Riad Braya — Restaurant in Fez

I recently stayed at Riad Braya with my family, and while there were some positives, my overall experience was ruined by poor management, lack of communication, and an inaccurate response from the manager.

The Positives: The riad’s location is excellent, allowing easy access to the heart of Fes. The staff were polite and tried their best to assist us. They helped with our luggage, brought a dish of fruits upon arrival, and remained courteous throughout our stay. Their professionalism was the only saving grace.

The Negatives: I travel frequently with my wife and two young children and have stayed in dozens of hotels without ever encountering issues like this. When booking, I always reserve for two adults and include a note in the special requests that we are traveling with two babies and need baby cots. Babies don’t require extra payment, and this has always been accommodated by other hotels. In fact, only once in my entire life did I encounter an issue, and that was at a hotel that explicitly didn’t accept children. However, they informed me in advance, and I canceled without any extra charge.

At Riad Braya, I booked their most expensive room (the Deluxe Suite) for three nights, paying over €600, to ensure we had enough space for our family. I included my usual request for baby cots in the booking, but they did not respond. Had they replied, I could have canceled and chosen another property. Upon arrival, I was told that the manager refused to provide baby cots and instead offered an extra bed for €15 per night. I explained that my older child isn’t even three yet and that I specifically chose a large suite to accommodate my family. The staff insisted this was policy and that I should have included the children in the booking. However, as I explained, this approach on Booking.com often results in being offered two separate rooms, which is neither practical nor reasonable for a family with babies.

The most disappointing part was the management's response—or lack thereof. The manager was unavailable to speak with me in person, as he was abroad, and his response after the fact was not truthful. He claimed the team responded to my messages within the hour, but this was not the case. I received no reply to my request for baby cots before arrival. The suggestion that I should have contacted the manager directly by phone or WhatsApp is absurd, as it is the responsibility of the property to respond to special requests made through the booking platform. Furthermore, I have since stayed at five different accommodations with my children, and none of them had any issue with providing baby cots or charged extra for beds.

It’s important to note that this is not about the €15 fee—it’s about principle. Riad Braya is the only hotel I’ve stayed at in my entire life that handled this situation so poorly. The lack of communication, rigid policy, and dismissive management ruined what could have been a pleasant stay. If you are traveling with children, I would strongly advise avoiding this property, as their policies and lack of flexibility could lead to unnecessary stress.

Final Thoughts: The staff were polite and did their best, but the management’s attitude and poor communication were deeply disappointing. At this price point, I expected much better service and professionalism. I won’t be returning to Riad Braya and would not recommend it...

Riad Braya was the highlight of our stay in Fes, so much that we decided to devote our last day to just staying in, doing nothing and just relaxing in this beautiful riad. We had their best room on the top floor with the private huge balcony/lounging space. Beware it is a walk up with no elevator, but we didn’t care, for our particular abilities. The room air conditioner was superb, pumping cold air non stop, and we stayed in July, one of the hottest months (and they have solar panels on the roof!). The bath/shower water pressure was great, bathtub was huge. The breakfast was one of the highlights as per other reviews, served right on our balcony, it also can be set up on the rooftop and downstairs on the lobby floor. Rooftop in early mornings and late evenings was very nice and chilled space to hang out at. Riad was very quiet and not busy, barely saw other guests, which was to our advantage to be honest, we felt like we had a private experience. They even set up an extra bed for my son, even though he could technically sleep on a large couch in the room. The staff was very nice and hospitable, starting with a mint tea and cookies on arrival - instead of standing by the check in counter waiting for the paperwork to be done, we were lounging and unwinding from the long trip in a spectacular lobby with a delicious tea - little things like that truly show the hospitable nature of this beautiful culture. The staff also arranged for and escorted me to a henna artist at another sister riad, as I wanted to experience and see henna art but didn’t want to do henna on the street. In terms of the hotel restaurant, you’d need to let them know you are planning to dine in for dinner the day before so they get the ingredients, perhaps because of the small size of the hotel, they don’t seem to have all dishes at all times, but thanks to the ingenuity of the hotel staff, they were able to swing a couple of dishes our first night when we were too tied to get out for dinner. Also, if you have to leave early in the morning before breakfast, they can pack some to-go breakfast items for you. Thank you for a beautiful stay and your...

The main area of the Riad is quite beautiful, although in the rain, it leaked. The staff is truly amazing and very attentive to the guests .. and breakfast was great, but that's where it ends.|Our family had two rooms and both were disappointing ... the bathroom shower was run down, the base appeared to be coming apart from the wall, it was rusty and moldy. It also did not drain properly, causing it to flow over and flood the floor every night when we used it. The heating in the room was not good, as it was either too hot or too cold. I had messaged in advance to confirm they had a hair dryer in the room and they told me they did. They did indeed have a hair dryer, but it was a tiny one with barely any power at all. Housekeeping also knocked over my open suitcase from the luggage rack it was one, and rather than put it back they put a different bag on the luggage rack and left my suitcase overturned with much of my clothing on the floor (a real problem for a germaphobe like me) All if this made for a very uncomfortable stay.... after three nights I was ready and...