I was in urgent need for a tour guide to go into the medina, having been almost scammed bedore i was worry about taking any random guide. I read in Tripadvisor that this hotel has arranged a good guide for a tourist before. I didnt stay at the hotel, but i went there to ask for assistance to get a guide for me, and rhey are willing to help, even though at very last minute request.
1 waited around 1 hour for the guide to arrive. Mohamad is a knowledgeable and very professional guide, giving explanation on culture, architecture and history, which is great. He didnt try to promote me into buying anything. He brought me to a good leather/tannery shop, a textile shop and an argan oil shop, the lst one upon my request. the shops are very professional, no pressure for buying at all. Mohamad walked very fast, maybe because there was a lot to cover in the 3 hours tour (we went to all major attractions).
Next time i definitely will hire him again if i came back.
Nice hotel, bar serves alcohol and has a fireplace. Hotel has water fountains.
It’s about a 2 to 3 star hotel, very dated but location is great being just outside the Médina and very accessible. One strange thing we did find is that we were told you can only shower between 6pm to 10pm and 6am to 10am, no hot water otherwise. It has a nice courtyard. Wifi is limited to reception only. Swimming pool is closed during winter time
There's this 2008 film, Entre Les Murs. It won the Palme d'Or. It takes place in a French language classroom for children of immigrants. They already speak French though their parents may be less proficient but the purpose of the instruction is to fine-tune their proficiency. There's a lot of important themes, for example how to maintain discipline amongst a group of thirteen and fourteen years olds, how contemporaries of different backgrounds and interests interact, and self-assertiveness and what respect is owed a teacher.
There's a couple scenes that really stand out. Suleiman is put on the spot and becomes agitated and reverts to 'tutoyer'-ing the teacher, which means speaking with inappropriate familiarity. Even with my limited French the scene is uncomfortable. The feeling was like what I got watching Spike Lee's Do The Right Thing in a crowded San Francisco theater. There was a palpable social tension — fear, anger, discomfort. The kind of claustrophobic discomfort that could make you do something to get out.
There was another scene where the teacher was explaining when to use the past subjunctive 'fus'. I'm not sure how to spell it because while you may see it in Proust for sure no one ever uses it. Nevertheless, grammatically, there are rules that mandate it's use. One of the black kids, an extrovert, presses the teacher on these rules. The teacher admits reluctantly and with reservation that this usage may be described as 'affected', or 'pretentious'. And the kid confirms "like homosexuels".
There's another theme that emerges and that is what comprises a Frenchman. One student, Suleiman, is from Mali, or his parents are. He's attractive, and rebellious, and his attitude and actions imperil either his immigration status or his future; I couldn't follow exactly. Anyway he acts out and he gets booted out. Another student, Wei, is Chinese. He's everybody's favorite; he's outgoing and pleasant. At some point his mother is picked up and is at risk of deportation.
So what is the issue here? Maybe there's nothing astounding but what I think is rich about it is the very simple idea that nationhood and ethnicity are entirely separate. That for example one can make a Frenchman simply through indoctrination in French culture. This issue of an altering demographic in the wealthiest nations of Europe is real. And of course as Northern Europe becomes more Muslim so America is becoming more Hispanic.
They dole out eggs like they were Fabergé. The juice is some kind of Sunny D — some horrific sweet and artificially sweet combined off-the-shelf expired and polluted Tang. Le restaurant est en plein air et il faut froid. Donc ça c'est pas leur faute. You know how with hard boiled eggs you have to leave them in cold water or you can't get the shell off cleanly? Well for all their security over a one eggs only policy at the end of it all you get is a yolk.
Le petit déjeuner est affreux. Ni l'eau chaud que les matins ni la chauffage dans la chambre ; ils vous disent qu'ils vont faire quelque chose, mais rien ne se passe.
Very pretty hotel! Right beside the medina, restaurants, coffee shops etc. It used to be the UK consulate, so it has a big terrace in the middle with pretty tile work and water fountains. There is also a pool, a restaurant, and a big reading room full of poufs. Rooms are spacious and clean. The decor is a bit outdated and the wifi can be spotty, but for the price, I would say this is one of the best hotels we've stayed in so far. DO NOT ask the front desk to book tours for you. We were told a private tour guide would visit Meknes with us, but it ended up being a driver, not a guide. Scam.
Nice hotel, swimming pool too cold
Nice hotel albeit a bit dated. Let down by no Wi-Fi in the rooms, and the bathroom didn't have a door so no privacy when showering
Good pool and common areas.
No lockers or room safe.
Very bad hotel, lobby stuff do not like the guests, if you do not have to check in, you can not sit on the sofa in the lobby to rest, even you carry luggage just a moment.
The bar was meh.
The rooms are dated, the description and room amenities differs to the Expedia website and the hotel website to which the front desk staff are indifferent. The most frustrating aspect is that hot water is only available from 0630 to 1000 and then from 1800 until some arbitrary time, again the hotel website and Expedia descriptions fail to mention this.
The hotel is old and run down. This is a very big property, maybe it was a 5-star hotel 15 to 20 years ago. However, due to the age of the building, it needs a major renovation.
The breakfast is a joke, the coffee tastes awful, the orange juice is so diluted, it is 50% water and 50% real orange juice. The Donuts taste like a week old.
This is not the only problem , I think the problem with the front desk manager on duty, how would I say it or describe him? I think he had that sniffling attitude. I don't know maybe he doesn't like tourists??
Needless to say he probably will never see me again. To him I'm just another dumb tourists
this place is super super unsafe, specially for tourist. drug dealers are always hanging around the hotel. also the bodyguards in the hotel bar tried to steal my smart phone. PLEASE don't go there!!
One of ref bars in Fez is at the back of this hotel. they have two, one more of a lounge and another more of a club. Decent selection.