Illustrative photo of the region — the property's own gallery is on the booking page.

A 19th-century palace restored over four years — the rare Fes medina address with its own pool, spa, and rooftop garden restaurant looking over the whole old city.

Palais Faraj occupies the 19th-century Bensouda Palace, once part of a network of riads belonging to a prominent Fassi family, reopened in 2012 after a four-year restoration led by specialists in Moorish architecture. The zellige, carved cedar and marble are original to that restoration rather than reproduction, and the thirty-one suites spread across the old palace rooms.

What sets it apart from most Fes riads is space: a proper outdoor pool and a terraced garden with sweeping views over the medina, plus Essencia Spa's hammam and treatment rooms — the kind of full hotel infrastructure that's almost impossible to fit inside the old city's tight footprint. Two restaurants and two bars, including a rooftop garden restaurant, mean you could stay a week without needing to leave.

Why we chose it

• A genuine four-year restoration of the historic Bensouda Palace, not a purpose-built hotel
• An outdoor pool and terraced garden — a rarity inside the space-constrained Fes medina
• Essencia Spa with a proper hammam, plus two restaurants and two bars

Amenities

• Outdoor swimming pool (rare inside the Fes medina)
• Essencia Spa with hammam and massage treatments
• Two restaurants and two bars, including a rooftop garden restaurant
• Rooftop yoga terrace and panoramic medina-view garden

Frequently asked questions