Chez Youssef

The previous reviewer has got the wrong place. Chez Youssef is a hotel, without a restaurant. Youssef is renovating the palace built by his grandfather, who was a pasha. It's an extraordinary building with wonderfully characterful rooms. You can see some of the bedrooms and the interior courtyard in the film The Jewel of the Nile, when it was used as Omar's palace. The renovation is a work in progress and the facilities are not those of a modern 5 star hotel, but it's spotlessly clean and the bedrooms have private bathrooms. The traditional decor of the huge bedrooms is amazing......carved ceilings, superb tiling and coloured glass doors and windows. Breakfast on the terrace outside your room is a pleasure. My family and I loved staying there and will do so again next time we visit Fez. The palace is within the old city walls, only a short walk from the centre of the medina. Youssef and his family are very friendly and helpful. Ask him to show you round the place, including the private rooms. Highly recommended as a place to stay for anyone who wants to gain a sense of history of this fascinating city.