Hotel Sahrai
A 50-room Christophe Pillet hotel on the Dhar El Mehraz hill, with an infinity pool facing the Fes medina
About this stay
Sahrai is a hilltop hotel, not a riad: instead of a house closed around a patio, you get a modern building with arched colonnades, floor-to-ceiling windows and marble bathrooms, set at Bab Lghoul above Fes. Christophe Pillet recreated the carved arches of the original building on the site of Marshal Lyautey's summer residence. The hotel opened in 2014, the rooms pair leather details with those windows, and the Deluxe View rooms look across the minarets and rooftops of Fès el-Bali to the hills beyond.
Meals run from Amaraz, with tagines, couscous and lute music at dinner, to Medusa for wood-fired pizza and Jungle for Lebanese mezze; drinks are served under the Arcades and at the Salon Lyautey on the roof. The spa pairs its hammam with Cinq Mondes treatments. Breakfast is a buffet mixing Moroccan and European dishes, and some suites have a private terrace. Fès-Saïss airport is 28 to 40 minutes by road and the medina about ten, so plan a car for every outing.
- Outdoor infinity pool facing the medina, plus a separate children's pool
- Spa built around a traditional hammam, with a Jacuzzi
- 50 rooms by the architect Christophe Pillet, opened in 2014
- Five places to eat and drink, from Amaraz (Moroccan) to the Salon Lyautey rooftop bar
- 28 to 40 minutes by road from Fès-Saïss airport
- Rated 8.6 from 562 reviews
Our take
Hotel Sahrai stands at Bab Lghoul on the Dhar El Mehraz hill, on the site of Marshal Lyautey's former summer residence, and its 50 rooms were designed by the French architect Christophe Pillet for the 2014 opening. The draw is the outdoor infinity pool looking across at the minarets of Fès el-Bali, with a spa built around a traditional hammam. The catch is the address: the medina is about a 10-minute drive away, and the streets around the hotel give you nothing to walk to. Rated 8.6 from 562 reviews, it is where I would spend the second half of a Fes trip, after nights in a riad inside the old town. First-time visitors who want to wander the souks at dusk should not make it their only base.
- The hotel sells four categories, Deluxe, Deluxe View, The Superior and the Sahrai Suite: book Deluxe View or the suite, or ask whether a Superior faces the medina, rather than the basic Deluxe, whose rooms have no real view.
- Go up to the Salon Lyautey, the rooftop bar with a fireplace, before sunset: it faces the old town as the lights come on and pours Moroccan wines, which a riad without an alcohol licence cannot do.
- Arrange a car before each medina outing and ask to be dropped at Bab Boujloud: from that gate the Talaa Kebira runs straight down into Fès el-Bali, the easiest way in without a guide.
- Golfers can ask reception to book a tee time with transport: the hotel organises the transfer for golf rounds, which spares you negotiating a taxi out of the city.
- If privacy matters, ask about the bathroom layout before booking: the marble bathrooms are glass-walled, with only sheer curtains to draw between them and the bedroom.
Why we love it
- The infinity pool looking straight across at Fès el-Bali
- Sunset at the Salon Lyautey rooftop bar, by the fireplace in winter
- A hammam at the spa after a day in the souks and tanneries
- Pillet's arched colonnades, recreated from the original building
Why guests love itSahrai has a separate children's pool next to the infinity pool, and that alone makes it easier with young children than a medina riad, where the patio basin is decorative and the stairs are steep. Babysitting is available, but beyond that the hotel offers little aimed at children and advertises no kids' club, so plan the days yourself. The hill is quiet at night, which suits early bedtimes. Every visit to the tanneries or the Bou Inania madrasa means a car ride of about 10 minutes, and the lanes of Fès el-Bali are no place for a pushchair, so bring a baby carrier. I would choose it for families with children old enough to enjoy the pool and to see the medina in half-day outings; parents of toddlers who expect organised activities will not find them here.
Guest reviews
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