Riad al Pacha
The good news about Riad al Pacha, the hotel we stayed at in Fes, is that it’s in a terrific location inside the medina, close to the Bab El Guissa and one of Fes’ main walking streets, with parking very close by. The bad news is that the owner, Mr. Rashid, is unscrupulous and purposely double books his rooms in an attempt to earn more money.
We had made reservations directly with the riad via email for the Suite Zineb VIP with a view of the court yard. We gave them our AmEx number to lock in the room.
When we arrived (April 28/08) we were impressed by the grand, covered central court yard, with wonderful inlaid marble and tile, and exquisitely carved plaster. We were warmly greeted by Mr. Rashid who offered us mint tea and an explanation of how, over the course of three years during the early 1990s, he had restored and renovated his riad.
But we soon realized it was all fake hospitality when Mr. Rashid said with a voice of acted regret, “there’s been a terrible mistake, your room isn’t available, but I have a room for you on the ground floor. And tomorrow I’ll have your room for you.” When we showed him the email he had sent us confirming the Suite Zineb VIP, he said “yes but there’s been a terrible mistake, I’m so sorry.”
The room he gave us the first night was so tiny, there was hardly any room for our suit cases, it was dark, with a window that opened on to the back ally so that at night, the stench of cat urine wafted in.
The next morning Mr. Rashid said “there has been a terrible mistake, you will not be able to switch rooms, the room you reserved is not available.” I then had a fit in front of all the guests having breakfast, saying this was unacceptable, that he had to give us another room, and that I was really angry. Rashid, shocked at my reaction and uncomfortable about being chewed out in front of his customers, blinked and said he’d check with his colleague at the front desk to see if there was a different room available. As it turned out, the women at the front desk said yes there was another room we could have, and because of all we had been through, she’d give it to us for the same price as the small room we had had the night before, 80 euros a night. We then got into an argument with Mr. Rashid, who said the new room normally costs 140 euros a night. We agreed to pay 90 euros a night. The new room was beautiful, with a view of Fes, high ceilings, and lots of natural light.
During our stay at Riad al Pacha we spoke to three other guests who had booked specific rooms only to be told upon arrival that those rooms were not available, they would have to accept a smaller/inferior room. A receptionist at a nearby riad told us he had heard similar stories about guests making reservations at Riad al Pacha only to be told their rooms were not available.
The coup de grace was that at the end of our 3 day stay, as Mr. Rashid was waiting for my credit card charge to be electronically confirmed, I asked him how was business and if he was full. Forgetting all we had been through, he said proudly “yes, I’m double booked.” I said what happens when everybody shows up. He said “I try to get people to share rooms.”
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
