Perched high atop of Beyt Meri hill, the Hotel Al Bustan is a landmark that can be seen from almost anywhere in the Beirut. Situated in the entertainment district and offering remarkable city and the Mediterranean Sea views, the family-owned Hotel Al Bustan combines extensive meeting facilities and a quiet location away from the bustle of the city. The local area offers a number of attractions, including National Museum of Beirut, Beirut Municipality Stadium and Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium. Just a few minutes walk from the hotel is an historic archaeological site with Roman ruins and historic thermal baths and Byzantine mosaics.

All the major cultural and leisure attractions of Lebanon are within easy reach and since opening in 1967, the hotel has been a city landmark and a favorite among discerning travelers. The Al Bustan hotel is impeccably furnished with paintings of local and international artists and houses an art collection, as well as antiquities, sculptures and paintings. There are 117 air-conditioned rooms and suites surrounded by beautiful landscaped gardens. Each of the guestrooms is equipped with luxury toiletries, satellite TV, high-speed Internet access, two IDD phone lines, mini bars, personal safes, and full-sized bathrooms. Guests of the Al Bustan Hotel Beirut will be able to enjoy three full-service restaurants, three bars, lounge, cafe, and poolside snack bar combine to offer Lebanese, Italian, and continental cuisine. There is a fitness and spa center offering massage and beauty treatments, enormous conference center, indoor and outdoor pools, tennis and squash courts. Other services include hairdressing, manicure and pedicure, medical services, child care, laundry and dry cleaning services. Each year, the hotel hosts the Al Bustan music and arts festival, which takes place yearly during five weeks in February and March.

The Hotel Albergo is located in the heart of Old Beirut in the most popular nightlife and dining district of the city – Achrafieh. Located 10 minutes’ drive from Rafic Hariri Airport, it is close to the great commercial areas such as Rue Monot and many key attractions including the National Museum and Pigeons’ Rock. Since its opening in 1998, this former Ottoman mansion has been a member of the renowned global organization of Relais & Chateaux, synonymous with luxury, ageless charm and culinary delight. This is a magnificent base from which to discover a city brimming with energy.

The ochre facade of this residence full of character reflects the liveliness and warmth of the Lebanese capital. Each of the hotel’s 33 suites is designed in a different theme boasting an imaginative mix of Oriental and Western style decorated with treasures discovered from all over the world such as crystal chandeliers and oriental rugs. All of the rooms in the Albergo Hotel Beirut come with satellite flat-screen TV, DVD players, mini bars, climate controls, hair dryers, personal safes, their own balconies, high-speed Internet access, and room service.

The rooftop terrace features a restaurant provides a wide variety of à la carte meals and swimming pool is ideal for unwinding and offers you a breathtaking panorama of the Lebanese capital. Guests can take a dip in the rooftop pool while enjoying sweeping views across the city to the Mediterranean. Hotel facilities include the 24-hour front desk service, currency exchange, golf course access, library, parking on the premises, fitness center, laundry and dry cleaning and more.

The Sheraton Le Verdun has 132 rooms and 22 suites situated on 12 floors and designed to comfortable accommodate your business and leisure needs. The elegantly appointed rooms are air-conditioned and feature large windows, with panoramic city or mountain views. Modern and beautifully designed, your room is your own private refuge to savour during your stay. The in room amenities available include in-room safety box, access to high speed internet, cable channels TV and coffee and tea maker machine.

Step into an inviting oasis of warmth and luxury in the heart of one of the world’s most cosmopolitan cities. Four Points features an outdoor pool, a terrace with city views and a variety of international dishes and exotic Fusion Cuisine is served in Le Bistro’s smart-casual atmosphere. At Le Bistro you can also enjoy a live cooking and see your tasty foods being prepared just in front of you with an open kitchen. There is a casual bar where you can enjoy with your friend or just have a drink and refresh your day.

Overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, the InterContinental Phoenicia is a 5 star hotel located in Beirut, Lebanon. Situated along the famous boardwalk, all points of interest in Beirut are within reach from this first-class hotel. Built by the Lebanese businessman Najib Salha, the hotel was designed by the American architect Edward Durell Stone, with Middle Eastern influences evident in its high ceilings, sweeping staircases and palatial pillars. The InterContinental Phoenicia Beirut offers a diversity of services to meet the needs of the modern businessman as well as families seeking a time of leisure and relaxation.

the InterContinental Phoenicia offers 600 spacious rooms and suites. All rooms are individually stylishly decorated with earthy hues and Phoenician art on the walls and offers a rewarding union of timeless elegance and up-to-the-moment convenience; comfort and classic sophistication. Room’s benefits include: air-conditioners, assorted fresh fruit basket and sweets in all rooms, IP telephony, free high-speed internet, a mini bar, satellite LCD TVs. The rooms also feature custom-made curtains and recessed lighting.

This luxurious hotel – Phoenicia features indoor and outdoor pools surrounded with loungers, a full-service spa center, a gym, shops, a few restaurants serve delicious dishes inspired by the Lebanese kitchen, as well as international classics, a bar bar with a wide range of drinks and cocktails on offer. For complete relaxation, guests can treat themselves to a spa treatment or use the sauna, Jacuzzi or solarium. Famous for its seawater and seaweed based treatments and high-quality trained specialists, at the SPA you will discover the healing properties of pure water therapy, and its ability to beautify and rejuvenate your body and soul.

The credit cards that are accepted at the hotel: American Express, Diners Club, VISA.

A scenic location and personalized service makes the Riviera Beirut a good accommodation in Beirut for many different types of travelers. Located in the middle of the Corniche El Manara, near the centre of the city, the Riviera is an elegant, French-style hotel that would be at home on the promenade at Nice or St Tropez. Offering spectacular views of the Mediterranean Sea, it is also only a short drive to the fantastic nightlife, dining, and shopping areas. Totally renovated in 1998 to suit international standards, the hotel is one of the leading properties in the capital city.

The Riviera Beirut Hotel is a 120-room seafront hotel. Guest rooms are clean and furnished with chairs and sofas embellished with intricate touches, and well equipped and come fitted with top class amenities. The classically designed rooms come with high-speed Internet access, personal safes, climate controls, satellite TV, hair dryers and mini bars.

All visitors to the Hotel Riviera Beirut will encounter a nice array of features and services that include a piano bar and lounge with international live music every night is a perfect place to relax with a drink and a light dinner, 24 hour Business Center with internet access, tour desk, laundry and dry cleaning services, sauna, spa with massage and beauty treatments, and two large size outdoor swimming pools. There is also a wide choice of restaurants where we bring to you different flavors of the world such as a Japanese restaurant. The Riviera Beirut Hotel has organized and catered the best weddings, cocktails, parties, anniversaries, fashion shows, concerts as well as international conferences and seminars.

For water-sports enthusiasts, the diving club is one of the best in Beirut. The Riviera Yacht Club features 2 outdoor swimming pools with access to the sea and a marina that welcomes up to 45 boats a season. The nautical club offers: sailing, fishing, jet skiing, water skiing and scuba diving. The diving school is recognized by the leading dive institutions in the world (PADI, NAU & IANTD) with a perfect safety record, with certified and experienced instructors and the best diving sites. The Riviera Yacht Club offers you a daily choice of fresh fish with traditional Lebanese Mezze as well as an exotic fresh fruit juices bar. Also special traditional Arabic nights with Arabic music and a belly dancer.

Four Seasons Hotel Beirut soars high in the sky, overlooking the city and boosting a real stylish hotel experience.

The hotel offers 230 guest rooms, 60 of which are suites. Elegancy and comfortability are the key words in the design of the interior, where classic is combined with sophisticated elements. Floor-to-ceiling windows reveal panoramic views over the city, the Mediterranean
and the shore.

You may meet for a coffee or cocktail at the Boulevard or relax over whiskey and cigars in the Bar. Taste seafood at the Grill room or contemplate the sea and the city from the hotel rooftop bar – it is up to you and it is all for you. A real hotel experience!

Le Gray is a modern luxury hotel situated in the historic center of Beirut. The hotel is characterized by contemporary interiors,
impeccable service and truly spacious rooms and suites. Magnificent views over the city architecure can be enjoyed from the hotel’s rooftop restaurant, bar and swimming pool.Indigo on the Roof is the rooftop restaurant, where guests can enjoy really stunning views of Beirut, while having a delicious dish.The restaurant is recognized for its outstanding wine list.

The hotel disposes of 87 rooms and suites, which are all equipped with the state-of-the-art furnitures and amenities. Fresh fruits and flowers are delivered to the rooms every day.

