Every morning in Fes, Morocco, we looked forward to a healthy and delicious Moroccan breakfast at the Palais Amani. This jewel of a luxury riad in the heart of the Old City of Fes happens to be my favorite. I stay here each time I am in Fes. 

The Palais Amani is not an over-the-top place, but everything is in very good taste so that you will find nothing wanting.  There is enough space and greenery, and everywhere you look is a feast for the senses.

THE ROOFTOP OF THE PALAIS AMANI

Breakfasts were pretty much served the same way each day. Everything was beautifully presented so I always felt like taking photos before eating. The Moroccan breakfast wasn’t a buffet, unlike in other luxury hotels, and there was never a table groaning with food. Nevertheless, we were never hungry, even if we’re both used to eating a lot at breakfast.

READ ABOUT THE MOST ROMANTIC WEDDING VENUE IN SPAIN

HEALTHY MOROCCAN BREAKFAST

We so enjoyed the breakfasts here, which were different everyday. There was always lots of fresh fruits and a very good quality Moroccan yoghurt which I spooned lots of honey on. The chefs also made us an incredible juice based on fruits in season.

And then we were always served some sort of Arabic or Moroccan soup that seemed so healthy. The soups, made with vegetables and spices, were so good. I always felt like I was starting the morning right, having yoghurt and vegetable soup in my tummy.

FRESHLY BAKED BREADS AND EGGS TO ORDER

The assorted breads were freshly baked somewhere in the medina, and I loved also having these with the local honey.

For a hot meal, it was always eggs done anyway we wanted. And everyday, we always ordered an omelette with everything in it. You’d think an omelette with everything in it would be pretty standard fare, right? Not at the Palais Amani in Fez.

Every day we had a different kind of omelette. Each one was as delicious as the previous one, so that we looked forward to breakfast every morning. Just like we were excited for every wonderful but different day in Morocco, living our never-ending, and never-endingly eventful Travelife.  

Christine Cunanan is the publisher of Travelife Magazine.

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A great start to the day makes all the difference to rest of it, and when we are staying at some of the most luxurious hotels in the world, we simply must enjoy breakfast and oftentimes this becomes the most important meal of the day. Savor these photographs of the best breakfasts around the world with us.

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BREAKFAST IN ISTANBUL

at the Four Seasons Bosphorus

Healthy starters at the Four Seasons Sultanahmet in Istanbul

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Mornings and breakfasts at the Hyatt Regency  in Thessaloniki, Greece

BREAKFAST IN MOSCOW
at the Standart Hotel

Caviar over Eggs Benedict at The Standart in Moscow

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BREAKFAST IN MARRAKECH
at The Selman Marrakech

Al fresco breakfast and croissants  at The Selman in Marrakech

A morning spread prepared by Palais Amani, Morocco

Fruits and olives for breakfast in Chateau Les Crayeres in Champagne, France

Oysters, green tea, seeds, fruits and champagne for breakfast at the One & Only Cape Town in South Africa

Continental breakfast at the Rachmaninoff Hotel in Veliky Novgorod, Russia

BREAKFAST IN TURKEY
at the CVS Park Hotel Bosphorus

Eggs and fruit at the Park Hotel Bosphorus

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BREAKFAST IN AFRICA
at the Oceana Wildlife Reserve
in the Eastern Cape

The Eggs Benedict at the  Oceana Beach and Wildlife Reserve, South Africa  makes early mornings worth it

The Japanese breakfast at Amanemu in Ise, via room service, came in a beautiful lacquer trio of boxes

Breakfast at the Beau Rivage Palace in Lausanne

Spicy eggs in Tel Aviv, Israel

Breakfast in Otaru, Japan,  a port city known for known for glasswork and sake distilleries

Santorini, Greece breakfasts are a feast for all senses

Farm to table breakfast at a farm in Rostov, Russia

An energizing morning meal in Crete, Greece’s largest island

A French morning spread courtesy of Les Crayères

Crystal Cruises breakfasts are both eye-catching and delicious!

A really delicious made-to-order omelette at the Grand Hotel in Tver, Russia

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Orange juice and croissants for breakfast in the garden of The Selman Marrakech — with champion horses for company

So there we were on my birthday, celebrating with a little R&R in a beautiful private riad on the grounds of the Selman Hotel in Marrakech, after almost every one of my 35 friends had returned home from close to two weeks of living a #Travelife all over Morocco. 

