Palais Jamaï Fès Plans an October Return After 12 Years Closed Above the Medina

Palais Jamaï Fès, the hilltop palace hotel above the old medina of Fes in Morocco, is set to reopen in October 2026 after closing in 2014. It returns as a member of the Legend Collection from Preferred Hotels & Resorts, with dining by Groupe Alain Ducasse.

The date has moved before. When Preferred announced its 2026 openings in December 2025, it listed Palais Jamaï for spring 2026. On October 1, Morocco Times Daily reported that the hotel is now set to reopen this month, and the hotel's own website says the palace is "preparing to open its doors once again." Neither gives an exact first-night date.

What is Palais Jamaï?

The building is a late 19th-century mansion near Bab Guissa, on the edge of Fes el-Bali, built as the residence of Mohamed ben Arbi el Jamaï, a grand vizier under Sultan Moulay Hassan I. Morocco Times Daily dates the palace to 1879. Preferred says it became a luxury hotel in 1930, and it remained one of the city's best-known addresses until it closed, with views across the rooftops and minarets of the medina.

What will the restored hotel include?

The reopened palace has 94 keys: 63 rooms and 31 suites, including one Royal Suite. Groupe Alain Ducasse is behind the food and drink across three restaurants and four bars, one of them a sky bar looking over the Medina of Fès. Wellness centres on traditional hammams, fitness facilities and two swimming pools. There is also a padel court, a kids club, boutiques including a florist and an art gallery, and a vegetable garden.

According to Morocco Times Daily, the restoration set out to keep the palace's zellige tilework, carved plaster, woodwork and arches while adding modern hotel infrastructure behind them.

How does it change a Morocco trip?

Many high-end Morocco itineraries are anchored in Marrakech, with Fes treated as a short stop. A full-service palace with Ducasse restaurants, two pools and hammams on the edge of the medina makes a longer stay in the older imperial city easier to justify, especially for families, who get a kids club and space that a small riad cannot offer.

What to check before booking

Because the opening has already slipped once, travelers aiming for late 2026 should ask which restaurants, which bars and which pool will be running on their specific dates, since large palace restorations often open in phases. Preferred lists its member hotels on PreferredHotels.com, and travel advisors can book through the GDS under the "PH" chain code, so anyone working with an advisor can ask them to watch for live inventory.