Based on the previous reviews, I requested my travel agent to book Riad 9 for 3 nights during my stay in Fes. As I had experience that even hotels with no. 1 ranking in trip advisor were not that good in reality, I was a bit worry whether Riad 9 was as good as other travellers' comments. When I passed through the small lanes of Fes' medina, I finally reached Riad 9.
After entering the riad through its heavy metal door, what appeared in front of my eyes was just an oasis! The environment of the riad was so well decorated. The pool with fishs on the courtyard, the plants, the furniture, the hanging lamps from the ceiling...all the items were all placed and well chosen. The inside of the riad just like an isolater separating all the noise from the chatoic medina streets. With a cup of tea and slices of fresh cake, accompanying by the singing of birds, I was so relaxed seemingly being in a heavn. Decorations in my room were also highly appreciated. Bed and pillows were so comfortable which made me have three good sleeps at night. I like very much the stunning views of Fes from the roof of the riad. It was so enjoyable to read a book with drinks on the roof under the blue sky and warm sunshine. To me, the location of the riad is not that difficult find to me since after all it is located between the lanes of the two big taalas.
My special commendation must be given to Atika and Stephen. They were all very caring and nice and helped me to address my trip issues in Fes. I really had to thank particularly to Atika. As I used to travel alone these years, sometimes, I did feel a bit lonely. With her very pleasant and easy going character, we did chat a lot. That gave me a feeling of being at home with a good friend. I indeed treated her as my good friend rather than a host. One day after I did my own laundry, the clothes were still wet. To my surprise, Atika helped me to place them in the roof and took them back and fold neatly inside my room afterwards. That's so touched to me. Never had such experience in my trips before. For Stephen, he was sick during my stay in Riad 9. Nevertheless, we still had breakfast together and chatted. Conversations with Stephen and Atika were a very happy thing to me daily.
Food in Riad 9 was just terrific . I had to say that the cooking skills of Atika and Kylie were excellent (Bruon was out of town then so I had no luck to try his cooking). The daily breakfast with homemade jams (especially the pear jam made by Bruon) and the pancakes ,etc were so delicious which was the best one I had during my three-week travel in Morocco. I wisely chose to have dinner in the riad for two nights. The fish tajine and the soup (forget the name) cooked by Kylie was again the best I had. Frankly speaking, I had used the food standard of Riad 9 as the benchmark for my following meals in Morocco. The result was that I hardly find a very satisfactory meals after staying in Riad 9!
When I was about to leave after the three-night stay, I was just so relucant leaving such a beautiful riad and of course Stephen, Atika and Kylie. In fact I did feel a bit sad. Riad 9 - Stephen, Atika, Kylie and Tach (the lovely but a bit naughty cat who always wanted to 'steal' my food during dinner) all gave me a very memborable and enjoyable moments in Fes. A big THANK YOU and HUG!! I am missing you all now when writing this review!
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Would I recommend this hotel to my best friend?
absolutely!
I recommend this hotel for:
Young singles, An amazing honeymoon, A romantic getaway, Girlfriend getaway, Families with young children, Families with teenagers, Tourists
I do not recommend this hotel for:
People with disabilities
I selected this hotel as a top choice for:
Other