We were in Fez for a quick 5 night break, and staying in one of the cheaper hotels in the Ville Nouvelle, but had decided to find a nice Riad for two nights. Oudayas didn't come cheap for Fez (£85 per night), but it sounded lovely, so we went for it.

Big mistake.

The room we were given was an absolute mess. Bare wires hanging out of the walls, a hot, naked bulb in a strange alcove at the bed head where pillows and indeed hands could come into contact with it, a naked electricity cable hanging into the shower cubicle, water running down the recently completed tadelakt walls in the bathroom, and everywhere, thick white dust from the plaster walls which, unbelievably, hadn't been painted. Touch a wall, get dust all over your clothes. They'd unpacked our bags, and hung clothes in the closet, getting them absolutely covered in plaster dust. The whole room smelt of damp, the bedclothes felt damp, and when we complained, the rather vague young man in charge of the place went um and ah and gave the impression that he wasn't that bothered. So we checked out next morning, refusing to pay the balance of our bill (we'd payed a £45 deposit, but the dry cleaning bill for a jacket and trousers ruined by the plaster would more than make up for the rest), and went back to the comfort of our cheap little hotel room. Also, the pool and the hammam, both selling points when we were booking, were out.

I get the impression the owners are being a bit greedy, and opened it before it was ready...

My girlfriend and I just loved this Riad. The staff was the best. I booked through a French agency and they forgot to tell the Les Oudayas that we were coming. We were escorted to the open area and was having a glass of wine when the owner informed us he had no reservation for us. Ouch ! He then told us he already found another place for us to stay the night, Riad Sara. Abdoul, his right hand man took us to the Riad. We, then returned to the Les Oudayas the following day. We were always greeted with smiles. We spent 6 night there.. The owner happened to be in town the week we were there. What a delight he was. The hotel arranged for us to do day trips, we used Abdoul, the taxi driver. He is wonderful. Please ask for him. He smiles and laughs all the time. I would highly recommend this hotel, the owner Froud, I think met with the agency that I booked with, he needed to be reassured that he was to get all the bookings through other agencies, so I hope he got this fixed. If you do stay at the Les Oudayas, say hello to everyone and "a special hello to Greneral Patton" the resident turtle. Linda and Barbara

The building is beautiful and very conveniently situated a short walk from Place Batha where there are plenty of petite taxis. However it was difficult to enjoy the surroundings . The rooms were freezing and we needed to wear our overcoats inside. The one small portable gas heater was totally inadequate. To add to t he gloom the room was so dark that we could not see to read . There was a persistent odour of urine in the bathroom and the toilet pedestal was alarmingly loose on its foundations. On several occasions we could not take a shower because use of the hamman had used all the hot water.
It is not enough to provide an attractive traditional building -- the facilities and mantenance need urgent attention.

We couldn't have enjoyed this more: gorgeous rooms, amazing food, reasonable rates, they bent over backwards to provide us with everything we asked for and made us feel completely at home.

When the owner isn't there you'd want to speak some French (or Arabic), ours certainly improved fast, and you do need to ask as there is no list of services - but the washing was done beautifully, the hamam and scrub was very relaxing, they sent a taxi to fetch us (bit confusing first time) and they found us a map and a guide book so we didn't need to hire a guide to just have a short wander. The view from the roof terrace amazing and they serve excellent Moroccan wine and beers - not something very easy to find in the Medina. After a hectic day's sightseeing this couldn't have felt safer or more relaxed.

We took the train/ferries across Spain and morocco to get here, great way to travel