Inter Continental Le Vendome Beirut overlooks the Mediterranean Sea and it is very closely located to the National Museum of Beirut, the city center and the shopping area.

This boutique hotel offers 73 guest rooms and suites and it has been hosting celebrities from all over the world, enticing guests with its luxurious elegance and classy sophistication.The spacious rooms and suites are fully equipped to ensure all guest’s needs and requirements and to guarantee satisfaction.

The hotel is famous for its exlusive cuisine – combining local and international dishes.Guests are welcomed with a 15 minute neck and shoulder massage upon check-in.

Officially classified among the Leading Hotels of the World, Le Royal Beirut offers a unique location in Greater Beirut – one of the world’s most beautiful seashores.  Set on a towering hilltop the hotel provides panoramic views of the Mediterranean Sea. It is within easy reach of Downtown Beirut, Lebanon, near historical sites, tourist attractions and the upscale shopping districts.

All the 231 spacious rooms at Le Royal Hotel Beirut offer a spectacular 180 degree Sea View. There are different types of accommodation that match the tastes and needs of every kind of guest. Equipped with free Wi-Fi and satellite TV channels, stocked mini bar and jacuzzi bathtubs, the boutique rooms are designed with decor elements reminiscent of a luxury cruise liner.

Hotel’ Facilities include: Watergate Aquapark, Royal Spa featuring face and body treatments, panoramic swimming poo, Diwan Shahrayan features meza with belly dancing, tennis courts and a well-equipped gym. Guests of the hotel can taste Mediterranean and Lebanese food while enjoying live entertainment.

]]> http://www.wayfaring.info/2011/01/23/le-royal-beirut-hotel/feed/ 0 http://www.wayfaring.info/2007/05/07/ruins-on-age-old-temples-of-lebanon/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=ruins-on-age-old-temples-of-lebanon http://www.wayfaring.info/2007/05/07/ruins-on-age-old-temples-of-lebanon/#comments Mon, 07 May 2007 08:43:08 +0000 Asya http://www.wayfaring.info/2007/05/07/ruins-on-age-old-temples-of-lebanon/

Baalbek is a town in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon, altitude 1,170 m, situated east of the Litani River. It is famous for its exquisitely detailed but monumentally scaled Temple ruins of the Roman period, when Baalbek, known as Heliopolis was one of the largest sanctuaries in the Empire. Ruins of ancient temples in Baalbek, Lebanon, include the Temple of Jupiter, shown here, which once measured about 89 by 50 m. The temple, in the Corinthian style, was surrounded by a peristyle of 42 columns. The Romans built Baalbek when they took control of the territory that included what is now Lebanon in 64 BC.

In 27 BC, the Roman Emperor Augustus supposedly took the unfathomable decision to build in the middle of nowhere the grandest and mightiest temple of antiquity, the Temple of Jupiter, whose platform, and big courtyard are retained by three walls containing twenty-seven limestone blocks, unequaled in size anywhere in the world, as they all weigh in excess of 300 metric tons. Three of the blocks, however, weigh more than 800 tons each. This block trio is world-renowned as the “Trilithon”. Lion head is the Symbol of power and strength. It was a great decoration on the Roman temple. Earthquake destroyed a part of it but fortunately the head was in a good case.

The second temple, now called the Temple of Bacchus because of Bacchic motives carved at certain points, is in fact the temple of the female counterpart of Baal, namely Baalat, Ishtar or Artagatis. It is in a very good state of preservation and is greatly admired both by connoisseurs and by tourists. It is 70 metres long and is surrounded by a peristyle of 48 columns 20 metres high, bearing an entablature with a frieze of lions, bulls and acanthus leaves, all richly carved. Its entrance is truly monumental, 13 metres high by 7.5 metres wide, finely worked. The nave has fluted columns in relief on the walls. There is a cella or choir 27 metres by 22. The altar of the divinity, placed high, makes the building a religious monument of the highest order. The third temple, a smaller one, placed further to the east and now named after Venus, is a work of wonderful good taste and delicacy.

But as fighting escalated after a Hezbollah raid into Israel on July 12, many people feared for Baalbek and Lebanon’s other archaeological and cultural treasures. Now that a tentative cease-fire has been declared, experts returning to the country say that the sites—which have successfully survived decades of violence in the war-torn region—appear to have once again emerged unscathed.