From US$80 including breakfast and tax
– Gorgeous three-tired roof terrace with spectacular views of the medina, including the canal.
– Morocco has such fragrant handmade natural soaps, I would have loved to have some in the bathroom, rather than the dyed pink Via soap. Fluffy towels and a robe would have been great too.
Down the Street of Seven Turns is Dar Seffarine, a great value boutique hotel in the Fès medina. The six-room hotel is in a real Moroccan neighbourhood — the oldest in the medina — and here you can get a taste of the communal life that makes Morocco what it is.
At Dar Seffarine you will, of course, have your own room and ensuite (they’re of various sizes, some are lovely and some are spectacular). And you’ll get the feeling of living in a house with others.
Breakfasts (included in rates) are communal and served in an enclosed rooftop breakfast room, in the garden or the dining room. I was introduced to a fruit I’d never met before — mzah, also called loquat or Japanese plum — delicious! Dinners (200 dirham or $20 U.S.) are also served communal style, so you can meet your fellow guests and share stories of good restaurants, phone numbers for the best guides, and the tidbit not to miss a visit to Moulay Indriss, about an hour away.
There’s a spectacular multi-tiered terrace with views of Fès’ soon-to-be-completed canal-side walkways and shops (think little Venice). If it gets too hot, Dar Seffarine has a shady garden on the ground floor, a rarity in Fès.
The building is gorgeous. You won’t be able to take your eyes off the painted woodwork. The restoration was beautifully done, exceptionally so in a city with a large number of beautiful restorations, and is architecturally accurate. The only thing added were bathrooms, and they were done with minimal changes to the original structure.
Rooms have all the necessities, but this is more home-style than hotel-style. You’ll not have a fridge or a safe in your room, nor will there be a room key. You can store valuables in the hotel safe if you wish. There is wifi in the common areas, and it stretches into some of the bedrooms. No need to worry about temperature — each room has both heat and air conditioning, with remote control.
My room had a desk near the huge windows overlooking the central courtyard, a sitting area with a divan and a gorgeous carved chair. The bedroom area was partially closed off by a beautiful wooden arch (with curtains). The floor was mosaic with several throw rugs.