We’d taken this beautiful private riad at The Selman Marrakech that supposedly was also occupied by the actor Tom Cruise for something like three weeks, during the filming of Mission Impossible 5.

Our private riad at The Selman in Marrakech

We even had the same butler team that was assigned to Tom Cruise for his stay — and weren’t they just excellent. Most private riads come with a full-time personal butler, and I’ve been lucky with my butlers in Morocco so far, as they’ve all been wonderful and ever so professional.

But the Tom Cruise team of butlers at the Selman wins hands down.

When we checked in, I invited some friends over to our riad for some champagne before dinner, so I called the butler and said: “Can you please prepare the house as I’m having some friends over?“

That’s my butler, waiting for the guests to arrive at the entrance to our private riad…

Just like that.

And then I went over to the gazebo at the other end of my private garden with a pot of mint tea to read a book on interior design in Lebanon and try and get better WiFi on my iPad.

Meanwhile, out came the candles all over the house, the lanterns by the swimming pool, the champagne and even a lovely multi-tiered platter of sweets. Like clockwork, and ever so silently that I was oblivious to preparations.

So that when my friends came over to pop the bottle with me, everything looked positively magical.

The gazebo at the end of my private garden at the Hotel Selman

Everyone oohed and aahed over this riad.

The butlers did dozens of things like this for me during our stay, to make the whole experience seamless and quite unforgettable. And when it was time to go home, they packed every breakable object I’d bought in Morocco in bubble wrap so that every single thing made it back home without a scratch.

This private riad of the Selman is certainly the most beautiful place I’d stayed in for 2015, as well as among the most beautiful private riads I’d stayed in in Morocco — and that’s saying a lot.

I’ve stayed in most of Morocco’s loveliest and most interesting places by now so I can write a guidebook on the best places to stay in five minutes. There are a handful, and each with its own strong points.

The Selman gets overall top points from me just because they have the best private riads I’ve seen so far. There’s enough space, enough decor, enough style and yet also enough calm so that everything is not one explosion of color and lines.

Anyway it was the day after my birthday, and Mr. Y said to me: “I’ve arranged a special breakfast today.“

Every day actually has a pretty special breakfast in my never-ending Travelife, if I have to tell the truth. And yes, I realise that I’m one of the luckiest people I know.

The day before, we’d had the full Moroccan breakfast via room service served in the grand pergola at the end of our private garden.

I had my favourite Moroccan eggs with meat and sauce, those delicious light pancakes with raw honey, and lots of argan oil sprinkled everywhere for anti-oxidants.

Then, for effect, our butler served my favourite Moroccan mint tea sans sugar with lots of flourish. It sure makes drinking mint tea a whole lot better. I’m sure he impressed Tom Cruise too with these special effects, in this very same lovely riad.

But that day, our butler picked us up with the golf cart and then he took us to a clearing right in front the main building. Here, he’d set up carpets all over the grass and a table heaping with breakfast goodies.

It was definitely the breakfast to impress.

Then, the main attraction arrived — and it wasn’t the food. We had prize-winning Arabian horses, who incidentally are ensconced in five-star horse lodgings nearby, perform a private show for us.

Talk about beautiful animals in a beautiful hotel.

What a wonderful post-birthday treat, and rather surreal but nice. Even for a never-ending Travelife.

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Business Class breakfast on Turkish Airlines

Driving to Ataturk Airport in Turkey in the Park Hyatt Istanbul limousine

The Park Hyatt Istanbul

Baklava for dessert via room service at the Park Hyatt Istanbul

THE BEST KEBABS IN ISTANBUL

This has always been a great favorite of mine and it has the best kebabs in Istanbul, being the sister restaurant of the Kosebasi chain, where I once took over 70 Travelife Magazine readers and friends for a kebab dinner I’m sure they still remember.

THE BEST ROOM SERVICE BREAKFAST IN ISTANBUL

Breakfast via room service at the Park Hyatt Istanbul

I took this selfie sitting on the steps of a 12th century mosque in Nisantasi while my companion went inside for a look as it was prayer time. This is a wash & wear hairstyle, by the way, straight from the hammam in my Park Hyatt Istanbul spa suite, simply because I forgot to bring my hairbrush to Istanbul.

SHOPPING FOR FOOD IN ISTANBUL

And then we went to the food hall to stock up on white asparagus, leafy herbs and greens, pistachio and the sweetest blackberries I’ve ever tasted — all to bring back home and keep the feeling of this wonderful long weekend in Istanbul a little longer with me, living a #Travelife.

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