshing after the heat has attacked you.  Whilst relaxing our bags have been transported to our room, making the experience even better.

Which Room Did we Choose to Stay in at Riad Laayoun?

We stayed in the Paprika room, which is one of the smaller rooms in the Riad.  Now I say small, there is a reasonable sized double bedroom and balcony area which doubles up as a walk way to the bathroom – a pleasure to stay in.  It didn’t have air conditioning and I can imagine that in the height of the summer this could be more of an issue, but we simply opened the windows to gain a breeze whilst benefiting from the quietness of the patio area that we faced.

 

The vista from the roof terrace is amazing – you can see across the entire old Medina and out to the surrounding hills.  Being so far away from the streets this is also a great place to come for a bit of peace and quiet.

Being our first trip to Morocco we didn’t know what to expect of the food and booked with the Riad for dinner – what a spread.  Starting with a very tasteful veggie soup and salad options (which would have been enough if I am truthful) we then moved on to having Lamb Keftas for my husband and a Legumes (vegetable) medley for myself.  Why I can’t do runner beans to taste anything other than stringy is even more annoying after enjoying this delight.  This was then finished off with a fruit platter and soft cheese covered in sesame seeds.  All I can say is that we were completely stuffed and overjoyed that we had chosen to eat here.  We followed all of this with more mint tea on the terrace.

Nothing is too much for the team here; always on hand to help – even giving us extra pastries because we liked them so much!  – I definitely recommend the coconut macaroons.

 

If I return to Fes I would gladly return to this Riad for their hospitality alone.  A great first experience of a city that is still growing in tourism.

Due to the nature of the city and the fact that tourism is not as popular here as in Marrakech we struggled to find a Riad that we liked therefore have you found a Riad in Fez that you would recommend to others?