M'Haya Vacations from $1,413

The location is about a 15 minute walk from the Main Street in the Medina and Fez is a maze. Google Maps works okay but Apple Maps didn’t work well at all. There are no shops near the Riad itself. The staff was friendly and ended up upgrading my room, which was nice. There was definitely some price gouging issues though. Don’t let them take you shopping, they’re fishing for a kick back from the sellers. Also, if they order you a taxi, it will be twice to three times as much if you just walk to a gate and get one on your own.

I’ll start with the good. The location is great and the staff with the exception of the general manager is very kind and eager, going out of their way to be helpful! The general manager put us off from the start. He really wanted to control every aspect of our stay in the city and was very critical of us for booking restaurants and tours on our own . In fact, one tour company that we used said they had many problems with our Riad not sending the guests on the tours they had pre- booked with them. There was definite tension between the two parties leaving us to question who to trust. Our hotel manager kept warning us that we would be taken advantage of by sellers . None of this made us feel good about our choices! The hotel is very beautiful in its architecture but definitely needs updating in its furnishings. The rooms are not the comfort level one expects for the price ( i.e. the linens and pillows are not good quality, there is a lack of basic incidentals like Kleenex , the bathroom lighting is insufficient, and the furniture is stained and worn. Overall I would not recommend this hotel for the price. Also beware of the room you are booking.., our friends had no shower and had to go up 6 steep stairs to use their bathroom.

Lovely place, good location, kind staff.

We absolutely loved Riad El Yacout. This is my 4th visit to Morocco over the years, across different cities in this beautiful country, and this is honestly the best place I have stayed so far (even in comparison to 4- or 5-star hotels that I used in my previous trips). It’s very clean, very nicely decorated in authentic and traditional Moroccan style, the rooms are clean and comfortable, the staff is extremely nice, courteous and professional and they really go out of their way to make guests feel warmly welcome and at home. They serve a delicious and very generous breakfast, and always do it with a very warm welcome in the morning and a friendly smile. The location in the Medina is probably more suitable for tourists than business travelers. But this worked perfectly for us as we were on a family vacation and, if you have plenty of time (which we did) and you are patient enough to navigate the huge labyrinth of the Fes Medina (which we were), it’s actually a wonderful location to experience the culture, history and vibrancy of this great city. If we ever come back to Fes, which is likely, Riad El Yacout will definitely be our first choice as a place to stay. Till next time, Choukrane Jazzilane!