Hotel Sahrai

A fair number of Fes’s hotels and riads are located within the walls of Fes el Bali, the UNESCO-recognized medieval walled city that’s considered the largest car-free urban environment in the world. Such a location comes with its charms and its challenges: unmarked streets, limited access, dragging your suitcase through the streets instead of being dropped off in front of the hotel. They’re familiar challenges for the staff at the well-regarded Riad Fès. But this year, the owners opened a second hotel — a riad alternative, if you will. Perched on a hill between the medina and the city’s more modern sector, Hotel Sahrai is a high-end boutique hotel mixing elements of traditional Moorish architecture with sleek contemporary design.

There’s a satisfyingly practical concept behind Hotel Sahrai. The assumption is that you’re in Fes for the cultural antiquity, of course — but that when the sightseeing’s over, you might prefer to retreat to a modern boutique with ample space and modern comforts and tech-friendly amenities. The Sahrai is strategically positioned so you can appreciate the view of the riad from afar, preferably while sipping mint tea at the rooftop bar at sunset. The hotel has fifty rooms and suite, larger than a riad, but relatively small for a luxury hotel. The look is clean and modern, with minimalist white, pale brick, and floor-to-ceiling windows, and a few pieces to remind you where you are — a hand-painted vase, a glowing lantern, a decorative wall partition. The smart in-room amenities include large flat-screen TVs, workspaces, complimentary wi-fi, and airy bathrooms with tubs and Acqua di Parma products. Junior suites feature black marble bathrooms and sweeping views of the medina; the top-of-the-line Sahrai Suite has its own terrace and outdoor entertaining space.

Notable spaces at Hotel Sahrai include two restaurants, one Moroccan and the other international, plus tennis courts, a fitness center, an infinity pool, and, wisely, a separate pool for children. The obvious highlights, however, are the rooftop bar and terrace — where you might be tempted to camp out all evening — and the opulent Givenchy Spa. With its stone surfaces, mashrabiya latticework and outdoor treatment space, the elegant spa is very much grounded in the place, but the service and treatment style meets the brand’s high standards. The charm of the old world and the comfort of the new: it’s pretty much the whole idea behind the Hotel Sahrai.