Photo of the Day ~ How to Thank Your Staff

How do you thank your staff for a year's hard work running one of the top guesthouses in Morocco? If you are the owners of a riad like Riad Laaroussa, you close your business for a a week and take all the staff on vacation. Last year it was to Paris, this year to Istanbul.

Riad Laaroussa staff on holiday in Istanbul

And it is not just the executive staff and managers, it is everyone, including the riad's driver and the "carossa man" - the luggage carrier.

The original plan had been to take the staff to New York, but they ran foul of the overly-paranoid American officials who refused visa's for a majority of the staff members, and so, instead of calling the holiday off, Fred Sola, Riad Laaroussa's owner, switched the venue to Turkey and departed on August the 11th for a week in Istanbul.

Rather than staying in some cheap hotel, they rented a beautiful colonial house "Villa Naya" on the gorgeous Princess Island, just thirty minutes from the heart of Istanbul. Every day commuting by boat to explore the city was a delight.

Together they explored the Blue mosque, Sainte Sophie and the Grand Bazar, where the women spent most of their time bargaining like mad to buy clothes.

For many this was their first trip on a plane and all found it exciting and rewarding. It was also remarkable how they adapted to such an open-minded culture with opportunities to dress in modern clothes. And an eye-opener that many people in Turkey did not even observe Ramadan fasting.

After so many great moments together everyone is back at work, motivated and preparing for the holiday next year. Hopefully more riad owners will learn the lesson from Riad Laaroussa that a happy staff is the secret of a great guesthouse.

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A fine example of riad restoration in Fez

There have been a number of very large riads restored over the years with varying degrees of success. Today we report on not only the most recent, but also, thankfully, one of the better ones.

Riad Laaroussa was one of the first of the great riads offering accommodation in Fez and is about to open after two years of painstaking renovation. A 17th century palace with floors covering over 1000 square metres, Riad Laaroussa is magnificent and restoring it an astonishing achievement for a man whose grandfather was a postman in Fez.

A Frenchman, Fred Sola's ancestors traveled from Sicily to Tunisia and then on to Fez at the turn of the last century. As his father lived in Casablanca and he has numerous relatives in the rural areas around Fez, moving into the medina has been something of a homecoming. It is interesting that a pragmatic man who has achieved so much is still touched by the "spirit" of Fez. "There is definitely something happening here - beyond explanation,' says Fred, gesturing with his hands as if trying to grasp the unknown.


Although Fred has been living in Paris for the last fifteen years, residing on a houseboat on the Seine and working in the finance industry, he has proved to be something of a renaissance man. Allowing his artistic side to surface he has done most of the interior design of the riad. While the traditional aspects of the riad structure and decoration have been conserved, Fred Sola's eclectic tastes in interiors have stylishly melded Moroccan and Indonesian influences. The results are superb.


Situated in the heart of the Fez Medina, Riad Laaroussa was once home to the Minister Mnebhi. Restoring it has been a challenge and, while others might well have turned the riad into a multi-room hotel, Fred decided to create only five suites - each comfortable and spacious.


As well as fine accommodation and dining, the chef in their vast kitchen will conduct lessons in preparing Moroccan cuisine. The Riad is being managed by Fred and his wife Cathy
You can email Isabelle at: contact@riad-laaroussa.com
You will find the riad at: 3 Derb Bechara, Fès médina

Photographs: Suzanna Clarke - theviewfromfez@gmail.com

Tags: Morocco Fes, Maghreb news