The Jamai Palace, also known as the Dar Jama'i or the Palais Jamaï, is a historic late 19th-century mansion in Fes, Morocco, which was subsequently converted to a luxury hotel. It is near Bab Guissa in Fes el-Bali.
History
The oldest pavilion of the building was begun in 1879 as the residence of Si Mohammed ben Arbi el Jamai, who was the Grand Vizier of the AlaouitesultanMoulay Hassan. The same family also built and owned the Dar Jamai in Meknes, built around the same time. Upon the ascension of Sultan Abdelaziz and his Grand Vizier Ba Ahmed in 1894, the Jamai family lost favour with the court, some of its members were arrested, and its property was seized by the state. In 1927 the palace was expanded by architect Edmond Gourdain, and in 1929 it was purchased by the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique who transformed it into a hotel for their North African tours. When the company ran into troubles, the hotel was purchased by the Compagnie deschemins de ferduMaroc. In the early 1970s, a major new wing, five stories tall, was added. In 1998 the property was bought by the Accor group which renovated it and reopened it as part of the Sofitel chain. The hotel closed again in 2014 and is being renovated again before a reopening scheduled in 2019.
Description
The original palace was built in a Moorish-Moroccan style and was surrounded by gardens, on a hill overlooking much of the city near Bab Guissa, the northern gate of Fes el-Bali. Like other palaces and mansions in this style, it included carved stucco and zellij decoration. Subsequent expansions of the hotel have modified the palace grounds and added a modern five-story wing, but have continued to pay tribute to the original Moorish style. In addition to the old pavilion from Jamai's time and the new wing of the hotel, the grounds also include extensive gardens in an Andalusian or Moroccan style, which partly surround the palace. The gardens include traditional fountains decorated with zellijtilework, including a particularly ornate wall fountain.
